Page 22 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
He was watching her, his brow furrowed with concern. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked.
Drue sighed. ‘I’m fine.’
‘I know this part of the journey is hard for you. For all of us, really.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it, Coltan.’
‘Me either.’
‘Good.’ For a brief moment, Drue thought they would be able to travel in companionable silence like she and Adrienne often did. She loosed a tense breath, spotting Terrence flying ahead, his great wings beating against the clouds.
But apparently, Coltan wasn’t one for thoughtful quiet.
‘I don’t like how that Warsword looks at you,’ he said.
Drue’s skin prickled, but she ignored him.
‘He looks at you like —’
‘I didn’t ask.’
‘Ride with me,’ Coltan continued, oblivious to her repulsion.
‘No.’
‘Why do you have to be like this? I’m only trying to protect you.’
Drue brought her horse to a sudden halt, her stomach hardening, her jaw aching from clenching her teeth so hard. ‘When are you going to get it through your thick skull?’ she snapped. ‘I don’t want or need your protection.’
‘There’s no need to be —’
‘Be what?’ she interjected. ‘What exactly am I being by rejecting your advances, Coltan?’
‘Your brothers —’
‘Don’t bring them into this.’
‘They would have wanted us to stick together.’
‘They would have wanted me to beat you senseless.’
‘Drue!’
Her rage bubbled to the surface. She was so sick of Coltan using his friendship with her dead brothers to try to be close to her. It was nauseating. Especially knowing that he’d never pull this sort of shit were they alive. She wanted nothing more than to throttle him and leave him bleeding in the dust, but the hair stood up on the back of her neck and she knew that up ahead, the entire party had slowed, and could likely hear every word.
‘Just leave me alone,’ she muttered, squeezing her horse’s sides to catch up.
When she rejoined the others, it was Wilder Hawthorne who shook his head in Coltan’s direction. ‘I can distract the others if you want to beat him senseless.’
So theyhadheard it all.
But to her surprise, Wilder’s offer coaxed a laugh from her. ‘I’ll let you know.’
As the day wore on,they passed more abandoned villages, more fields of crops left to perish. But Drue kept her grief at bay, instead studying the Warswords.
As the morning faded into afternoon, she longed to pass the time. She turned to Wilder on her left.
‘What’s Thezmarr like?’ she asked, sensing the other rangers around her straightening in their saddles. It seemed that they too were curious about the formidable guild of warriors from across the seas.
