Page 68 of The Last One
He barks a laugh, a sound sweeter than the hypnotic clomp of horse hooves. He turns to me with a straight face and says, “Same ol’, same ol’.”
“That’s what I figured.” I watch the fog race above us as we ride toward a range of purple mountains so far away, they may not exist. “Nothing exciting ever happens to me.”
He huffs another laugh. I like the sound of it. I likehim. We ride together in silence as behind us Olivia and Philia whisper and giggle from atop the horse they share. The farther we move away from Maford, the fresher the air becomes, the denser the fog. The grass in this section of the plains reaches the horses’ knees, and I let my fingers drift across the wildflowers that I ride past. There are no glows of other creatures around us. Just the colors of the horses and my companions, wavering blues and yellows that make a softer shade of green. The nightstar has moved across the sky, but dawn is still far-off. We all sag in our saddles, exhausted and hungry, sore from riding for hours.
I glance at Jadon again. The fog and quiet have softened the hard angles of his face, the stress that’s been cutting into his features since we met. Right now, he looks his age, younger, less troubled by the chaos around him. He wears tranquil well. I wait a beat, wondering if the questions I’m about to ask will be too personal. Then again, he’s seen my naked back, and I wanted him to see my luscious front. Just thinking about that moment in the cottage blisters my cheeks and shortens my breaths. If that’s not the “we’re at that stage of our almost-immediate friendship,” then I don’t know what would be.
“Ask your question, Kai,” he says as his careful gaze skips across the plains.
I tighten my grip on the reins. How did he know?
My stomach twists into knots as I give him a sidelong glance—no reaction from him. “Why aren’t you nestled beside a pretty wife nursing your pretty baby girl in your perfect cottage with two horses in the stable and fruit trees on your incredibly fertile plot of land?”
His laugh sounds wistful, and he studies me the way I study him. “Are you telling me that I’m not just dreaming all of this while sleeping beside my pretty wife?”
I nudge his calf with my foot. “Sorry. You’re not dreaming.” That simple nudge has made fire spread up my leg.
With color rising in his face, Jadon hooks his foot around mine. He says, “Hmm,” and pulls away his gaze—and his boot.
After a moment of silence, he says, “Well…” His smile tightens as he inhales and slowly exhales. “I want those things, and I thought I’d have at least the fruit trees and two-horses part of your storyline of my life, but…Fate decided for me.”
Something about his voice makes me tremble. I’m so close to falling. So close.
“Fate,” I say, “not Supreme?”
He squints into the distance. “Same thing, right?”
I lift my eyebrows and shrug. Embers now flicker inside my chest, threatening to engulf my heart.
His face flashes from sorrow to indifference, and he whispers, “Same thing.”
We ride on, silent.
“I kind of like this right now.” His attention shifts to my lips. “Not necessarily fighting for my life—”
“But not making spoons, either?” My eyes also shift to his lips. I will not be the same at the end of this ride.
“I guess what I mean is,” he says, chuckling, “I like adventure. And I like adventuringwithsomeone. I want a pretty wife with a grove of fruit trees in the backyard, but I also want a life with someone who’s smart, who desires to travel and see how other people live in other parts of the realm. She’s good with a sword when needed, and good with…otherthings as needed.”
“You want a lot,” I say, patting my horse’s neck with a shaky hand.
“But I’m willing to compromise,” he says, his left boot brushing against mine. “Except for one thing. Nonnegotiable.”
“And what’s that?”
He bites his lip and smiles. “She must absolutely adore me and think I’m the most handsome creature in all of Vallendor. I want her to sigh every time I walk into a room.”
I want to sigh rightnow, but I don’t. If I reached for his hand and kissed his fingertips, what would he do? “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
He nods, but his smile dissolves. “And you?”
“I don’t know what I wanted before…but I have a pretty good idea of what I want now.”
He glances at me, holding my gaze for a moment, before staring ahead again. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I hope once I find out who I am, she wants the same things I want now.”
“I hope so, too.” He sighs and says, “They’re quiet back there.”
