Page 61 of Destined to the Lycan
Remus walked to the rock face towards what appeared to be a shallow nook that could provide a reasonable shelter. In no universe would it qualify as a cave, but it was deep enough toprotect us from the elements should it begin to rain, or should strong winds blast our way.
He dropped most of our bags in the nook before donning his clothes. Once done, he came back my way. I had been walking around the plateau looking for the best spot to draw the circle, when I recognized the area where I had drawn the circle in the illusion Lyall had cast me into. Had it been his way of telling me this was the best location?
“Here,” I said to Remus while pointing at the ground when he stopped next to me. “That’s where I will draw the circle.”
“I got it,” Remus said in an imperious tone.
To my shock, instead of handing me the bag with the salt, candles, and chalk, Remus got to work, drawing the circle perfectly, as I had taught him.
“You don’t have to—”
“I don’t, but Iwantto,” Remus said, interrupting my feeble protest in a firm but gentle fashion. “Right now, what you need to do is rest and save your strength for tonight. You can supervise my work to make sure it is up to your standards.”
Once again, tears pricked my eyes at just how thoughtful and protective he was. In that instant, I realized that no one would have brought me here the way he did. They would have bailed along the way or set a much slower pace that would have guaranteed my demise before we ever reached our destination.
I watched as he completed his task flawlessly. He had been attentive during the brief training, but considering nearly forty-eight hours had gone by since then, I would have expected him to forget something or mess up a part of the runic patterns inside the circle.
“You’re really good at this,” I whispered with awe. “Should you ever wish to reorient your career as a summoner’s assistant, you will be quite successful.”
He snorted and gave me an amused smile, although I didn’t miss the more serious glint in his eyes.
“The only witch I would work for is you. So unless you decide to shift your chandler business to witchcraft, I think I’ll stick to my guide career.”
He finished positioning the candles around the circle. Once I gave him my approval for a job well done, he carried me back to the nook where he had left the rest of our belongings. He settled on the ground at an angle that allowed him to keep an eye on the circle and sat me across his lap. We cuddled while awaiting nightfall.
“We need to discuss what will happen after,” I said softly, my cheek resting on his shoulder.
“After?” he echoed.
I nodded. “There are only ten days left before the full moon. Assuming that the snake tail’s venom takes the longest amount of time to neutralize the poison in my veins before I can get the second bite, that would only leave you with five days to reach one of your shelters. Will that be enough time for you?”
To my surprise, Remus smiled reassuringly.
“That’s more than enough time. Your number one concern should be about how we will getyouto a safe place to recover after that second bite,” he replied teasingly.
I blinked. “I just assumed I would stay here until I got better, and you would come get me back down to civilization after the full moon.”
I felt my cheeks burned with embarrassment at the look he gave me. In truth, I had been too worried about his welfare to focus on my own. Not to mention the fact that, deep down, I didn’t really believe I would survive this entire ordeal. It shamed me to feel this way especially now that I had something to live for. But with every passing day, this entire mission struck me as more and more insane and farfetched.
Nobody survived Ranael’s poison.
“I would never leave you here. Although this place is technically safe, you will be fighting one of the most virulent poisons in the world. Someone needs to watch over you during that time. I will do so for as long as I can. And it won’t be in this unpleasant setting.”
“Where will it be?” I asked, confused.
“I have already arranged for a place for you to stay after the second bite. It is not far from here. I only need a little over one day of carrying you to reach that shelter. It belongs to Misty’s daughter. She agreed to watch over you when I can’t.”
“Oh wow! That’s wonderful. But I don’t recall seeing any dwellings on our way up,” I countered.
“Because we didn’t encounter one,” he replied in an indulgent tone. “You were sleeping when we walked past the passage branching off of the path leading up to this plateau. That other passage takes us down to the valley on the other side of the mountain.”
“Okay,” I said carefully. “But that doesn’t solve the situation for you.”
He smiled again. “It will take me less than two days to reach one of my safe houses closest to her home. So that’s plenty of time before the full moon.”
“Oh! That’s great then!” I exclaimed, relieved. “You thought of everything!”
He gave me the most endearing smug smile. “I tried to. That’s why I delayed our departure. I had to plan and get everything in place before we left.”
