Page 41 of Feral Guardian
“How long have we been riding?” I ask, my voice sounding husky.
“Through most of the night. We rested for an hour when you threw up on Kor’Tar.”
I gasp and look down at the horse. My eyes immediately regret opening, and the stab of pain through my skull makes me curse. I grab Kor’Tar’s silky black mane and pet him softly.
“I’m so sorry, boy,” I whisper.
He chuffs, twin billows of hot steam emitting from his nostrils.
“Anything else I should know about?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at Alastair.
He looks exhausted. There are specks of blood in his hair, but it’s clear he’s washed his face. Dark bags sit under his eyes, and he wears a bleak expression.
“Nothing important,” he says with a grimace.
We trot on for another few minutes, and my lower belly informs me of another need it has. I squirm in the seat to try to keep the sensation at bay. I don’t want to ask Alastair to stop before he wants to.
I squirm again, trying to apply pressure to relieve the sensation, but to no avail. Alastair’s hand presses more firmly against me and I hiss in a breath at the growing need.
“What is it? Are you hurt?” he asks.
“No, I’m fine.” I sit up straighter and fiddle with Kor’Tar’s hair to distract myself.
“Why are you wiggling, then?”
“No reason.”
“Lilianna,” he growls.
“Fine! I need to pee, all right?”
“You should have said so,” he says, steering Kor’Tar off the narrow path we’re traveling.
“What are you doing?” I ask, twisting around to look at him with a scowl.
“Stopping so you may relieve yourself,” he says, his cheeks a deeper color than normal.
“But there’s no…” My protest dies on my lips as I realize the situation. I have no idea where we are, and no idea when a tavern or some magical privy might appear. There will be no holding it for an indefinite amount of time.
I’m going to have to squat in the woods like a beast…
The pines and budding maples don’t offer much coverage this close to the road, but I see as we navigate around fallen logs and smaller clusters of bushes that we’re coming to an outcropping of rocks that will provide something to lean against and shelter me from prying eyes. Not that there are any eyes around here but Alastair’s and Kor’Tar’s.
“This is how travelers do it all the time,” Alastair assures me as he pulls to a stop and slides from the saddle.
My whole body chills immediately and I shiver.
“Ah, yes.” He pulls a garnet stone ring from his finger and grabs my hand, then slides the ring onto my thumb.
Slowly, warmth envelops me once more and I look at the ring curiously. “How does this work?”
“Urictsa, ward-bound,” he says as he grabs hold of my waist. “It creates a shield around your body that traps your heat.”
He squeezes a little too tightly as he pulls me down and I nearly piss myself. I hiss and clench my muscles as he mumbles an apology. I take a moment to gather my strength for running into the woods and then stride toward the gray stone outcropping.
“Don’t go too far,” he says, watching me.
“I don’t want you to hear anything I’m doing,” I say indignantly.
