Page 113 of Deadwood
My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “That can’t— But he said?—”
“He’s manipulating you.” His voice sounded strained as the veins in his hands blackened, the web of dark strings climbing up his neck.
“Lander is educating me,” I defended. “Something no one else has offered to me. How am I supposed to know who to believe?”
He stepped closer, bending forward so our noses were nearly touching. “Maybe the man who’s saved your life countless times now, and given you the option to get out of the situation that’skillingyou.”
My breath stuck in my lungs. He was right. Bowen had shown no ill will toward me. He’d helped me, taken my people in, saved me from certain death, whereas Lander had been all too comfortable with the circumstances at hand, not thinking twice about bringing me back to my father.
I had to trust Bowen. He’d given me no reason not to.
With that thought in mind, I wanted to make the most out of my time left with him.
“I have one request before I leave.”
He waited, that raw hunger still shining bright in his eyes.
“Take me to see the bison.”
CHAPTER 35
AURIA
After a night of restless sleep, I met Bowen in the meadow clearing behind Deadwood. It had been too late in the day for him to take me as soon as I’d asked, so he’d promised this morning that he would follow through on my request to see the bison. To my surprise, he was waiting where he’d told me to meet him with his back against a tree, one leg kicked up with a foot resting on the bark as he bit into an apple.
“Sleep well?” Bowen asked, pushing off the tree as soon as I entered the grassy expanse surrounded on all sides by thick groups of trees.
“As well as I could,” I replied, suddenly thirsty for an entire bucket of water. The ale had dehydrated me, and I greatly regretted overindulging.
He crossed the field, holding the apple out to me. “Long night from the anticipation of seeing me again, or the alcohol?”
I ignored his offering as well as his snarky question. “Are we walking to the bison?” They had seemed far off in the distance on our way into Deadwood, so I doubted it’d be a short trip on foot.
He dropped his hand. “You know, there are far more interesting things to see in Deadwood than a herd of bison.”
I quirked a brow. “Oh, yeah? What did you have in mind?”
He shrugged, eyes scanning the trees behind me. He was about to open his mouth when my memory struck me. “Actually, now that you mention it, I do recall seeing some sort of building in the forest.”
His gaze shot to mine, and it seemed he was trying to cover his surprise at my acknowledgment of it. “When did you see that?”
A smile tugged at my lips for taking him off guard, but I stifled it. “The night I went to the cave.”
A gust of wind blew through the trees, rustling my hair, but neither of us took our gazes off each other.
“Best to stay away from there,” he finally said.
“The building or the cave?”
“Both.”
With the vulnerable look in his eyes, I assumed that, whatever the structure was, it meant something to him, so I decided to let it go. “I suppose we’ll have to settle on the bison, then.”
He tossed the apple in the air, his casual demeanor slipping back into place seamlessly, and caught the half eaten fruit again. “Might want something in your stomach for this, Princess.”
“How do you know I haven’t eaten breakfast already?”
He admired the fruit like it was the most interesting thing he’d seen all week. “I think you rushed here first thing, forgetting to even have a sip of water.”
