Page 129 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
“Okay.” She carefully rose to her feet. “I’ve got to go.”
“You should stay and rest,” Galadon said, frowning.
Rayna ground her teeth. “For one, I would rather rest somewhere there isn’t a bunch of shifters glaring at me and considering my imminent demise.” There were five in the room whose gazes could have shot daggers. “For two, I have to pee.”
She carefully tested her leg and found it could hold her weight. It was still tender and weak, but she could almost walk without a limp. She headed for the door, making her way around the cots full of hostile shifters. Galadon followed close behind her, and they quickly turned their heads away. Was he giving them his dirty looks?
They stepped outside, and she turned to face him. “You aren’t going with me.”
“I won’t follow you inside, but I’m not leaving you alone when you’re not at full strength.” The look in his eyes told her it would be useless to argue.
She made a frustrated sound. “Fine.”
Rayna headed for one of the outhouses the humans had built so they didn’t have to do their business in the open. She slammed the door behind her and prayed Galadon wasn’t listening while she peed. The shifter seemed determined to embarrass her today.
After she came out, he gave her another grin. “I didn’t know a small, human woman could hold that much.”
“Well, maybe, if the enemy gave us more potty breaks, I wouldn’t have to hold it so long.” Not to mention the long walk back and the pain distracting her from it before.
He brushed past her and went inside. A moment later, Rayna could hear him urinating. She suspected he was doing it to mark his territory and cover her scent, which was crazy. There had to be dozens of people’s pee down there.
She decided not to stick around for more of his annoying comments. Scanning the area around her, she spotted a few tents on the other side of some trees a couple of hundred feet away that looked like they belonged to the coalition. They were the same design as the ones at the other bunkers—plain green canvas. She’d slept in them at other locations with no trouble.
Rayna began heading in that direction. Her leg still ached, so she couldn’t move too quickly. She made it a whole fifty feet before Galadon’s hand grabbed her bicep and spun her around to face him.
“Where are you going?” he asked, appearing annoyed.
She pointed toward the tents. “To sleep with the coalition soldiers. What do you care?”
“You’re still limping.”
Rayna clenched her fists. “So? Do you want to point out any more of my flawswhile you’re at it?”
Why did he have to be extra annoying today, and why was he the one pursuing her?
“You’re going to need this.” He held up her jar of ointment. “You left it on the shelf in the outhouse.”
She gritted her teeth. “Give it back.”
“If you want it, you’re going to have to follow me,” Galadon saidand strutted away.
She gritted her teeth. “You always go out of your way to avoid me, but not now. Why?”
“I have my reasons, but you’ll have to come with me to find out.”
He walked slowly enough that she caught up to him as he led her past the coalition tents. They eventually came to a street with a giant crater in the middle of it.Just past that, she spotted a yellow farmhouse with fences and pasture around it. After so much war and fighting, it almost didn’t seem real.
“I claimed this place for myself,” he said, leading her straight to the house.
She looked at him incredulously. “And you’re taking me to your lair?”
“I’ve covered the windows so it’s darker for sleep, and there is a fireplace for warmth,” he replied as if that explained everything. “You will be safe and comfortable.”
For a moment, she considered if he was bringing her somewhere private to kill her, but that was stupid. He’d gonethrough too much trouble to keep her alive and healthy up until now. So, what did he want?
They climbed the steps to a wraparound porch, and then he opened the door, gesturing forher to pass him and go inside. Rayna hesitated momentarily, trying to read his face, but his expression told her nothing. Fine, she was too curious and had to see it through.
There was a large living room right past the entrance with wood floors. A solitary couch sat across from the fireplace with a black camrium blanket covering it, but no other furniture was in the room. Though dim, one of the curtains had been pulled back to allow some morning light. Her heart was thundering in her chest, but she made herself sit calmly on the couch. It felt good to get off her leg.
