Page 28 of The Lands Defying
No, he wouldn’t.
“I would think there was something wrong with you if you did that, Darius, but the thought of you doing this is funny. I can’t wait to tell Damian.”
“Don’t you dare,” he growls as I giggle.
Oh the amount of shit he is about to get. I can’t wait.
“Three coins,” an older woman says, nodding to the wolf.
“Oh, no thank you.” I put it down and continue through the crowd. Darius’s hand brushes against mine a moment later as he catches up to me, eyeing everyone who gets too close.
“I like it when you laugh. I don’t hear it often,” Darius says gruffly, like admitting it is the equivalent of walking over the glass we were just looking at.
I smile behind my mask, but it soon drops when I really think about it. It has been a while, and now I feel guilty because my pack is still out there, Kade is still trapped and I’m here… laughing.
I swallow, but a hand landing on the nape of my neck and hauling me into a solid chest instantly calms me.
I feel his magic seeping through the material of the cloak and cooling my neck, comforting me.
“Don’t,” Darius says softly, uncaring that others are bumping and knocking into him, making sure no one touches me. “You can laugh without sadness, little wolf, even for a moment.”
How does this male always seem to know what’s going through my mind?
I raise my eyes to meet his, my hand landing on his chest. “Are you a mind reader?”
Now he chuckles, and tingles spread through my body. “No, I just know you.”
“How?” I wonder.
“Because I watch, I learn. It’s impossible to keep my eyes off you, so naturally, I pick up on things.” I blink, licking my lips behind the mask. His eyes drop, and even though he couldn’t see it, his nostrils flare like he could. “Let’s go before I make this town witness something indecent. Which I’m sure you would not appreciate.”
I shiver, and look down as he grabs my hand and guides me along.
“My mom would have loved this,” I say, smiling as a child darts past, what looks to be like her brother chasing her.
“You enjoy it, so I can believe that.” I look over some brightly colored material I have never seen before. It looks as soft as a cloud. “It wasn’t her fault,” Darius says quietly.
“Hm?” I ask, not really listening.
“The rogures,” Darius says. “It wasn’t your mom’s fault.” I suck in a breath sharply and turn toward him. His eyes shine with honesty, and my shoulders slump in some sort of relief with hearing him say that.
Not knowing I needed it.
I know the circumstances were dire with what we saw in the memory, but I think my mom had no choice but to do what she did. I think the alternative we couldn’t have known about would have been much worse.
“Thank you for saying that to me.” He shrugs like it’s nothing, but it’s everything.
To know he doesn’t blame my mother for what the rogures have done. For what they did to his family.
“Silk.” He nods toward the material and I blink. Oh, it’s called silk.
I run a hand down it. “It feels like… a cloud.” My smile is wide when I turn to him. He looks into my eyes for a moment and turns away, arms folding over his chest as his nostrils flare. I huff out a laugh. “You’re ridiculous.” Another grunt.
We pass a long stall of fish being cooked over multiple small fires in circular pots. The kindling burns inside of it as two metal prongs hold up the fish in the center.
I’ve never seen anything cooked like this before.
“Do you want one?” Darius asks, and I wrinkle my nose.
