Page 90 of Somewhere down the Ley Line
Isolde quirked an eyebrow at him. “And what do we have?”
“Each other, I guess.” He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then let his fingertips trail along the side of her face. Isolde closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
How does he do that? Make me feel safe, despite everything?
“Gag,” Leif muttered from his spot on the floor, covering his face with one hand. “Really, in front of Biscuit? No shame.”
Felix threw a pebble at him. “You’re welcome to go build your own bloody fire and sleep somewhere else.”
“I can’t move; Biscuit is sleeping,” Leif countered, pointing at the puppy snuggled up against his side.
“I can help with that,” Felix said with a grin as he picked up another stone and threatened to throw it at Biscuit.
“Don’t you dare!” Isolde said, smiling at the little dog, who made small yipping noises and twitched occasionally in his sleep.
Felix laughed quietly and snaked his arm around her back, pulling her closer. “As my lady commands,” he murmured into her hair.
The moment was peaceful. Light, even. As Isolde gazed up at the sky, watching it slowly shift from violet to deep, dark purple, she could almost imagine they were simply on a journey for the joy of it, for the sake of adventure and wanderlust.
***
It didn’t last, of course. Luella appeared in the circle of firelight, followed on her heels by Mia and Garren. Her breathing was uneven, and she pushed back the hood of her cloak.
“There’s a group of them heading our way, coming from the north. Mercenaries, armed. Led by a mage. An hour away, two at most.”
Felix was already on his feet. Isolde’s heart clenched as the quiet changed abruptly from tranquil to oppressive. Mia and Leif shifted uncomfortably, glancing at her. Garren stepped forward and took a breath as if to say something, but Isolde was quicker.
“It’s alright,” she said as she stood up. “We knew this was coming. We are heading straight for them, after all. We would have run into them at some point.” She kept her voice steady, but her fingers twisted together nervously. Felix glanced down at her hands.
Isolde bit the inside of her cheek. What was wisdom? Flee, fight, hide? Her father had once told her, in one of his rare moments of attempting to connect, that it was always best to keep one’s enemies close. That way, they could never sneak up on you. She nodded to herself. This once, she would take his advice.
She caught Luella’s eyes. “Would you go meet them and lead them to us?”
Luella hesitated, glancing over at Garren and Felix. “You… want me to bring them here?”
“Yes,” Isolde said. “We might as well encounter them on our terms, instead of having them surprise us in the middle of the night with everyone asleep. One mage, you said?”
“One mage. Eight mercenaries,” Luella answered.
“And they are coming from the Nexus, you think?”
“They are moving north to south. I can’t imagine where else they came from.”
Isolde looked at the surrounding terrain. There was a lot of rocky debris. The walls could provide cover. Her eyes slid over the sword at Garren’s side, the bowon Luella’s back, then landed on the dagger strapped to Felix’s forearm. When her gaze travelled up to meet his, his smirk was sharp and wicked.
“You’re thinking we can take them,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
She pursed her lips and nodded. “If we have to.”
He huffed out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “You are absolutely terrifying.”
The teasing compliment made her insides flutter with something very different from fear. For a heartbeat there was only him, cast in the warm glow of firelight, grinning like none of this was even the least bit scary at all.
“When you two aredone,”Luella cut in loudly, arms crossed, one foot tapping on the stones.
“Right,” Isolde said, flushing. “So, um, will you?”
“Alright,” Luella agreed. She pulled her hood back up and made to leave.
