I nodded. “Knock yourselves out. Just stay close to the cabin. Wilderness or not, we can’t risk attracting any clones, let alone those freakish shadow monsters.”
“I’ll work on the fountain,” Astra replied. “We need water. I’m parched. No wonder I was getting sluggish earlier.”
I didn’t object. We all had something to do. I decided to clear away some of the dust and get sleeping places prepared for later. Provided our armory raid went well, we’d have this cabin to come back to. And if my suspicions about the bad energies in this place were true, we needed to get as much sleep as possible before continuing with the rest of our mission.
My mind kept wandering back to Myst. No matter what I did, she lingered in the back of my mind, and I couldn’t get her out. She remained there with her golden hair and spectacular armor, her strange blue eyes and supple skin, her sweet voice and the power of her light. Maybe Astra was right. Maybe that wasn’t the last I’d see of her. She had abilities that left me speechless. I yearned to know more about who and what she was.
This place had yet to run out of surprises. Most would be bad, but I had high hopes that some might still surprise me in a good way. After all, we’d made it this far.
Dafne
I doubted anyone had noticed but being around Jericho made me nervous. There was something about him that demanded my complete attention, and more than once he had been my protector. My father and mother had taught me to rely on myself. Maybe I had taken that to an extreme growing up, since I tended to steer clear of most people. I only had a handful of friends, but I genuinely loved and trusted them. Isabelle was one of them, so being here, searching for her… It made all the sense in the world to me.
Jericho was an unexpected element in my world, however, and I wasn’t sure what to make of him. We poked fun at each other. He was remarkably resistant to my sarcastic jabs, and he never took himself too seriously. I’d learned from Soph that Jericho had a way with girls—apparently, he was quite the charmer, never lacking company of the feminine kind. In the end, none of the women who traipsed through his life ever stuck around. It made me curious about whether they were the ones to leave or whether he pushed them away. Either way, I had been just fine on my own. Why risk any kind of vulnerability with a guy who’d known plenty of girls? I didn’t want weakness, nor did I need a man in order to be happy. Of course, my feelings were telling me otherwise, but I chose to focus on our major fake Shade and clone issue to keep my mind off Jericho. Hopefully, it would work.
“Are you okay?” Jericho asked, dragging me back to reality. We’d been treading the dense woods around the cabin, gathering some fruits and nuts in a pair of linen bags we’d found hanging by the front door. His turquoise eyes had a way of looking right into my soul, making me feel soft on the inside. It scared me a little.
“Yes. Just thinking about Thayen. He’ll need blood. We should hunt something as well,” I told him. But Jericho didn’t seem concerned.
“He’ll be fine. Soph and I can give him some of our blood. It’ll get him through a couple of days, at least. I know daemon blood has an extra kick to it.”
We found a wild peach tree with fruits as big as my fist, dew glistening on the pinkish fuzz. I started picking the biggest ones, further stuffing a bag I’d already loaded with a variety of nuts and apples and pears. Much like The Shade back home, fruit trees were growing in the wild here, though not as richly as in our orchards. “If Thayen’s okay with that, sure. Personally, I’ll be happy if we don’t have to make a fire at all. The smoke might draw the enemy closer. We know Haldor can’t stay away forever,” I said.
“Astra’s got some Daughter magic up her sleeve. I think she can pull something off. The nights get pretty cold this time of year. I’m naturally hot and rarely suffer from low temperatures, so I could warm you guys up at night. Well, one of you. Any more and it’ll be a crowd. I’m not into crowds.”
I couldn’t help but turn to look at him. He wore a boyish smile as he waited for me to pick up on the half-joke. It was the half-truth that enticed me, though. The idea of spending the night in his arms. Jericho had a way with words, even when it seemed he didn’t say much. I wondered what it would be like if I just gave into my most hidden, primal instincts and allowed him to wrap his arms around me. Would my heart give out? Would my legs melt? It sounded like fun to just play along, yet I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wanted to, but the walls of ice I’d built around myself over the years were hard to knock down.
“I’m all ice, Jericho. Your heat would do nothing for me. I thrive in the cold,” I said and almost heard his humor deflating like an expired balloon. I felt bad as I watched his playful smirk fade away into something more awkward. Truth be told, I did enjoy playing with him in my own way. Jericho didn’t relent, though.
“That’s a shame. My dragon heat will be right here, waiting, in case you change your mind.”
“You’re too kind,” I replied, smiling, then climbed into the peach tree and reached for the top, where the best fruit usually grew. They were harder to spot at night, but Mom had taught me about these things when we spent the occasional summer in the Vale with the humans. I remembered hating it back then. I’d always felt closer to the ice dragons. We were reclusive creatures by nature, so it was no surprise that I’d inherited that personality trait.
The fire dragons were a little friendlier, and Jericho had been raised in a big and loving family among the Novaks. I doubted he understood these tiny differences that could make or break any relationship I might enter into. I felt his eyes on me as I collected more fruit.
“You know, I don’t think I got to tell you earlier, but I’m impressed with your dragon form. Sure, you’re smaller than your full-blooded kin, but you make up for it with speed and agility,” he said. “In that sense, we’re alike.”
“Yeah, I noticed you’re tiny. I’m pretty sure I pointed it out once.” I should’ve thanked him instead, but I couldn’t help myself. Heat burst in my cheeks, and something tickled my throat, yet I remained steady in my frosty demeanor. If Jericho was determined to reach my heart, I wouldn’t make it easy for him.
He laughed. “True. But we do kick major clone ass, don’t we?”
I looked down at him. “We most certainly do. We make a good team. That much is undeniable.”
“I’m glad you’re with us,” he said, suddenly serious, his gaze softening slightly. “None of what we’re dealing with is in any way normal, but I’m glad you’re around. It makes the insanity more bearable.”
That was the sweetest thing he’d said so far. Jericho was clearly a man of many shades. The playful one who liked to laugh and make jokes. The fearless fighter who roared with fire and avenged his friends and loved ones. The calculated soldier who followed orders but also knew how to take initiative and seize an opportunity. The sweet and caring creature before me now who looked up and bore his soul to me.
“I’d say the same thing about you,” I replied, resting on one of the top branches with the bag hanging from one arm. “While my ice powers and dragon form do come in handy, it seems your fire is most precious in this crazy world. Fire is light, and light keeps the bad shadows away.”