Aren.
“Let’s go while they’re still distracted.”
He dragged her between two stalls, heading toward the lake. Moments later, she heard shouts of alarm as her captors realized she’d escaped.
“This way.”
Aren guided her down to the water, but it wasn’t until they were on the stones paving its banks that she realized what he intended. “It’s forbidden!”
“I remember. And given most of these people are probably no better swimmers than you, they’ll never think to look out here.”
The water was warmer than the air around her, almost like a bath as Aren led her deeper into the lake, the depths rising to her hips and then her waist, but when it dropped off at the next step, she scrambled back.
“We’re too close to the edge. Hold on to me.”
There was no sense arguing given that bobbing lights were coming down to the water, a search for her underway. Wrapping her arms around Aren’s shoulders, she tried to keep her breathing steady as he walked silently toward the center of the lake, where he paused, the water just beneath his chin.
They were searching the grove surrounding the lake, moving steadily around the perimeter, but not once did one of them look to the darkness of the waters. Farther away, she could hear sounds of the town being searched, the voices filled with fury. They’d leave no stone unturned.
Lara’s head spun, the small sips of water she took doing nothing to quell her growing nausea. Her arms cramped, the effort of holding onto Aren almost beyond her capability. Her body shuddered, and she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart, but it did no good.
Then Aren’s hand caught hold of her wrist, pulling her around in front of him, where he gripped her waist. Her burned skin screamed at his touch, and she bit down on a whimper.
“Use your legs.”
Trembling, she wrapped her naked legs around his waist, the skin of her inner thighs mercifully unburned. Easing her arms around his neck, she rested her forehead against his cheek, feeling his breath brush her ear. His chest pressed against her breasts, and she wasn’t certain if it was his racing heart she felt or her own.
“Easy,” he murmured, his hands catching her under the arms for added support, careful not to touch where it would hurt. “You’ll be okay.”
“You came back for me.”
“You thought I wouldn’t?” Though his voice was nothing more than a whisper, she heard his incredulity.
Her jaw trembled, and she gave the slightest of nods.
“Lara . . .” His hand cupped her cheek and moved her face so that she was looking him in the eye, though it was too dark to see more than shadows. His breath was warm against her lips, and she heard it quicken as she tightened her legs around him, tangling her fingers in his hair.
God help her, but she loved him. Needed him like she needed air to breathe. Wanted him, despite her body feeling like it was on the brink of death.
Then his lips brushed hers, and it felt like everything fell away. Like there was nothing in all the world but the two of them. She trembled, pulling herself closer against him, until he whispered, “Lara, no matter where you are in the world, if you need me, I’ll come for you. Please know that.”
Reality slapped her in the face, and with it, pain that filled her core. No matter where she . . . Because she might be anywhere, but it wouldn’t be with him. Couldn’t be with him, she knew. And yet . . .
They remained silent, hiding in the water until the searchers moved away from the shore, then Aren started toward the low cliff where the tiny waterfall that filled the lake trickled. Reaching the edge, he held her steady until she had a grip on the rocks.
They climbed, then Aren paused to peer over the lip. “It’s clear. Can you run?”
Lara felt like she could barely walk, but she nodded.
“Go.”
Her bare feet thudded softly as she ran. Her wet hair slapped against her naked back, making her wince in pain. She stumbled, barely able to keep her footing, but it wasn’t until they’d crossed over a dune and were down the other side that she finally collapsed.
“I’ve got you,” Aren said in her ear as he picked her up. “You’ll be all right.”
Blood roared in her ears, the stars above spinning, then all the world fell into blackness.
36
Aren
He carried her shivering body through the darkness, following the tracks in the sand. No easy task, given he needed to keep the lantern to a nearly imperceptible glow, lest he draw the attention of the searchers in the town.
The camels, boy, and corpses were where he’d left them. The boy’s eyes widened as they landed on Lara, who remained unconscious.
“Look the other way,” Aren growled at him before lowering his naked wife onto the sand. Turning up the glow of the lantern, he grimaced at the sight of her sunburned back and shoulders. She was feverishly hot to the touch, both her breathing and pulse far more rapid than they should be.
Digging through the packs on the camels, Aren found the boy’s bag, which contained a spare set of clothing that would fit Lara. She whimpered as he pulled the garments onto her, trying to curl in on herself. The task took up more time than he cared to spare. After stripping Jack of the merchant’s goods, he draped Lara over the camel’s back, using lengths of fabric rather than coarse rope to bind her to the saddle. Then he turned on the boy.
“I’m going to let you go. Find yourself better travel companions.”
Adjusting the boy’s bindings so that it was possible to crawl, Aren pointed back to the oasis. “If you start now, you might make it before the sun comes up.”
Checking that the animals were still secured to one another, Aren took up Jack’s lead and then nudged him with the stick to get him and the others to stand. “Keep your teeth to yourself,” he warned the animal. “I’ve got two replacements right behind you.”
Jack gave him a reproachful glare but dutifully followed Aren as they headed south.
Lara was sick for days, barely able to keep food down, and too exhausted to do anything but slump in Jack’s saddle. The skin on her back blistered, and where it didn’t, it was a livid red. Her jaw locked with pain every time he applied the salve he’d found in one of the camel’s packs. She was unconscious more often than not, mumbling and crying out in her sleep, though whether from old terrors or new, he couldn’t have said. Yet Aren had no choice but to set a grueling pace across the red dunes, riding through the night and into the day until the heat became unbearable.
Only when they reached the edge of the desert and into the rolling hills of Valcotta, did she recover. And the sight of her striding next to him, sword belted at her waist, was more welcome than the gurgling streams of precious water that appeared. With the return of her health, his mind had the opportunity to turn to thoughts beyond survival.
“We can camp here until tomorrow morning,” she announced, veering off the road toward a copse of trees. A brook ran through them, prior travelers having dammed it with stones to create a pool a few feet deep.
“Barely back on your feet and you’re already telling me what to do. Makes me long for the days when you couldn’t string together a coherent sentence.”