Kerrick glared at Quain.
“Hush,” Loren said to Quain. “Let Mommy and Daddy fight.”
“Will you be able to keep our secrets from him?” Kerrick asked.
A good question. “He lied to me in the dreams, so I should be able to lie to him, too.” I hoped.
“How about we just separate the last night?”
“The dreams usually start a couple days after you’re gone.” I shifted closer to Kerrick. “It’ll be fine.”
His shoulders sagged. “All right, but I decide who goes with you.”
“Custody battle,” Loren quipped.
I scowled at him, but Loren just smiled. Squeezing Kerrick’s waist, I said, “All right.”
“Belen and the monkeys will go with you. Flea stays with me.”
A protest died in my throat. Hard to split three horses evenly. “Okay.”
“We’ll split up after our first rest stop.”
“Yes, sir.”
Loren beamed. “Aww—”
* * *
Kerrick woke me before checking on the horses. It took me a moment to remember where we were—in the woods. My arms and chest muscles had stiffened while I slept. I pushed up my sleeve and took a quick peek. Purple and red welts ringed the still-tender bite marks. The wounds should have been further along in the healing process, but I’d given most of my magical energy to Kerrick.
Belen approached and I tugged my cuff down, covering the bruises.
He inclined his head at my arm. “Is there a reason you haven’t told anyone about those?”
“I mentioned it yesterday.”
“One bite is a far cry from what he did to you.”
“It’s in the past. No need to worry anyone. They’ll heal.” I stood and rolled up my blanket.
“You mean, no need to worry Kerrick,” he corrected.
“Yes.”
“He’ll find out eventually. Just like the dreams.”
“But if I tell him now, he’ll refuse to let us split up.”
Belen raised a bushy eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”
Before I formed an answer, he turned and joined Kerrick at the horses, helping to saddle Tea, who wouldn’t stand still for anyone except Poppa Bear—the annoying man who had a good point.
Before we mounted, I pulled Kerrick aside. “I need to talk to you...in private.”
He nodded and we walked deeper into the forest.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as we were out of hearing range.
How to tell him? I leaned my back against a tree and closed my eyes.
“Avry? What’s the matter?”
His voice held worry, alarm, and a softness—love.
Opening my eyes, I met his concerned gaze. “Remember when I’d said the Skeleton King bit me?”
Kerrick nodded.
“The reason... Well, he asked me a bunch of questions, and when I refused to answer...” I yanked my collar down, exposing a couple of the half-moon-shaped teeth marks. “He’d bite me. And you know me... Stubborn.”
The horror of the torture slammed into me anew. Kerrick drew me into his arms and held on as shudders racked my body.
When I calmed, he asked, “How bad?”
“Most of my upper body.”
He growled low in his throat. “If he doesn’t die from the plague, I’m going to chop him into a million little pieces and feed him to a pack of ufas.”
I smiled at the image. “I’ll help.”
Kerrick pulled back to look at me. “That’s my girl.”
“Yours?”
“Oh, yes. After this is all over, we’ll make it official.”
While a warmth spread throughout my body, I couldn’t resist saying, “Are you asking or telling me?”
He groaned. “Oh, no, I’m not going to answer. I’m not falling for it.”
“Falling for what?”
“The trap. If I say I’m asking, then you’ll tease me forever about my horrible timing. And if I say telling, then you’ll automatically do the opposite.”
“Come on, lovebirds,” Quain called. “We’re burning daylight.”
Kerrick grew serious. “My first reaction to your...news was to insist we stay together. But I’ll never get that chance to propose until we stop Tohon. So I’ll have to settle for saying, be very careful.”
“Belen and the monkeys will be with me. What can go wrong?” Not the right answer if I interpreted his flat stare correctly. “I will.”
“Good.” He kissed me.
We joined the others and I mounted Tea, settling in behind Belen. Even with all the weight he’d lost, he still blocked my view. Kerrick insisted we take the northeast route around Grzebien while he and Flea headed northwest and closer to Vyg’s border. Worry about Kerrick hibernating without me near him flared. Flea should be able to share energy with Kerrick and keep him awake. Should, which didn’t mean he could—hence the worry.
With a wave goodbye we set off. I wrapped my arms around Belen, glad for this time with him. Glad he forgave me for letting him think I’d died back in the spring. From enduring the burning heartache when I’d believed he’d been turned into one of Tohon’s dead, I realized how cruel it had been for me to pretend to be dead. And then with Kerrick... I shuddered. No, I wouldn’t dwell on that horrible time. Instead, I would enjoy these five days with Belen and the monkeys. And I vowed to treat each moment as a gift.