“What isit?” I huffed, my fingers subconsciously picking at the hilt of my dagger. When I realized what I was doing, I let go of it, crossing my arms in front of my chest instead. My eyes narrowed. “If you don’t want me to stab you again, you will fill me in on what is going on.”
He stopped pacing, mirroring my position as he glared down at me. “Really? We’re back to threats?”
“It seems to be the only thing that makes you act,” I replied, not trying to temper the snark in my tone. There was just something about this male that set my teeth on edge. Every single emotion within my body flared as he scowled down at me. It was as though my entire body was on fire as I snapped, “Are you going to tell me what is going on?”
“Patience really isn’t your strong suit, is it, Ana?”
I tilted my head, baring my teeth at him. “I don’t know. Most people don’t try my patience like you do,Xander.”
“Fine. You want to know what I’m thinking?”
“Yes,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “That’s exactly what I said. Do you have problems hearing? Maybe it would help if I yelled it a little louder so everyone can hear?”
He shook his head, his nostrils flaring. “No,” he hissed, lowering his voice. “We don’t want to attract attention. It’s dangerous to stand out from the others. And you and I both know we are trying to staysafe.”
“Then explain to me what is going on!” I whisper-yelled.
“Come with me.” He grabbed my hand, huffing as he adjusted the bow slung over his shoulder before dragging me into the forest. “We can’t go into the city with you looking like this.” He moved his hand in front of me.
I sputtered, my eyes widening. Blood rushed to my face as I clenched my fists and fought the urge to stomp my foot on the leafy ground. “You just gestured to all of me!”
He nodded, his eyes firm. “We won’t get within ten feet of the walls. You look like… well, I won’t say the word because it isn’t appropriate for your maiden ears.”
Gasping, I lurched away from him. “I’m not a maiden, you pig-headed fool,” I seethed. Blood rushed to my face, and I knew beneath my hood, my ears were likely turning red.
Raising a brow, he tilted his head. “You’re not? I could have sworn you gave off a maidenly aura.”
“I-I… ugh!” I threw up my hands and stormed away from him. This male. This infuriating, vexing, horrible male. Not only could he tell I was lying, but he just wouldn’t stop pushing my buttons. Of all the people I had to run into. Pivoting on my heel, I shook my finger at him, my eyes narrowing. “I dislike you immensely.”
Something that sounded like a snort came from Xander’s direction, but when I glared at him from over my shoulder, an impassive look was on his face.
“I’m not so fond of you either, Sunshine,” he muttered.
I inhaled sharply, my eyes widening as I pulled my dagger out from its sheath. The metal zinged in the air as I asked through clenched teeth, “Whatdid you call me?”
He stood his ground, widening his stance. He somehow looked even more imposing than he had before. Larger. More dangerous. I could have sworn heat was coming off his body as he snarled, “You heard me. Sunshine. Because of yoursparklingpersonality.”
“How dare you?” I gasped. “You don’t speak to me for hours and now you have the gall to callmenames? I’m shocked more people aren’t lining up to stab you with the way you talk.”
He snorted. “Thank you for proving my point. In all my years, I’ve never met someone as inclined to violence as you seem to be. Now, are you going to make us stand out here until the moon rises, or can we get going?”
I crossed my arms, careful not to stab myself with my dagger. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain what’s going on.”
One second, Xander was standing at least ten feet away from me. The next, he was right next to me, grabbing my elbow with his too-hot hands.
“How did you—” I started, but he ignored me, pulling me through the woods. His grip was tight, and I tried to pry his fingers off me, to no avail.
“Listen, Ana,” he growled under his breath as he ducked beneath a branch. “That lady won’t be the last one to look at us like that. We can’t go into the city until we find some better clothes. Like it or not, you don’t look ‘right’. And that means you’re going to keep drawing attention, which is the exact thing we don’t want.”
My lips tilted down as I considered his words. “Okay,” I said slowly as I sheathed my blade. “But where exactly are we going? We’re in the middle of the woods. I don’t see where you think we are going to find some ‘better clothes’.”
“Leave that to me,” he said, shifting his grip back to my elbow before leading me deeper into the forest.
We continued to stumble through the trees. The woods grew darker with every passing minute as the sun made its last farewells to the winter day. All around us, animals called out as the day slipped away. The evening air grew colder and seeped through my still-damp clothing, causing my already terrible mood to go from bad to worse.
Infuriatingly, the cold didn’t seem to affect Xander at all. He rushed along, seemingly unaware of the drop in temperature.
I hurried behind him, ducking around trees and over branches while trying to stop my teeth from chattering. Despite my best efforts to see where we were going, it didn’t appear we were following any sort of path.