The moment I had swung out of my tower window, I had vowed I would never let anyone trap me ever again. Not now that the glorious taste of freedom had made itself known to me.
“Good riddance,” I muttered as I hurried to catch up to Xander.
The forest cover was becoming less dense, and I could see snippets of the road through the trees. Every time a branch brushed up against my cloak, I felt a stirring within me, but I didn’t have time to unpack what it meant.
Xander stopped ahead of me, his face pinched in impatience as he watched me push back a heavy branch. I could hear the quiet murmur of conversation rising above the chirping of birds as people traveled toward the city.
“Come on, Ana,” he said gruffly, motioning for me to hurry. He waited until I was beside him before he said, “We don’t have all day.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, a retort on the tip of my tongue, but I lost all ability to speak when he bent down and laced our hands together.
A spark ran through me at his touch, and I pulled my fingers back as though he had burned me. I snapped, “What in Kydona’s name do you think you’re doing?”
He raised a brow, grabbing my hand once more. The same spark rushed through me, and when I glanced at him, I knew he felt it too. His brows were furrowed as he stared at our joined hands. Our eyes met, and for a moment, it was as though I couldn’t remember my own name.
A beat passed, then two, before my senses came flooding back.
This wasn’t just any person holding my hand. This wasXander,and he irritated me like no one else. Xander wasn’t nice. He wasn’t affable. He didn’t make me feel good. On the contrary, he made me feel angry. Spiteful.
He ignited a fire in me that no one else ever had before. He wasn’t amicable, and he wasn’t my friend. Far from it, in fact. We were very much not friends.
I needed to remember that.
Yanking my hand away from his, I reached into one of my hidden pockets and shifted away from him.
“Don’t touch me,” I spat.
He crossed his arms as he loomed over me. His tone was laced with superiority as he asked, “Did you forget the terms of our agreement already, Ana?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I said I would help keep eyes off you in Thyr, and in exchange, you will get me to the Indigo Ocean. I’m not stupid, you know.”
Xander just raised a brow, his face clearly telling me exactly what he thought of me.
Huffing, I narrowed my eyes and continued, “Do I need to remind you of my ability to defend myself? I don’t need you to look after me.”
He leaned, closing the distance between us as he lowered his voice. “I know that, Sunshine.”
“Do you?” I snapped. “It seems like you might need a reminder.”
The air between us thickened as his nostrils flared. He smelled like smoke and the deep woods, and my insides twisted at his proximity. I hated that. But more than that, I hated the male for the way he made me feel.
“Good gods,” he snarled. “I’ve never met a female as resourceful with a blade as you are. You’d think we’d get along, and yet you infuriate me at every turn.”
“What kind of backhanded compliment was that?” I snapped. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I whisper-yelled, “I can’t stand you!”
He snarled. “Believe me, this would be a lot easier if you were stupid. Maybe we wouldn’t be stuck together. But unfortunately for both of us, we will have to put up with each other.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you touched me.”
He heaved a heavy breath, running a hand down his face as he groaned. “Unbelievable. Am I seriously going to have to spell this out for you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Spell what out?”
“Kydona, have mercy on me. Of all the females, I had to get stuck with this one.” He continued to swear colorfully under his breath, mentioning something about fire, as he turned around. He slammed his closed fist into a nearby tree once, twice, then three times.
The wood splintered, and spots of red blood appeared on his pale knuckles.
I took a step forward, extending my hand towards him before I remembered I was supposed to be mad at Xander. Whoever this male was… he was not to be trifled with. This outburst of anger only served to remind me of that.