I sucked in a deep breath as space grew between us. “Do you promise?” I whispered.
“You have my word,” he replied forcefully. “I’m not that kind of male.”
“Okay.” Stepping towards him, I placed my hand on his arm. He looked down at where I was touching him, and I realized that this was the first time I had initiated contact between us. I whispered, “I trust you.”
When the words came out of my mouth, I realized they were true. For some reason, I trusted this male. There had been plenty of opportunities yesterday for him to turn me into the king’s soldiers, but he never had.
I ran my hand down his arm before lacing my fingers through his. Ignoring the spark that came as I touched his warm hand, I glanced up at him to find him staring at our intertwined fingers.
“Let’s go, husband,” I said jokingly.
The moment the last word left my lips, a strange warmth filled me. I didn’t have time to think about what it meant, because Xander was already pulling us through the forest.
* * *
Within minutes, we were standing at the edge of the dirt road. Picking off various twigs and leaves that had attached themselves to my cloak and gown, I stared at the commotion.
The quiet bustle of the road from yesterday was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we were confronted with a steady stream of traffic. People were yelling in the Common Tongue, but there were also several other languages I had never heard before.
I sighed. Yet another thing I needed to learn. Storing the thought in the back of my mind, I watched as dozens of carts pulled by horses and donkeys went by us. People hurried alongside their animals, their eyes trained on the city walls looming ahead. The walls of Thyr broke up the horizon, the city at odds with the beauty of the woods that surrounded it. If I squinted, I could make out the shapes of soldiers marching along the top of the wall.
Those who didn’t have carts were carrying enormous packs on their backs, and young children darted between skirts and ran up the road. Many of the travelers were wearing cloaks that kept their faces obscured from view. But even so, I knew not everyone was human, like Xander.
A male walked past us with glowing orange eyes and long black hair held in braids that ran down his back. His dark arms were thick with muscle as he held a young child on his hip. He had another in a sling on his back.
The male turned his head, his lips peeling back in a snarl as he stared at us. I shivered at the sight of his canines. He glared at me for a moment before turning and speaking in a rapid stream to one of the children on his hip. His words were fluid, but I didn’t understand anything he was saying.
“A werewolf from Vlarone,” Xander whispered in my ear.
I watched the werewolf with wide eyes. From my limited studies, I had known that they existed—they were a part of the triad of species that lived in Ithenmyr; humans, elves, and werewolves—but I had never seen one before.
“Don’t most werewolves work in the province of Osafeld?” I asked Xander.
He nodded. “Yes. He probably has a whole litter of pups. They’re a long way from home. I wonder what brings them up north.”
I watched, entranced, as a tall, dark-skinned female came up behind the werewolf, her swollen stomach reaching far ahead of her. Even in this state of advanced pregnancy, she was stunning. She wore a richly colored cloth tied around her head that matched the colorful dress that barely covered her bump. The werewolf wrapped an arm around her—his wife, I presumed—drawing her in tight against his chest as they continued.
As soon as there was a break in the flow of traffic, Xander pulled me onto the road and we joined the throngs of people heading into town.
“Why is it so busy?” I whispered after a few minutes. Xander still hadn’t let go of my hand, and I hadn’t forced the issue. The rough skin and callouses that spoke of a male who worked with his hands daily was a warming, grounding presence among so many new people. It was providing me… comfort.
I refused to think about why that was.
“It’s market day,” he said in a low voice. “I hadn’t realized. This is going to make getting through the city more complicated.”
“What—”
Before I could say anything else, a shout came from behind us.
“Make way! Move out of the way for Lord Greenriver.”
Xander paled, his grip tightening on my hand as he drew me against himself and to the side of the road.
With his free hand, he tugged on my hood, making sure my face was covered, before repeating the action on his own head. My heartbeat was loud in my ears as all the chatter on the road died down almost instantaneously.
I went to turn my head when Xander’s voice reached my ears. “Don’t turn around,” he whispered, his hand on my lower back as he held me close to him. The heat emanating from his body seemed to wrap around me like a warm cloak as he murmured, “Just keep looking straight ahead.”
Something in Xander’s voice was different from before, and I nodded. My hands turned clammy as I stood still, wondering what was happening.