“With fire,” he replied unhelpfully.
Narrowing my eyes, I turned in the saddle to glare at him more effectively. “I figured that much out on my own,” I snapped. “Do you care to elaborate on the particulars of the situation? Was it an accident?”
“No, I don’t, and yes it was.”
“Unbelievable,” I huffed. Crossing my arms, I tried for an air of what I hoped came across as Highly Aggravated Female. Thunder, not realizing my desires, chose that moment to break into a gallop. I lurched to the wayside, my stomach roiling, as I slipped in the saddle.
The ground drew near, but before I could slip off the saddle completely, a warm hand latched onto my arm.
“Careful,” he growled as he pressed me tight against his chest. The breath caught in my throat as he murmured, “Falling from a horse is the last thing we need from you right now, Sunshine. I’d hate to see you break that lovely neck of yours.”
“That makes two of us,” I said as I tried to subtly adjust myself in the saddle. Xander was so close to me that I could feel the ridges of his chest muscles against my back. I glanced down at his arms, gripping the reins. His knuckles were white, and he was as rigid as a board.
A low rumble came up through Xander’s chest that I felt ripple through my entire body. “Are you trying to drive me out of my mind, Aileana?”
I blinked. “I.. uh… not intentionally,” I replied honestly.
“That makes it even worse,” he murmured as he tightened his arm around my middle. His voice was husky as he said, “You don’t even know how much you drive me crazy.”
I drove him crazy?
I had no idea how to reply to that. Should I have told him I was thinking of him far more often than was necessary? That he haunted my dreams? That he made me feel completely—and inexplicably—safe?
In the end, I decided not to say anything.
We spent the rest of the day in tense silence.
* * *
On the third day, it rained.
That was when I learned that riding on horses became exponentially worse when you added bad weather into the mix. If I had thought the males had been temperamental before, the three of us were downright angry by the time the sun set on the third day.
We were all soaked to the bone, our cloaks doing little to ward off the chill brought on by the torrential downpour.
The only good thing about the rain was that after a full day of riding over muddy trails, Xander and Daegal decided we would finally stop for the entire night and sleep for more than a few hours at a time.
We had just pulled off the trail when the rain tapered off, leaving a cool, cloudless evening.
I stumbled off Thunder, relieving myself in a nearby bush before coming back to the males. They had tied the horses to a tree and were in the process of rubbing them down as I walked back. They were talking quietly, clearly unaware that I had returned.
“… the university in the Western Kingdom,” Daegal whispered.
“Last time, I was there…” Xander’s voice dropped off suddenly as I accidentally stepped on a twig. It snapped, and blood rushed to my cheeks as both males turned at once.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” I said hurriedly.
Xander shook his head, his silver-white hair plastered to his face by the rain. He raised a brow, his gaze traveling over my body. “Not at all,” he replied. “We were just discussing how much longer it’ll take to arrive at The Pines.”
He was lying to me. Why?
What did he not want me to know?
I narrowed my eyes, but before I could figure out a discreet way to ask about the university in the Western Kingdom without it looking like I had been eavesdropping, Xander smirked.
“You look like a drowned rat.” His golden eyes twinkled in the twilight before he returned his attention to the horse.
I put my hands on my hips, ignoring the way the sodden fabric squished under my fingers. “Ilook like a drowned rat?”