Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, thunder boomed. Octavia shrieked as white lightning flashed across the sky. She darted beneath a tree, which was probably unwise but her first instinct, and she panted as the thunder rolled for what felt like the longest minute ever.
As she stood there, trembling, her mind decided this was the perfect moment to show her images of what she and Flynn could’ve been doing in the nice, dry cabin. Her brain was a horrible traitor. How dare it betray her in such a manner?
Images flashed through her mind of them kissing, ending up naked and in the only bed, sharing warmth.
Stop!Octavia wanted to smack her head against the tree.
This was wrong. The witch was bad. She couldn’t be thinking about him. Besides, she’d lost him now and would never see him again.
Get it together, she chided herself. She’d never lusted after anyone like this before. What was wrong with her?
Leaving the shelter of the tree behind, Octavia slipped under branches, moved around trees, and hobbled over logs that definitely didn’t count as real bridges. She needed to keep going. The sooner she got her delivery over with, the sooner she could return to Firefall.
Thatwould solve all her problems.
The sun ceded its place in the sky to the moon as Octavia hurried east. Always east. Every so often, she felt like someone was watching her. Unease twisted her stomach, but every time she looked around, she didn’t see anyone.
Clutching her bag, she ran even faster.
The moon had beenin the sky for several hours by the time Octavia’s ankle forced her to stop. Each step sent fire running through her foot. She didn’t want to sleep in the middle of the woods, though. The rain had let up a bit, but it was still a steady drizzle. Also, who knew what other kinds of animals were here?
A shelter was necessary.
Luckily, a small cavern up ahead caught her eye. It was out of the way and looked safe enough. Thanking Kydona for her small mercies, Octavia dragged her weary, sodden body over to the cave. She had just enough energy to quickly sweep the space for unwanted critters. She may have been a dragon shifter, but she hated mice just as much as the next person.
Thank the gods, other than a few stray pieces of dried grass, the cavern was empty. Octavia dropped to the ground and clutched her satchel. Exhaling, she extended her leg. Placing her throbbing ankle on top of the bag and stretching the walking stick across her lap, she closed her eyes.
She would sleep for a few hours, and then she’d?—
“Why did you run from me?”
Octavia screamed.
CHAPTER 3
Disrupted Plans and Tempting Distractions
Her eyes flew open, and she met Flynn’s brown gaze. “You,” she snarled.
“I’ve seen drowned rats that look better than you.” The infuriating, smug bastard was dry.
“Go away,” Octavia snapped, waving her walking stick in his direction. “Find your own cave.”
She was in no mood to deal with this witch who apparently couldn’t take a hint. Not now. Maybe in the morning, when she was well-rested, and her ankle no longer felt like her mortal enemy, she could deal with him. But right now, he was just… too much. Too handsome. Too close.
“If I’d known you were in such a rush to leave, I could have kept you dry,” he said, ignoring her snippy tone.
“Why would I tell you I was leaving? My plan was to leave you behind,” Octavia huffed. “Obviously, I wasn’t successful in that venture.”
She wanted to slam her head against the wall. Why was Flynn following her? This forest was big enough for them both to travel through it without running into anyone. He had no reason tobe so close to her, especially when he made her feel so many confusing things.
Flynn’s handsome lips tilted down. “Why, Lady Octavia, you seem rather put out.”
A laugh burst out of Octavia. She didn’t attempt to hide her frustration as she balled her fists. “Now,that’san understatement. I was put out when I found you in my shack. That’s no longer the case. Now, I’m angry. For the second time in one day, you’ve disrupted my plans.”
Sure, those plans involved sleeping on the ground of this rocky cave and tossing and turning all night, but she was exhausted. Sleep sounded as good as a heap of gold to her right now. Since her hoards were far away and she couldn’t shift, she’d take what she could get.
“You’re angry… at me?”