Page 16 of Kissed By the Sun
“I think so. I know I'm not as aware of these things as you are, but I think that's just down to my inexperience with magic. Not anything to do withthis.” I gestured between the two of us, still unsure about saying anything aloud.
“I told them we would do a final sweep and that I would meet them back at the castle.” Thorn’s tone was clipped, as though he was irritated, but I had no idea what was wrong.
I nodded, not really knowing what to say next and waiting for him to continue, to explain why he’d wanted me to wait for him at this tree.
We both just stared at each other for a long time, which got pretty awkward eventually, but neither of us knew how to break the barrier that had formed between us. We had built up this wall because we were so used to not being able to say what we were really thinking lest some prying ears overheard us.
“Thanks, I guess?” I mumbled eventually.
A bitter laugh erupted from Thorn. One that was about as far from mirth as it could get. It wasn't just that he seemed upset, it was that he seemed to find the idea of himself being upset ridiculous.
I had no idea how to respond to him, which only made him chuckle again.
He seemed to sense my unease though and sighed wearily. “I thought I was gonna lose you. Again. I'm not even sure how many times that would make this now.”
Now it was my turn to laugh, and just like his there was nothing merry about it. “Oh, you mean between trying to kill me when you push me into the veil, me being tortured by one of your court nobles, or–”
“What the hell?” he demanded.
I waved his concern away. “It doesn't matter.” I flopped down onto the rocky ground under the tree, sitting cross legged in front of a patch of grass.
“It does matter!” He began to pace back and forth. “You were tortured? How was I not aware? And who tortured you?”
Irritation flared white hot within me. “Have you just not been paying attention?” I asked as I roughly pulled at a couple strands of grass, rubbing them between my fingers until the grassy scent filled the air, dulling the remaining odor of battle a little.
“I've been paying attention to you!”
“But not what happens to me, apparently,” I sneered, my anger returning again.
“Maybe if I'd been paying more attention, I'd have realized that I needed to explain things to you before we came here today. I am sorry about that.” His voice had gone uncharacteristically soft, and if I was being honest, it made me kind of nervous. The Thorn that I knew was gruff and somewhat monosyllabic. It wasn’t that he was one of those guys that wasn't in touch with their emotions, but more like he didn't feel the need to tell me about them, which I suppose I could understand. Not everybody wanted to share everything like Wyn did. I mean, if I was being honest, then I was the same way.
I only shared what I felt like when I felt like it. Usually, that was only with Wyn and usually only when we were alone. So, I couldn't Judge Thorn too badly. Yet, somehow I still felt like I didn't know where we stood, and that was what bothered me the most.
“So, about this whole thing.” I gestured again, flinging the grass from my hand as I did so.
“The soul bonded thing?” he asked, saying the words carefully as he sat in front of me.
“Yeah. Um, should I be worried?” It wasn’t the question I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask what it meant to him, what Imeant to him, but even though I was willing to charge into battle and my potential death, I didn’t have enough courage to ask a simple question.
He sighed deeply.
“The only thing you should be worried about right now is the fact that I am barely controlling myself and you're asking the most random questions. It's taking everything I have not to just rip those disgusting leathers off your body. Where did you even get them?”
“I'm the one asking random questions and you want to know where I got my leathers?” My anger had dissipated once again, and I felt like I was being jerked this way and that by my own emotions.
The one thing that was obvious was that Thorn and I were two peas in a pod. Sure, it was a weirdly-shaped pod and probably a little dysfunctional, but there we were.
He stared at me expectantly.
“I got the leathers from the lost and found because I didn't have anything in my room that fit me after Wyn did her thing.”
Thorn grunted.
“Yeah, it didn't occur to me until after you left. I figured you wouldn't want me showing up naked or in a court dress since that was the only thing I could find that would fit me. If you’d prefer that, though, I’m sure the quartermaster is probably still trying to figure out what to do with the dress I left there.”
“Yeah, both of those would have been a problem.” His mind seemed far away, so much so that he didn’t even question my remark about the quartermaster.
“Figured. They're the only thing I have that fits right now, so you can't rip them off me. However, if you ask nicely, I might take them off.” I watched him carefully, waiting for him to reject me again.
