Page 22 of The Sunbound Princess
Now, we prepared to break camp. Nikolas hummed to himself as he scattered the crumpled ferns.
My body did some humming of its own, the sweet ache of the previous night’s activities making me smile. When I glanced at Nikolas, he observed Bel with a speculative look in his eyes.
I knew the feeling, which had dogged me since Nikolas and I heard her sneaking away from the river last night.
She’d been quiet, but not quiet enough. The whisper of leaves had given her away. Possibly, others wouldn’t have noticed. But Nikolas and I had spent a lifetime on the streets. We’dstayed alive by honing our senses to detect even the slightest disturbance.
And we’d jerked our heads toward the forest at the same moment, both of us instantly alert as Bel moved away from the water. Nikolas had met my gaze, a mix of desire, amusement, and curiosity in his eyes.
Let her go,he’d mouthed.
I’d huffed my agreement. I wasn’t keen to chase after her in the buff and demand an explanation for her spying.
That didn’t stop me from being curious. She’d watched us—for how long I couldn’t have said. But I wagered she’d seen enough.
Did she like what she saw?
I looked her way now, studying her from under my lashes as she sat on a log combing her fingers through her dark hair. Delicate, tapered ears peeked from the shining strands, which fell in loose waves to her waist. She bore no signs of yesterday’s dash through the forest and the night of sleep on the hard ground.
No, she was as lovely as ever, her golden eyes clear and bright. She paused her combing and stretched, putting her shoulders back and flexing her spine. The movement thrust her breasts forward, and she tipped her head back and let the sun caress her face.
She was like the sleek cats that prowled the streets of Saldu, their rich fur and jewel-bright eyes lending them a mysterious air. The creatures were quick and impossible to tame—unless they wanted to be.
I looked away even as the strange magic flared in my chest. The connection had started tugging the moment I woke. It persisted now, pulling my gaze back to Bel.
Nikolas hummed more loudly as he passed me with a bundle of unused firewood in his hands. He caught my eye, and the message in the soft brown depths was loud and clear.
You’re staring.
I stiffened.Am not.
His chuckle drifted over his shoulder as he tossed the wood among the trees.
Bel looked up, a slight frown marring her smooth forehead. “Is something wrong?”
Helios turned from where he’d been flicking embers from his fingers onto a pile of kindling. He gave a short laugh, then mumbled something that sounded like, “Whatisn’twrong?”
“Nothing at all,” I told Bel, dusting dirt from my hands. “But we should probably get moving. These woods are more active during the day.”
She stood. “All right.” Pink tinged her cheeks. “I need a moment at the river.”
“I’ll go with you,” Helios said. “A walk to the river will do me good.”
“More like a float,” Nikolas said, gesturing to Helios’s lower half. “On account of you not having any legs.”
Helios gave him a withering look. “Try not to think too hard while we’re gone. Wouldn’t want you to injure yourself.”
As he and Bel left the camp, Nikolas rubbed his jaw. “If I had a big enough jar, I could trap that little ember in it.”
The magic in my chest flared, insistent and hot. Before I realized what I was doing, I took a step forward.
“Whoa.” Nikolas caught my shoulders, and his eyes were intense as he searched my gaze. “You’re still feeling it that much?”
“More than ever,” I rasped.
He studied me for a moment. Then he pitched his voice low. “Whatever she’s looking for, it must be valuable for her to risk staying in Andulum without her magic.”
Wariness filled me. I swallowed hard. “We don’t know what she’s looking for. And we don’t need any more trouble.”
