Prickly? Matt was staring at the Bellati, and now he met my gaze. His beast’s lips kept curling and lowering, as though he stifled a snarl before he asked Sebastian, “Yoou ookay, mate? Seem a bit bamboozled.”
Sebastian shot him a glare. “I’m fine. Let’s move on.”
He turned away, but hair clothing didn’t hide much. He was much more than fine.
When I straightened from reapplying socks and boots, Matt was still staring at me.“Yoou’re like a bleedin’ drug, Angel,” he said, before he moved off after Sebastian.
“That river almost had me.” Mari moved up beside me, slinging the rope over her shoulder. “Hope the last three obstacles are easy, because I’m stonkered.”
I laughed.
“Did I use that word right?” the ogress asked.
“Yes. You used it perfectly.”
“Oh, good.” She fell into step beside me as I moved up to a jog.
The next obstacle was a tunnel. We all stopped just outside the entrance.
“This is a scent test. The tunnels beyond are a maze.” Sebastian gestured to the rag draped over a nearby boulder. “The idea is to track the scent through it.”
Matt perked up. “Right up my alley.”
I looked around. “Are there lanterns? We have no way of lighting the path.”
“No lanterns,” Sebastian confirmed.
Matt peered at him suspiciously as I read the sign mounted outside.
“Caution. Sinkholes and sudden drop-offs.” I wiggled my wrist. It was better than it had been, but I still wouldn’t trust it with my weight.
Sebastian just stood there. Back to asshole status, it seemed. He was waiting for my assessment.
I gave it. “We’ll rope ourselves together. How good is your night vision, Matt?”
“Pretty good.” The confidence in his tone bolstered my own.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll rope up. Matt is the only one who will likely know where we’re at.”
“My night vision is good, too,” Mari piped up. “We fish in darkness a lot of the time.”
The ogress was full of surprises. “I’ll need you to be anchor,” I said. “If one of us falls off a cliff, stand firm until we can pull them up.”
She nodded. “Bonza.”
Matt huffed a laugh as I fastened one end of the rope around his waist. When I tied the knot around him, I looked up into his glowing eyes.
“Yoou can tie me up anytime, Angel.”
I slapped his shoulder. “Focus, Wolfie.” From what I’d glimpsed, he was focused. On entirely the wrong thing.
I put myself behind him, fastening Mari’s belt to the rope. Sebastian’s expression had slipped back into a glower as he attached himself a few feet behind me, and Mari knotted the end firmly around her middle.
Matt buried his nose in the rag and inhaled a few times. Then he proceeded.
The tunnel forked almost right away, leaving us in complete darkness. I found that the rope had too much play, and I groped ahead until my fingers encountered fur.
“Doown and to the left,” Matt coached.
