Page 28 of Joy Guardian
The sand had already made its way between the sandal and my foot, rubbing against the skin of my sole.
Kurai took his old skirt and tore it into strips.
“Sit here and take your sandals off.” He patted the flat rock for me to sit down.
Once I sat on it, he crouched in front of me and helped me remove my sandal, then put my bare foot in his lap and started wrapping my leg in the fabric strips.
“I have no food,” he spoke while working. “But we should be able to get some at the well. There are a few dwellings around, and someone is always willing to trade. But I have towarn you, the food won’t be anything pleasant enough for human tastes.”
“I’ll try not to make a funny face when eating it, so as not to offend anyone,” I promised.
“We’ll have to make sure no one sees your face at all. Or your hair, or your chest, or any part of you. No one can know that you are a Joy Vessel,” he said, finishing my leg wrappings.
As he tied the ends of the fabric high above my knee, his fingers skimmed the inside of my thigh. Pleasure rippled along my skin. I watched him closely, waiting for any reaction from him, but the touch was clearly accidental.
“Well, let’s see.” After putting my sandals back on, he got up from the crouch.
I stood up too, and he gave me a long, assessing look. Lifting the top layer of my skirt, he draped it over my head and shoulders, then pinned it to my braids with a couple of clips from his bag.
“This is how this garment is worn in the desert,” he said. “It’ll keep the sand out of your hair and the sun away from your skin,”
“The sun won’t harm me.”
“Lucky you.” He reached as if to kiss me on my cheek but stopped himself and just gently tapped a finger on the side of my jaw.
“At least in that one thing I’m stronger than you. I’m not afraid of the sun.” I propped my hands on my hips.
Attaching two sheaths with curved daggers to his belt, he cast an amused glance at my cocky pose.
“Indeed you are, my mighty little human.”
“You’re teasing me?” I laughed. “And here I thought that shadow fae have no sense of humor.”
“Of course we do, even if we derive no pleasure from it. Here, I can even smile. See?” He stretched his lips in an imitation of a grin.
“Yeah, right.” I waved him off. “And I can sprout the black shadowy thingies from my arms.”
“Tendrils? You wish you did,” hescoffed.
“Wow.” I stared at him with my eyebrows raised. “Humorandsarcasm? You surprise me at every step, Joy Guardian Kurai.”
“Speaking of steps, how does it feel?” His smile was quickly replaced with his usual somber expression as he tipped his chin at my legs.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. The fabric felt snug against my legs and feet but didn’t restrict my movements or my blood flow.
“Good. It feels good,” I said.
“Let’s go then. The sun is almost here.”
He adjusted the edge of my shroud, letting his fingers linger on the sides of my face.
“You make me feel things I shouldn’t feel, Ciana,” he confessed softly.
“Like what?”
“Like looking forward to having you at my side for this journey.”
Eight
