I laughed. “True. I accept that, all true.” After a moment I added, “And you have been nothing but kind.”
He turned in his seat. “I left ye alone in the woods, Princess. Ye were within yer rights tae call me tae account for it.”
I said, “But all of that aside. You will still be glad to get me home, so you won’t have to worry about me anymore?—”
“I daena think I willevernae be worried on ye. Ye forget I hae made an oath. Tis unbreakable.”
I watched his back, his broad shoulders filling the cloth of his shirt, rocking back and forth, absorbing the movement of his horse.
I sighed.
He was so hot.
I shook my head to dispel the thought. “If the vessel begins working, and I go home, I won’t have met Max.”
“Aye, but ye ought tae get home. I can tell Max I hae found ye and he can visit ye there. Ye will be safer there I think. Ye will need a stronger guard, but Master Cooper will see tae it. I will speak tae him about it.”
I nodded, watching his back while he considered all the ways to keep me safe and get me home to Cooper.
“I would like to meet Max.”
“Ye will marvel that I dinna see the likeness afore; now tis all I see.”
I smiled. “I wish I understood this story you’re telling, how it fits with what I know. It doesn’t make sense… How long did you say, like three days? Maybe I stay long enough to meet him? Just to hear him out. Maybe he has more details and can either persuade me it’s real or convince me that it’s insane. Then I will go home with answers.”
Torin said, quietly, “Nae, Princess, I canna risk it.”
I nodded my head. “I do really want to get home. I want a bath in my clawfoot tub. And to continue my point, you will be glad to see me home. I am seriously slowing you down. I do not have any of the skills I need to be helpful.”
“There are nae horses in yer world?”
“Oh, there are, but you know, more for pleasure really. Just for going for a ride, mostly. Or they work on farms, some. Pull wagons for tourists, that kinda thing.”
I added, “I don’t really even hike, Cooper loves hiking.”
“What dost ye mean, ‘hike’?”
“To walk, like to go on a journey. Like this. He goes all the time, just a long walk in the woods. He knows how to build a fire, to make a shelter, he has the skills, not me.”
“He goes just for fun? Nae tae go anywhere? It sounds as if he is goin’ on a hunt, but he said he daena hunt.”
“Nope, no hunting, just a long journey to nowhere. Then back again.”
“Tae what end?”
“To prove he can, I guess. He does a lot of outdoor things to prove he can: rock climbing, hiking, white water rafting, spelunking.”
“What is it, that last one?”
“Exploring caves.”
“Och, ye ought not explore caves. That is where the dragons live.”
“Great point, I’m not a fan of it.”
“He daena hunt, but he does all the parts of hunting without the thrill of it?”
“Kinda, I guess, but I’m making it sound weird. He’s a really good outdoorsman. He takes it seriously. That’s why I don’t go with him.”
