by Imogen Sera
“Was it an accident?” she asked, her brows furrowed.
He shook his head but offered no more information, so she walked on quietly, tilting her face up to the sun.
They slipped into a comfortable silence as they walked, noticeably slower as the day wore on, but Maggie ignored her exhaustion and discomfort in an effort to cover more ground and get closer to home. They passed through several villages during the day and stopped in the afternoon to eat. Maggie collapsed into a chair at a small table, while Caelian had sauntered confidently to the bar and ordered for both of them. The pretty woman behind the bar was too friendly for Maggie’s taste, and she found herself glaring at the interaction.
It wasn’t the woman, though, Maggie realized as Caelian had struck up conversation with two older, gruff-looking patrons seated nearby. It was Caelian. He was magnetic; anyone near him couldn’t help but be drawn to him. He was handsome, obviously, but more than that; he was captivating. Just a few minutes in his company would have anyone smiling, and Maggie was beginning to realize that after a full day she was smitten. She frowned at the thought.
“You alright, Maggie?” he asked, turning to face her.
She nodded and poked at her food, annoyed at herself. She glanced up at him and he wore an expression of concern. “Just tired I suppose.”
“We could stop off here,” he said, “I’m sure we could find lodging.”
Maggie just shook her head. “I’ll be fine, I’d like to cover more ground today.”
“If you’re sure,” he responded hesitantly, and when she sullenly stared at her plate in response he turned his attention back to the men at the next table over. He kept glancing at her though, catching her eye and smiling insistently at her each time he did, until eventually she was smiling too.
“How do you do that?” she asked, later, when they were on the road again and the sun was setting behind them. “You can just talk to anyone and they adore you.”
“Can I?” he asked, glancing at her. “I had ten siblings growing up; I was the second youngest. Not old enough to matter, but not the baby to be lavished with attention. I’ve always like talking to people, so I talked to everyone, all the time, trying to find a place to fit in.” He shrugged. “I like people, I like getting to know them.”
Maggie couldn’t help but smile, but then wrinkled her nose. “Not me,” she said. “I tend to not like anyone when I meet them. Sometimes they’ll eventually grow on me, but usually I’ve already resolved to never see them again so it doesn’t matter.”
“That sounds lonely,” Caelian said, watching her from the side of his eye.
“It does sound that way,” she agreed, “but I quite like being alone, most of the time.”
“Do you have friends?” he asked.
The corner of her lips quirked up. “I have a friend, and my— family.”
He looked at her strangely, but she focused on the road beneath her feet. “How are you feeling?” he asked after a moment of quiet.
“Exhausted,” she admitted, and gave into the impulse to grin at him. “I wish I’d listened to you back there.”
“I think the next town is closer than the last,” he said, and offered her his arm. She took it after a moment’s consideration, and she didn’t miss the way his forearm, thick with muscle, tensed under her hand when she touched him. She was suddenly overwhelmed by his proximity; his scent, the heat rolling off of him, the way he looked at her as if she were the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen. Heat pooled low in her belly and she could feel it in her cheeks as well.
“Maggie, I—” he began, and was interrupted by a deafening clap of thunder.
The sky split open then, unleashing massive torrents of rain. Farmland spread out endlessly before them, with no shelter or trees in sight. Maggie looked up at him and laughed, reinvigorated by the cold rain, semi-grateful for the stormy intervention.
.....
They hurried to the next town, and when they arrived at the inn there, they were both completely soaked and chilled to the bone. The innkeeper was an old man behind a bar, and he booked them two rooms and ordered them to change clothes and come back promptly for something warm to eat.
Maggie’s sensible traveling gown was heavy and drenched, and she realized with dismay that she had nothing else to wear. It would dry overnight, especially left next to the fire, but that left her naked, stuck in her room until morning. A soft knock on the door tore her from her thoughts, and when she answered it Caelian looked down at her, surprised. She tried to ignore the way his wet hair fell in front of his eyes, or the white shirt he changed into, which was just sheer enough to see the outline of his shoulders.
“You’re not going to change?” he asked, catching the edge of her skirt between two fingers.
She grimaced. “I don’t have anything else.”
He disappeared without a word, and a minute later returned and passed her a change of clothes. “Get changed,” he said, “because you need to eat. I’m sure no one will care about how ridiculous you’ll look in my things.”
She nodded and shut her door, ignoring the ridiculous lurch her stomach did at his words. She emerged a few minutes later, with a shirt that hung almost to her knees, repeatedly falling off of her shoulder, and pants that were cinched and rolled up around the ankles. He laughed when he saw her, and she’d have laughed too, if it weren’t for the fact that his delicious scent was all over the clothes that engulfed her. It made her a little lightheaded, a little horny, and combined with her exhaustion she was worried about doing something embarrassing, like falling asleep in her dinner or jumping on Caelian and begging him to fuck her.
The old innkeeper was talkative and seemed to enjoy Caelian’s company, as everyone did, and Maggie was content to listen to them entertain each other while she ate as much as she could stomach. She piped up a few times when the old man had asked about her story, giving him vague details of recovering from the plague and being escorted home.
The bar area was otherwise empty, and once Caelian finished eating he stood; leaning against the bar, then wandering to the large fireplace nearby, before returning to the table. Maggie pulled a chair over to the fire, facing away from it, finger combing her soaked curls into something resembling order.
The man turned his attention to Caelian. “What will you be doing, then, once you’ve taken her home?”
He pushed his hair from his forehead. “I’ll be returning home,” he said, “after a long time away.”
Maggie’s brow furrowed. “I thought you were from Dragongrove?” she said out loud.
He turned to her and shook his head. “Just passing through.”
“Dragongrove?” said the old man. “Is that where you’re coming from? I heard it burned down.”
“It did,” Caelian said without elaborating.
“I also heard,” the man said, raising his eyebrows, “that the fire was started by dragons.”
Maggie’s eyes widened as she glanced at Caelian. He just shrugged, but there was something there. He looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said.
There was silence for a moment, before the chatty innkeeper started up again. “Why are you returning home now, after so long?”
Caelian’s face hardened. “My father died. There are… things that need to be taken care of.”
Maggie watched him silently as the old man offered condolences and Caelian shook them off. He had talked so much about himself, about everything, during the day, and she wondered how she couldn’t have known this. It was obviously affecting him, given the look on his face.
“What about you, Maggie? Is your father alive? Fathers don’t seem to last long here,” the old man said, trying to lighten the mood.
Maggie shook her head.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be,” she said, smiling. “Dying was the the only kindness he ever showed me.”
Caelian looked at her sympathetically, and she didn’t like
it. She was exhausted and recovering and eager to be home, and she had much harder things to deal with than lack of a father’s love. So she laughed, long and loud, and soon the old man said something else and then Caelian was laughing too. Maggie continued, although she had the distinct feeling that she didn’t know why she was laughing.
CHAPTER FOUR
Maggie felt as if she were regaining her strength, she realized, the next day as evening approached. The day had been uneventful, passing in a pleasant blur of friendly conversation and occasional stops, so she could catch her breath. She was careful to make excuses for them, though, because she couldn’t take his arm again. She didn’t trust herself.
He seemed to sense it and kept a little distance from her, but was just as attentive and open as he’d been the day before. He told her about his brothers, all five of them, and briefly mentioned some sisters that had passed away. He was the second youngest of his brothers, and she could tell from his demeanor that he’s been generally free from responsibility. Not that he was irresponsible, necessarily, just that life hadn’t seemed to have ever dealt him a difficult hand.
The farmland they’d traveled through the day before had given way to a lovely, shady forest, that eventually grew so thick that she couldn’t see further than a few feet off of the windy path. The distance she’d put between them this morning had all but disappeared, as the hairs on her neck stood up. She didn’t like to be unable to see where she was going, and she didn’t want to continue. She took a few deep breaths as she walked, then tilted her head up to get as much sunlight as she could through the dappled foliage. When she looked ahead again she saw that Caelian was staring at her, unashamedly, a strange look on his face.
“Feeling alright?” he murmured, and color rushed to her cheeks as she nodded.
They walked a little further, and the sun began to descend in the sky. They hadn’t seen anyone for hours, and Maggie had no idea where the next town along the road would be. She had lived in Haverbrook her whole life, but had never ventured far from it. She began to worry that they would need to make camp, and the dark woods around her made her shudder at the thought.
“Do you know where we are?” she asked him, breaking the silence.
He turned to her and nodded. “Hopefully we’ll get to the next town before we need to stop. We’ve been moving a bit slower than I anticipated,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “If not, I’ve got what we’ll need.” He patted his bag.
Maggie nodded, not reassured. She was confident that Caelian felt safe, and as she looked up at his massive, muscular form she was confident that he could keep her safe, too. What she didn’t know was whether he would be safe from her advances, and she couldn’t let that happen.
He was driving her crazy. His scent surrounded her all day, his blue eyes bore into hers, his radiant smile lit up his face, his big hand touched the small of her back as he helped her over a fallen branch. She’d spent the last half of the day with a tender ache between her legs, and her pulse quickened every time he came nearer. She was a quivering bundle of nerves, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. And that wouldn’t do.
Up slightly ahead of her, Caelian paused and cocked his head.
“What is it?” she asked, but he put a finger to his lips before turning and listening again.
He moved to her side, silently, and bent to put his lips to her ear. Her insides turned to fire.
“Do you hear it?” he asked, his hot breath blowing gently over her ear. “People.”
She shook her head quietly, her eyes wide and searching.
“I’m sure it’s fine, I’m sure they’re friendly,” he breathed. “But I don’t want to take any chances. Stay behind me, please. And go along with whatever I say.”
Maggie nodded.
The sun had set and night had begun, and they walked more slowly, more silently. Around three more curves they came upon a large camp. There were many men and several women there, mostly gruff looking, tending to a large fire and sorting out cooking pans. The smell of smoke filled the air, and Maggie moved a little closer behind Caelian, and clutched at the back of his shirt without realizing it. He reached back to squeeze her wrist gently, reassuringly.
“Hello,” Caelian called from a short distance away, and although she couldn’t see it, Maggie could hear the smile on his face.
Nearly twenty sets of eyes turned to them, and Maggie’s heart thundered in her chest. She looked over the man before her. He was so tall, so muscular, but suddenly she felt unsure about his ability to keep her safe. Maggie stepped up to his side, ashamed to have been hiding behind him, and didn’t protest when he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.
A young woman with wild white hair strode toward them, tight leather covering her legs underneath a long tunic, with a bow strapped to her back. “Hello,” she said. “Are you friendly or shall I kill you?” She laughed then, as if it were the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“I’d like to think we’re friendly,” Caelian said, shrugging and smiling. “What about you?”
“We are,” the woman said, “to the right sort of people. Sit with me.” She strode back to where she’d come from then, and Maggie and Caelian had no choice but to follow her.
The woman had settled close to the fire, and Caelian had sat next to her, a few cautious feet between them. Maggie stood frozen, unsure where to sit, members of the camp to her back wherever she chose. Caelian grabbed her hand and gently tugged her down next to him, and once she melted into his side his big safe arm came back around her.
He pressed his lips against her ear, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. “I swear you’re safe,” was all he said, though.
She looked at him, skeptically.
“I’m Kincaid,” said the white haired woman, suddenly. “You may share our dinner and our fire, but you must sleep here. You can go freely in the morning.”
Caelian raised an eyebrow at that.
She shrugged. “It’s our policy. I swear neither of you will be harmed if you don’t try to harm us. But we like privacy and we’re trying to avoid… certain people. If I let you leave now you might go talking about where we’re camped, and we’d have to move and that would be a hassle I don’t want to deal with. If you leave tomorrow you can tell anyone anything you like, we’ll be long gone before they could find us.”
Maggie relaxed slightly, but Caelian remained tense next to her. She tried to ignore the way his thumb rubbed small circles on her upper arm.
“What if we don’t stay?” he asked in a low voice. “What will you do?”
She looked him up and down. “Probably won’t kill you, but there are twenty of us. Do you really think you could leave?” She paused for a moment. “What are your names?”
“Caelian,” he answered quickly, and then turned to glance at Maggie. “This is my wife, Margaret.”
Heat rose to her cheeks, and she was grateful the the light of the fire wouldn’t illuminate them.
“Very well,” said Kincaid, standing. “Have some stew, and don’t do anything stupid, please.” She turned from them and found a seat across the fire, but continued to watch them closely.
“You’re alright?” Caelian murmured to her, arm still around her.
Maggie nodded and shifted to stand up. “Let’s eat, I suppose?” she said, offering her hand to him. He took it to stand, and then didn’t let go the rest of the evening.
.....
The evening was pleasant, aside from the deep chill in the air and the knowledge that they might be murdered if they slept. Caelian seemed unaffected by their situation, and chatted pleasantly with two men nearby. Maggie sat next to him, clutching at his hand, wishing that it wasn’t pretend.
When the time came to settle down for the night, they picked a spot far from the warmth of the fire but also far from the others, and closest to the road. Maggie felt quite vulnerable despite her big protector.
He settled behind her, pulling her back close
against his chest. His big arm draped over her, his hand splayed wide on her midsection. She was tense, but not from the questionable group who’d bullied them into camping here. She willed his hand to move up to her breast, or down much lower, but she pushed those thoughts away almost as soon as they formed. This was a show and nothing more.
“Sorry,” he whispered in her ear, causing goosebumps to form down her neck. “This makes me nervous, I want you close in case anyone decides to try anything.”
Maggie nodded slightly, trying to ignore how her nipples had hardened, or the dull throb that had begun between her legs. “What do you think they’d try?” she whispered, turning her head around to see him as well as possible. “We don’t have anything with us, there’s no reason to rob us.”
