Exhaling, I laid back on the moss-covered stone. I closed my eyes against the sun overhead, enjoying the weak warmth of its rays and feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time. Three days had passed since Ryker discovered the fae, but since then, I hadn’t once felt that same foreboding feeling, and we hadn’t been able to find the fae again. Maybe ithadjust been a creature of the forest watching us. Regardless, we’d decided to risk some time away from camp in lieu of going stir crazy.
A shadow blocked the light, and I opened my eyes. Ryker stood beside me in shorts, arms crossed over his bare chest. A slight thrill coiled in my gut, and I sat up, patting the vacant spot beside me.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded and sat, his eyes scanning the reeds surrounding the pool. “Nothing out of the ordinary.” He’d promised to stay until he’d apprehended our stalker, but with every passing day, and still no sign of another living soul, I was beginning to wonder just how long he would be willing to wait.
“No fair, you’ve got longer arms and legs.” Cassie’s complaints drew my attention back to the pool where she raced Alex back and forth from one end of the spring to the other, while they whooped and splashed each other.
“Not going to join them?” Ryker asked, plucking a few of the reeds from the pond and twisting them together.
“Nah, I need a break.” I pulled my pale legs out of the water, drawing them to my chest and readjusting my light blue sarong. My body didn’t seem to take too kindly to the heated water for some reason, and I’d discovered if I stayed in too long, I started to get nauseous.
I absentmindedly played with the squishy moss growing around the edge of the rocks, eyeing Ryker out of the corner of my eye. His long black hair, loose for once, framed his tan face, cascading down his back in damp strands.
I stared at the tattoos on his shoulders, close enough for the first time to realize the intricate design of symbols woven together across each shoulder blade were divine runes.
“What do they mean?” I trailed a finger over the ink embedded in his warm skin, brushing a lock of hair from the tattoo. His back straightened like I’d stabbed him, and I smiled. But when he peered over his shoulder at me, he didn’t seem mad or surprised.
“They’re a reminder.” He glanced down at the plants in his hands, and I couldn’t help but wish he were braiding my hair instead.
“Of what?” My eyes trailed back to the marks and the well-defined muscles of his shoulders. The feathers in my stomach did little somersaults, and a warmth that had nothing to do with the hot springs seared my face.
“My mistakes,” he forced through gritted teeth. Pain creased around his eyes, but he shook his head, obviously unwilling to elaborate. He tossed the braided reeds back into the pool and got to his feet, heading for the patch of dense forest behind us.
“I’m sorry!” I shot up, hurrying after him, Cassie’s and Alex’s voices fading. I honestly wasn’t sure why he’d come and joined me earlier, or how he tolerated my presence at all. I only ever seemed to vex him.
“For what?” Ryker asked, slowing his pace as I caught up.
“For prying.”
The hard set of his jaw loosened. “It’s not your fault I made stupid choices in my past. Besides, I don’t mind your questions. I’d take them any day over you shouting your hatred for me, or glaring.”
I smirked as we reached the edge of the white tree line, shivering slightly when the temperature dropped in the shade. “Well, in my defense, youweretrying to kill me.”
“How did you know it was me?” He halted and turned to face me. “No matter what anyone tried to tell you, nor all the proof offered, you never stopped believing it was me you saw at the festival.”
My eyes darted to his half-hidden ones. Before I even realized what I was doing, I brushed my fingers along the side of his face, pushing his bangs aside. “Your eyes.”
He flinched, but didn’t pull away, his brows creasing. “You said that before, but it doesn’t make sense. You saw my eyes for all of two seconds—”
“Trust me, when someone looks at you the way you looked at me, it’s not something you ever forget.” I shuddered, just remembering the depth of his hatred. “I never knew I was hated before I met you.”
“Princess—Kaleah.” He paused, and my breath caught as his eyes bore into mine. He’d said my name.
“I hope you know I don’tstillfeel that way.” He moved closer, warmth radiating off his body as his hand cupped my face. “At the festival, all I knew about you was what my people had taught me. That you were an evil, corrupt daughter of a demon.” Leaning down, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine, making me freeze. “They were wrong.Iwas wrong.”
Sin! I flew back, but didn’t get far when I rammed into the trunk of a tree, breathing hard. If I didn’t distract myself, I was bound to do something I’d regret, because all I could think about was kissing Ryker, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare him away again.
“Does that mean you’ll stay?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and I hoped maybe he’d had a change of heart. Ryker sighed, taking a step back and shaking his head. Something crumbled within me. “Then why did you try to kiss me in the orchard? Do you really feel nothing for me?”
Ryker grimaced. “Kaleah. . . I wasn’t trying to kiss you; I was trying to distract you, and I’m guessing it worked since you didn’t notice the knife in my hand.”
My chest heaved, and I slumped back against the tree trunk. That explained so much—of course he didn’t have feelings for me and I was a fool to have ever thought otherwise.
Ryker opened his mouth as if to say something, but sighed instead, before starting over. “How I do or don’t feel about you has nothing to do with why I have to leave. It’s the same reason I was so determined to kill you—my sister.”
“You have a sister?”