Enveloping Shadows

by Lauren D. M. Smith

  Zel nodded, studying the bridge, expression skeptical. “Be careful. The shadows can’t really help with this as they don’t have a concept of weight.”

  She smiled faintly. “I’ll try.”

  After passing him her reins, Terrwyn approached, eyeing the structure as she got nearer. It didn’t improve on closer examination, only revealed more worrisome details. Like the cracks she could see in the wooden boards nearest her, and the faint curve to the bridge she doubted was intentional.

  The whole thing creaked alarmingly as she took her first couple of steps onto it. It seemed to settle after a moment, though she could hear a faint groan each time she settled her weight onto the next pockmarked board. Terrwyn sighed but took each step slowly, testing before resting her full weight onto her foot, not having great hope now for it getting them across. Which would mean them having to find a ford anyway.

  Halfway she found a board that sagged under her foot. She pulled it back immediately, shifting closer to the opposite side of the bridge, prepared to walk around it. But in moving out of the way of the soft one, she forgot to check the other boards.

  Rotten wood broke underneath her, and like a house made of straw, the pieces of the bridge around her shattered and fell. A yelp escaped her lips when her footing disappeared. Terrwyn hissed as her back scraped against jagged wood as she fell, just able to grab a breath as she plunged into the cold water.

  She could feel the weight of her armour dragging her down, but she fought against it. Once again, she was grateful she wore leather-metal hybrid and not full plate. She’d have sunk straight to the bottom in plate and no one would have found her body. She still had to swim harder than she’d ever had to get her head back above water, her lungs burning and her pulse deafening in her ears by the time she broke through the surface.

  Terrwyn sucked in air while trying to orient herself to the shore where Zel was. She heard him shout her name and turned, seeing him hurrying towards her. She kicked out and swam slowly in his direction, muscles straining against the weight of her armour and sword. She clenched her teeth and struggled on, not prepared to give them up, not with what lay ahead for them.

  By the time her churning feet found the bottom, her breathing was laboured. The slog through the remainder of the water wasn’t much better, but she was no longer fighting to move and breathe at the same time. The muddy bottom shifted underneath her boots, and she did her best not to think of what horrible things could be living there.

  When she reached the shore, Zel leaned forward and offered her a hand. She accepted it gratefully, letting him haul her up and over. Once on solid land she rolled over onto her back and panted. Water dripped and oozed out of her boots and clothes, slowly soaking into the grass she lay on.

  Zel knelt beside her, lines running across his forehead. “Are you okay? Do you need me to—”

  Terrwyn cut him off with a slow headshake. “I’m fine, only tired. Can you find us a nearby place to camp? I don’t think I’m going to be able to get too much farther before the sun goes down.”

  He nodded and stood. “Wait here, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She just closed her eyes, letting the sun beat down on her, hoping it would dry her off some. While she wanted to sleep right where she was, Terrwyn knew better. There were too many dangerous things around to do something like that. Zel said he’d be back soon, so she would wait, hoping he found something really close. Until then, she was going to stay as still as she could and think about how to dry herself out.

  * * *

  Tucked up between two hills, the area behind them filled in with an old landslide, their camp was relatively defensible. Enough that Zelek had started a fire, after first settling Terrwyn and their mounts, who drowsed behind them. Despite her body still feeling a bit heavy, Terrwyn wasn’t tired.

  Part of that might be she’d finally removed her armour, leaving it spread out between some rocks a distance from the fire. She’d already wiped as much water off as she could and hoped it would dry properly by morning. She’d only brought an extra plain-leather chest protector, not another set of hybrid, so if her armour didn’t dry...

  She pulled her legs up to her chest and edged closer to the fire, shivering faintly. Even in dry clothes she had a chill she couldn’t seem to shake. The river water had been far colder than she’d thought, making her wonder if it wasn’t fed from a glacier or other meltwater source. The fact the sun had gone down didn’t help.

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  Terrwyn looked up to find Zel looming at her side, a mug of something that steamed in each hand. “Just feeling a touch cold is all.”

  “Here.” He handed her one of the mugs then sat down beside her. “That ought to help.”

  “Thank you.” She tried to not pay attention to the way his body was just not touching her even as his body heat seemed to spread out around her. She took a small sip of what turned out to be tea and felt it all the way down. Terrwyn gratefully took another sip, feeling like it was making some kind of dent in the ice at her core.

  When she looked up, she found Zel’s gaze on her. “Are you still cold?”

  She dropped her focus to the mug. “A little, but I’ll be fine in a bit.”

  Terrwyn heard the movement but didn’t realize what Zelek was doing until his arm was around her waist, pulling her against him. She could feel her cheeks flare. Each of his fingertips seemed to burn through her shirt as if it wasn’t there, the muscles of his arms like a warm iron band, holding her to him. She struggled, though not forcefully, her tea sloshing perilously close to the edges of her mug.

  “Hey now,” he said, shifting so her head could lie against his shoulder if she was bold enough to do so. “You’ll feel better like this.”

  She looked up, hoping the firelight wasn’t strong enough to show him what colour her face was. “I—I... This can’t be very comfortable for you.”

  Zel smiled. “I’m perfectly comfortable, but I appreciate your concern.”

  Terrwyn glanced downwards. There was some edge to his expression that made it hard for her to meet his eyes, a light there she wasn’t used to seeing directed at her, an interest that went beyond the simple friendship she usually had with other people. It was a look that warmed her, made her want to hide, and made her want to get closer to him all at the same time.

  She stayed still while her thoughts whirled. She couldn’t deny she was attracted to him. She liked his easy smile, the way he helped her and accepted her help in equal measure, how he always seemed sensitive to her moods and tried to keep her spirits up. She got the impression he liked her as well, that at the very least there was friendship and trust between them, despite whatever else might be there.

  Her last lover had been more of a friend than a true lover. They’d been able to satisfy their needs with each other, the rest of the time acting the same way they acted with the rest of their companions. Her first...

  Terrwyn shook herself mentally. There was no point thinking about that. As for Zel, with time they could possibly become true lovers, if he felt the same. But time was the one thing they didn’t have. They were only days away from the Tower, and once there, she doubted she’d be leaving it again.

  Even if by some miracle she did survive, Zel would be headed home once they were done. He’d been away too long to want to delay it, and she could hardly blame him. So there was no point in thinking about the future or what could potentially be. They had now and that was it.

  Gentle fingers made her jerk and raise her head. Smiling, Zel pulled his hand back. “You’re being quiet, even for you.”

  “Oh,” she said, looking back at her mug. “I was just thinking.”

  He tilted her head back up so she had to look at him. “You know I don’t bite,” he said with a wink. “There’s no reason you can’t look at me. I promise it’s not offensive whe
re I’m from, in case that’s what you’re worried about. And you have such pretty eyes.”

  Fire sparked in her cheeks but she did her best to hold his gaze. “I-it’s nothing. And I know you don’t bite.” Even to her ears she sounded stupid and she cursed herself.

  Zel chuckled. “That’s good then. I would hate to find out you don’t like me.”

  “No!” she said a little too quickly. “I mean, I don’t don’t like you, that is, I really do like you. I...” She trailed off, feeling an almost overwhelming desire to look anywhere except at Zelek, but she fought against it. She was master of herself and would behave as such.

  “I like you as well.” He slowly leaned towards her, the smile on his lips growing. “And you know, I thought of another way to warm you up.”

  He was so close that she wasn’t only enveloped in his body heat but was surrounded faintly by the scent of him. Her heartbeat grew in her ears as her breathing caught. She froze, her eyes widening, not knowing what she should do, what she should say.

  Zel shifted and leaned in so his lips were almost against her ear. “If you’re still cold,” he breathed, making her shiver in a way that had nothing to do with temperature. “We can always...go for a run around the camp.”

  Terrwyn blinked as he pulled away from her, grinning. Had he just said...? She stared at him.

  “I know you’re tired, but moving your body’s a great way to warm up,” he said, a suspicious glint to his gaze.

  Her lips moved, but there were no words.

  Chapter Eighteen: Cold-Blooded

  In the weak light of the grey morning, they rode in silence, Zel in the lead as his shadows directed him along the safest paths. The ford his shadows had found upstream was shallow enough only their legs were still damp. Terrwyn watched him through eyes that carried bags. A restless night of frustrating dreams that had featured him almost exclusively hadn’t helped. And he looked annoyingly well rested this morning, which hadn’t improved her mood any.

  He sat straight on his mount, gaze moving like hers, both of them keeping alert for anything that might be dangerous. She couldn’t see his face, just his broad shoulders covered by his grey shirt, his coat folded up behind him so it no longer hid the way every muscle shifted as he moved—

  She shook her head. She was letting herself be distracted, letting her dreams influence her reality. She needed to focus. Her traitorous mind immediately brought up the memories of last night causing her heartbeat to speed up. She didn’t understand why he’d... If she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn he’d done that on purpose, that he was teasing her or something.

  Did that mean he was only interested in being friends? Terrwyn’s mind circled the idea. He seemed to get close to her far more often than her other male friends did, and he did touch her more than she thought was normal. But then he was from another country and their culture could be different. What if everything he’d been doing was normal for him and she was reading too much into it?

  She could have sworn he’d been about to kiss her yesterday, until she’d run away. Terrwyn knew she wasn’t terribly experienced with lover-like relationships so she could be wrong. Even though she wanted to be right.

  Maybe she should try getting closer to him? Terrwyn could feel her cheeks heat immediately. She had no idea what she’d say, what she should do. She’d probably make a mess of it. And if Zel was only looking for friendship, she’d likely cause him discomfort and she didn’t want to do that.

  Realizing she was dwelling on Zelek rather than what she should be thinking about, Terrwyn straightened in her saddle and looked around. The scenery was much the same, though she thought things were getting a bit rockier than they had been. Maybe they’d be able to find another cave. She always felt more secure in that kind of camp, and if another storm came and trapped them in there, they’d be dry and comfortable together.

  She made a face as she caught her thoughts going back to him. Really, this was getting out of hand. She found herself thinking about Zel as much as she did about Aricia. She should only be thinking about the princess, on how she was going to distract the witch long enough that Aricia and Zel could both get out. Not about how she thought the princess would like him and be excited to finally meet her dance partner—

  Terrwyn gritted her teeth. It seemed her mind was set to torture her today. “Blasted thoughts,” she muttered. “Blasted dreams and blasted Zel. I’m a sworn knight, not a girl in a bawdy tale. Even if—No! Not thinking about it. Not thinking about him again.”

  Glancing up had her frowning. His body hunched over, Zel’s shoulders were shaking, like he was in pain. She kicked her mare into a trot so she could come up beside him, her face creased in concern. “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”

  He looked up at her and lost all control. Zel threw his head back and began laughing, the noise loud in the quiet of the empty hills. Terrwyn could only stare at him, trying to figure out what was going on and what was so very funny.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, wiping at his eyes once he’d calmed a bit, a chuckle escaping him when he looked at her. “That was rude.”

  She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  His lips twitched and he rubbed a hand down his face, like he was trying to smooth away the rest of his laughter. “That’s fine. Actually, it’s probably better that way for you.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  That got another chuckle out of him. “I suppose I’m not. Don’t worry.” A sly smile spread across his face. “I’ll tell you all about it another time.”

  Terrwyn eyed him, not sure she could trust the expression. She got the distinct impression she wasn’t going to like whatever it was he wasn’t telling her. Still, there was nothing she could do about it. “All right then.”

  They rode quietly for a little while, Terrwyn still trying to puzzle out what had happened while Zel continued to grin in the most infuriating of ways. “So,” Zelek said, breaking the silence. “You’re not cold today, are you?”

  Her brain chose to bring forth the memories of being pressed into him, causing her cheeks to flare. This time though, Terrwyn held his gaze. “No, I’m fine, thank you. It was just a bit of a chill from the river.”

  Zel nodded sagely, the expression he wore ruined by his dancing eyes. “I’m glad. You wouldn’t want to get sick or anything. If you were still cold, we’d have had to find some way to warm you up.”

  “I’m generally very healthy, so it shouldn’t be an issue. I rarely get sick.”

  He gave her a sidelong glance before grinning again. “Well, let’s hope you don’t go for any more unexpected swims. But don’t worry, if you do, I’ll pull you out and ensure you get yourself warmed up right to your core.”

  Terrwyn flushed even as she said, “Thank you.” Her body didn’t seem to want to forget the way his had felt against her and was in cahoots with her brain, bringing that sensation back to haunt her. If this continued, she didn’t think she’d be getting much sleep tonight either.

  * * *

  At the midpoint between two hills, Zelek suddenly halted. Terrwyn reined up beside him and frowned. His eyes narrowed, he studied the high yellow grass growing right where their path opened back up. “There’s something over there,” he said quietly, still staring at the same place.

  “What is it?”

  “Not people. Some kind of creatures. Three of them, and my guess is they’re lying in wait for us or whatever else passes their way. They’re not creatures I’m familiar with, but my shadows have made it clear they’re not the type we want at our backs. They’re not small either.”

  Terrwyn let out a low hiss. Three would be difficult, and if they were proper monsters, there’d be a high risk of the horses spooking. But she was loath to give up the height advantage if these creatures were big. Grimacing, she looked at Z
el. “Let’s tie our mounts to the tree over there and deal with these things. If we lose one of the horses, we’ll be slowed down.”

  He nodded, following her to where the large elm stretched out its leafy branches. After tying their mounts and both of them checking their weapons, Terrwyn turned to Zelek. “I should take the lead. My weapon has the longer reach. Could you hide yourself in my shadow and keep them off my back and sides as needed? If they can’t see you, they’ll have a harder time hitting you.”

  Zel saluted her with a knife. “That I can do.”

  She gave him a half smile then focused her attention on the grass that hid the creatures and the area around them, unsheathing her blade. The way the hills hovered near each other, they created almost a channel. With Zel close behind her but impossible to see in her shadow, she slowly moved forward, keeping the rise of the hill close enough to feel with their feet, her focus locked on to the grass.

  Even knowing something was there, Terrwyn nearly jumped when the creatures came bursting out. Long and stocky, with heavy clawed feet, wide jaws, and muscular tails almost as long as they were, all covered in dull gold and brown scales, they were like nothing Terrwyn had ever seen. Three forked, yellow tongues flicked out in their direction as the monsters darted towards them.

  Seeing the way the one in the lead was bunching himself up, Terrwyn brought her sword up to guard her lower body. When it lunged, mouth gaping impossibly wide, she swung away, letting it smash its head into the rocky side of the hill. She struck out with her blade at its exposed neck but could feel the blow was shallow. The beast’s scales were almost as good as armour against her sword.

  It still roared, the cut welling red. Terrwyn didn’t pay much attention to it, her eyes on the one that was slinking towards her from the side. The third was farther back.

  The lizard lashed out with its powerful tail, trying to knock her off her feet. Terrwyn jumped back, almost stumbling when her feet hit the beginning of the hill behind her. She caught herself and swung overhand at the tail. With the force of her weight and momentum behind it, it bit deep, nearly severing the appendage.