Vengeance (The Captive #6)(51)
She leaned against the rock wall as she watched him. Her eyelids drooped, but she forced them back open as she fought against the sleep trying to pull her under. “Would you like me to start a fire?” he asked.
She shook her head and brushed back the strands of hair that fell forward with the motion. “It’s warm enough in here.”
And it was. Sheltered within the middle of the mountain, out of the way of the whipping wind, it was actually almost pleasant. “We’ll move again tomorrow after the sun sets,” he said.
“I hope the guards aren’t out there,” she murmured.
“I’ll take care of them if they are.”
“What if there are a large number of them?”
“Then you will run as far and as fast as you can, and you will go straight to my sister, my brother, the king, or his brother, Jack. The best place for you to go first will be the town of Chippman. It’s closer than the palace, it’s the last place Aria and Braith were. If they’re not there, Jack will help you, and he will get men to the palace quickly.”
“No one is going to allow me near any of them,” she replied.
“They will if you tell them I sent you.” From the saddlebags, he tugged free his extra cloaks and spread them on the floor. He tore one of the wolf patches from it and walked over to hand it to her. “Keep this on you. If we are separated and you have to run, give this to the first vampire you see wearing one of these cloaks. Tell them William has sent you to speak with Aria, Daniel, Jack, or Braith.”
Her fingers trembled when she took the patch from him. “Are you sure they’ll take me to one of them?”
“Yes. Even if they don’t recognize my name right away, they’ll recognize that patch, and Aria and Braith’s names. They’ll make sure you’re taken to someone who will know me.”
“And how am I supposed to convince any of them I actually know you, if I do get within a hundred feet of them?” she inquired.
“None of them are like that; they don’t keep themselves away from people or vampires. You’ll get close to them.”
“And will they believe me?”
“Tell them I sent you and tell them I said, the banquet tree. Not many know about it, but they all do.”
She folded her hands over her chest. “What does that mean?”
“It’s an apple tree we used to go to as children; it would keep our bellies full for weeks. It meant a lot to us, and it has a different meaning for Braith and Aria. If you tell them that, they’ll know I sent you.”
Tempest tucked the patch into the inside of her cloak. “Sounds like it was a special place for you.”
“It still is.”
She didn’t say anything more; he adjusted the cloaks on the ground before kneeling across from her and placing one of the saddlebags down as a pillow. He hesitated for a minute before opening his arms to her. He had to hold her again tonight, to smell her and feel her against him once more.
She hesitated for long enough that he almost dropped his arms, but then she crawled forward to lay beside him. Her delicate hand rested on his chest; her head tucked neatly under his chin again.
CHAPTER 18
Tempest stirred but didn’t open her eyes. She already knew William wasn’t beside her; she didn’t have to know anything more than that. A strange scraping noise pierced through to her. She tried to ignore it, but then she recalled exactly where they were and those things out there. She bolted upright; her eyes shot wildly around the cave before finding William standing by the water trickling down the cave wall.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“I heard a… ah…” her voice trailed off when she spotted his bare cheek and the lower half of his jaw. Her mouth parted, then closed again when she saw the knife in his hand. “What are you doing?”
He grinned at her before dipping the knife he held into the water and lifting it to his cheek again. Across from him was a small piece of metal he was using as a mirror. While she watched, patches of hair from his beard fell away to land on the cave floor. “I’m making myself more presentable, since it’s impossible to make myself more handsome.”
A small smile curved her mouth at his unabashed confidence. A teasing gleam lit his eyes when he looked at her in the surface of the metal. He shook the blade of the knife off before dipping it into the water again.
“But why your beard?” She’d liked the way it tickled as it rubbed against her skin when they were kissing. You’re not supposed to kiss him anymore, an inner voice admonished her.
“The last time Kane saw me, I had a full beard. He may have stabbed me in the back, but he’d still recognize a redhead with a beard.”
Her smile vanished at his words; a chill slid down her spine. The calculation and intent behind the removal of his beard made her stomach turn. What would happen when they got into town? What would happen when he saw the man who ended his mortal life?
“I’m hoping he won’t recognize me now.” William placed the knife on a rock outcropping and lifted a rag to his face. He wiped away the water from his cheeks before turning to her. “What do you think?”
He looked about five years younger without the beard shadowing his face, maybe early twenties despite the lines crinkling around his vibrant eyes when he smiled at her. She didn’t think he looked more handsome. He’d been right, that was impossible, but he definitely looked more approachable.