Warrior (Relentless #4)(110)

The sight of her sitting on the riverbank, with her forehead resting on her knees, which were drawn close to her chest, caused my stomach to tighten. She looked so small and lost against the backdrop of the foaming water, and all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and comfort her.

She didn’t look up when I approached, and my steps faltered when I felt pain coming through our bond.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She started in surprise, but she didn’t answer.

I walked over to stand beside her. “You left without eating, and you can’t train on an empty stomach. These are your favorite, right?”

Her head tilted back, and she stared at the muffin I held out to her. “Thanks,” she said quietly, taking it from my hand without looking at me.

“Are you going to tell me what is wrong with you?” Something had upset her, and I wished she felt like she could talk to me.

“I’m fine.”

I sat beside her. “I think I know you well enough to know that is not true.”

“I didn’t sleep last night and I’m tired,” she said thickly, still not meeting my eyes.

“Is that all? You sound upset.”

I could sense she was distressed, and I didn’t believe it had anything to do with a bad night’s sleep. Frustration gnawed at me. I hated seeing her like this and not knowing how to help her.

She lifted her head to stare at the river. “Not getting any sleep messes me up.”

Maybe forcing her to use her power on me yesterday had affected her more than she’d let on. She’d told me once that using her power weakened her, and I’d seen the effects of it when she’d healed Roland. She’d looked okay when we parted ways, but she could have been hiding it. Sara was very good at keeping things to herself.

“Perhaps we overdid it yesterday in training,” I suggested.

She nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

What she needed was a day out. She’d been here a month, training almost every day. The one time she’d gotten a day away, she’d been attacked and spent the night in the medical ward. And I’d been pushing her in training. She needed a break.

“We’ll skip training today. Is there anything else you want to do instead? We could take that trip to town.”

There was a short pause, and I thought she was going to say yes.

“I think I’ll eat my muffin, and then I’ll go take Hugo and Woolf for a walk.”

I felt a small pang of disappointment, but I pushed it away. Her needs were all that mattered. She was upset and being with the hounds comforted her.

I got to my feet. “Just as long as you don’t do anything to tire yourself too much. I’ll see you later.”

I walked a few steps before she called, “See you, and thanks again for the muffin.”

“Anytime,” I called back with a smile.

Free from my plans for the day, I found Tristan and told him I’d visit the warlock today instead of tomorrow. Chris and I drove to Boise and found the warlock’s residence that had been hastily vacated. Warlocks had a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and this one apparently knew when someone was looking for him. We spent the next day and a half tracking him down and getting him to clean up his mess.

It was a day longer than I’d planned to be away from Sara, and I caught myself speeding more than once on the drive back to Westhorne. It still amazed me how my life had changed since I met her. A few months ago, I’d thought nothing of being on the road for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Now I could only think about getting back to her.

We made it back in time for dinner. I checked in with Tristan to let him know the warlock problem was resolved, and then I headed for the dining hall.

Sara and Jordan were leaving just as I entered, and Sara gave me a small smile. She appeared to be in better spirits and no longer upset by whatever had been bothering her yesterday.

After dinner, Chris and I went to the arena to spar. We fought for an hour before Chris lowered his sword and declared he’d had enough.

He rubbed his shoulder. “We need to find a better way for you to work off some of that aggression.”

“What aggression?”

Chris snorted. “You’ve been wound up for two days. I thought being back here would improve your mood, but my aching shoulder says otherwise.”

I started to shake my head and stopped because he was right; I was wound up. Every minute I spent with Sara strengthened our bond and intensified my need to be with her. It was a constant struggle to be what she needed and not reveal my true feelings for her. Being away from her had been hard for me and my Mori.

“I can guess your mood has something to do with my little cousin. You two on the outs?”

“No. She just needed a break.” I told him about our training session two days ago when I’d tricked her into using her power on me. “I think I pushed her too hard.”

Chris whistled. “You are a braver man than I am. I heard what she did to that lamprey demon.”

“It was a risk, but a worthwhile one. She can’t fight or use a sword yet, but she has this powerful weapon inside her. She’s afraid of using it because she thinks she’ll hurt one of us. Now she knows how to call on her power and how to control it, and she doesn’t have to be afraid of harming us.”

“I’m impressed.”