Page 142

Watching where Kieran rode ahead with Phillips, one of the more seasoned guards, Poppy wiggled again.

I shifted, sliding my arm through the opening of her cloak and clasping her hip.

She stilled.

I tipped forward, lowering my head to hers. “You doing okay?”

“I can’t really feel my legs.”

I laughed. “You’ll get used to it in a couple of days.”

Her sudden inhale as I moved my thumb across her hip brought a grin to my face. “Great.”

“You sure you ate enough?” I asked. She’d only had a little of the cheese and nuts earlier, and I knew she wasn’t accustomed to eating and riding at the same time.

She nodded. “Are we stopping?”

“No.”

“Then why are we slowing?”

“It’s the path—” Airrick cut himself off as he caught my glare.

For once, he managed to stop himself from calling her the Maiden. My promise to knock his ass off his horse likely helped with that. I saw Poppy grin at the young guard.

Airrick just may end up being knocked off his horse either way.

“The path gets uneven here,” Airrick continued. “And there’s a stream, but it’s hard to see through the growth.”

“That’s not all,” I said, moving my thumb in a circle on Poppy’s hip.

“It’s not?” she asked.

“You see Luddie?” I said, referencing the quiet Huntsman who rode beside us. “He’s keeping an eye out for barrats.”

Her lip curled. “I thought they were all gone.”

“They’re the only thing the Craven won’t eat.”

Poppy shuddered. “How many do you think are out here?”

Likely thousands, but I didn’t think she needed to know that. “I don’t know.”

She looked at Airrick.

The young guard quickly averted his gaze. Smart man.

Poppy was, as always, undaunted. “Do you know how many, Airrick?”

“Eh, well, I know there used to be more,” he said, his gaze flicking toward me. I raised my brows. “They didn’t used to be a problem, you know? Or at least that was what my grandfather told me when I was a boy. He lived out here. One of the last ones.”

“Really?” Interest filled Poppy’s voice.

Airrick nodded. “He grew corn and tomatoes, beans and potatoes.” A small smile formed. “He would tell me that the barrats used to be nothing more than a nuisance.”

“I can’t imagine rats weighing nearly two hundred pounds being only a nuisance,” Poppy stated.

“Well, they were just scavengers and more scared of people than we were afraid of them,” Airrick explained. “But with everyone moving out, they lost their…”

“Food source?” she surmised.

Airrick nodded, scanning the horizon. “Now, anything they come across is food.”

“Including us,” she murmured, glancing at Luddie.

I nudged Setti forward, putting some distance between us and the others. “You’re intriguing.”

“Intriguing is your favorite word,” she replied.

“It is when I’m around you.”

Poppy grinned. “Why am I intriguing now?”

“When are you not intriguing?” I replied. “You aren’t afraid of Descenters or Craven, but you’re shuddering like a wet kitten at the mere mention of a barrat.”

She huffed. “Craven and Descenters don’t scurry about on all fours, and they don’t have fur.”

“Well, barrats don’t scurry,” I told her. “They run, about as fast as a hunting dog locked onto prey.”

She shuddered once more. “That is not helping.”

I laughed. “You know what I would love right about now?”

“For there to be no talk of giant, people-eating rats?” she suggested.

I gave her a quick squeeze. “Besides that.”

Poppy snorted, and I liked when she did that. It was a cute little sound.

I frowned at myself. “Do me a favor and reach into the bag by your left leg. Be careful, though. Hold onto the pommel.”

“I’m not going to fall off.”

“Uh-huh.”

She listened, though. Holding on, she reached the bag and lifted the flap.

I eyed her closely as she rooted around. I knew the exact moment she found it. She frowned and pulled out the red leather-bound journal.

Poppy gasped. “Oh, my gods.” She shoved it back into the bag.

Her reaction undid me. A laugh burst out of me, loud enough that Kieran and Phillips both looked over their shoulders.

“I can’t believe you.” She twisted in the saddle. Some of the heat faded from her tone. “How did you even find that book?”

“How did I find that naughty diary of Lady Willa Colyns?” I grinned. “I have my ways.”

“How?” she demanded.

“I’ll never tell.”

Poppy smacked my arm.

My grin went up a notch. “So violent.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You’re not going to read to me?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

I dipped my head closer to hers, unable to stop myself from teasing her. “Maybe I’ll read to you later.”

Her chin lifted. “That’s not necessary.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” she muttered.

I laughed, enjoying the warmth that invaded her cheeks. “How far did you get, Princess?”

She stubbornly mashed her lips together. I waited for an answer. It came with a sigh. “I almost finished it.”

Surprise flickered through me, along with something hot and smoky. That was much, much further than I thought she would have read. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”