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My eyes narrowed at him. “Right,” I mumbled.

We continued on for an hour or two before I asked to rest, Elias continuously giving me sideways glances. I began to feel bad for being short and illusive with him. He probably thought something was terribly wrong with me. At that moment, I decided to try to go back to the way things were. I had watched enough plays with my mother as a child. I could try a bit of acting. I could at least pretend that nothing was different.

“So,” I began, sitting on a log and chewing on some jerky. Elias sat on the same log only a few feet away and glanced up from his own meager meal, surprised to hear me start conversation. I cleared my throat and continued. “If you can take Horus on and come out unscathed, you really must be a master at battle.”

Elias swallowed his bite of food then nodded. “I trained in combat for many,manyyears,” he admitted.

“And you said you could teach me, right?”

He eyed me curiously. “Yes, you’re already fairly skilled. You wouldbe easy to teach.”

I chuckled. “I thought I was pretty good until Horus kicked my ass.”

Elias’s eyes darkened for a moment, like he was remembering what Horus had done to me. “The Rimorian soldier was incredibly skilled, I’ll give him that. His movements were quick and fluid, especially for his size. And I wasn’t expecting him to lash out with the sword before you jumped in.” Elias put his dried meat down for a moment. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for saving me.”

“You’ve saved me plenty,” I answered. “I owe you at least one more before we’re even.”

“You owe me nothing, Aura,” he said intently, his eyes fixed on mine. “Not ever.”

The small specs of sapphire blue swirled within his golden irises as the sun hit his gorgeous face, and my stomach filled with butterflies. I had to look away as heat filled my center, and my cheeks blushed. He was making it too easy to fall in love with him. I shifted nervously, trying to suppress my racing emotions.

He sensed the movement, and relaxed his shoulders. “So tell me about Horus,” he started. “What was it like growing up with a brute like that around all the time?”

“No. Absolutely not. I’m not telling you a thing,” I said, shaking my head. “It is your turn to tell me about you. You don’t get to ask me anything when you won’t reveal even one thing about yourself.”

Elias stared at me, and remained silent for a moment. “Okay,” he said finally.

“Okay?”

“You can ask me one thing.One. And I will answer truthfully if I can.”

“That’s reassuring.” I rolled my eyes.

“Take it or leave it,” he shrugged.

We sat there on the log while I was determined to find the perfect question. There were so many things I wanted to know about him. More than he could guess. So I thought carefully about what I should ask him. I wanted to know what he had done in his life that made him think he was such a terrible person, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t answer that. Regardless, it didn’t matter to me about his past. I knew he was good.

Then I knew what I wanted to ask. Something that nagged at the back of my mind. “How did your family die?”

Elias’s body stiffened and I immediately regretted asking the question. But at the same time, I truly wanted to know.

“They were murdered,” he said scornfully. My heart stopped beating for a moment. “By an evil man,” he continued without me having to ask.

I gulped. “Is the killer still alive?”

“I saidonequestion.”

My lips formed a thin line.

Elias sighed. “No, he is no longer alive.”

“Did you kill him?”

“I did not have the luxury,” he growled.

I swallowed another lump in my throat. I inched closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, a mixture of rage and sadness in his eyes. His gaze softened as he met my stare.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, gently squeezing his shoulder.