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Thea grinned, trying not to picture Wilder naked amid ribbons of steam, and herself tending to his aching muscles. ‘I’m sure some poor shieldbearer would happily oblige you.’

‘Hilarious,’ Wilder said flatly.

Thea tried again. ‘You’ve hunted a fallen Warsword down before, then?’

Wilder pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Once.’

‘And it wasn’t Talemir?’

‘I told you it wasn’t. Tal wasn’t like that.’

‘Then wh—’

‘Warswords know how to remain invisible and hidden when they want.’

‘But you found them – you brought them to justice. Didn’t you?’

He drew a sharp, impatient breath. ‘Because I think like a Warsword.’

‘Then teach me. Teach me how to think like a Warsword.’ She made a mental note to find that map he had mentioned.

They reached the spot Wilder had pointed to and he halted, turning to her in his saddle. ‘What in the realms do you think I’ve been doing?’

Thea laughed. ‘That remains to be seen.’

Wilder swung down from his horse effortlessly and retrieved his bow. He held it up to her. ‘Then in that case, you’re on hunting duty. Let’s see if I taught you well enough, Apprentice.’

* * *

When Thea returned carrying a dead pheasant, she nearly dropped it in the dirt. For Wilder stood with his back to her by the small stream, completely naked.

Thea’s mouth went dry.

Gods, he was glorious. Every inch of sun-kissed muscle on display, water sluicing down the planes of his mighty body as he washed himself, oblivious to her arrival.

Pact or no, arousal coursed through Thea at the sight of him. She remembered the first time she’d glimpsed his bare skin, in a similar situation on the way to Harenth. She’d been just as breathless, just as gobsmacked then, only now… now she knew what that body felt like, what it could do to her —

A stick snapped beneath her boot as she approached.

But Wilder didn’t jump. He’d known she was there. ‘We’re on dangerous ground here, Apprentice,’ he said, his voice low.

The deep resonance of the sound vibrated low in her belly and she clenched her thighs together.

‘Nothing I haven’t seen before,’ she forced out. ‘Besides, where’s your decency?’

He turned to her, holding his hands in front of his cock, but leaving the rest of himself bare, wet and gleaming in the final golden rays of sunlight. ‘Apparently non-existent,’ he said, his eyes bright with amusement as he took in her open mouth and the way her chest hitched. ‘To be fair, I thought you’d be longer.’

Thea licked her lips, trying to ignore the incessant pulse of desire between her legs. ‘Well, I’m an excellent shot.’

‘So Ididteach you well.’

‘Apparently so.’

Thea turned on her heel and left before she did something stupid.

* * *

Later, when night had fallen and the pheasant was roasting over the fire, Wilder caught her eye over the flames. The energy between them was still charged, still full of unresolved want and unspoken words.