Page 52 of Balance

Bryce had a lot to learn about being a good big brother, the first thing being tonotcontrol my movements. That’d be nice.

“Now she’s angry at you again.” Brayden stepped between us, pushing at the other man’s shoulder hard enough to cause Bryce to fall back a step. “Just leave before she tosses you off a cliff. Besides, if they want to chase Miles through the mud, let them. We’ve got a five-star resort waiting for us. It even has a twenty-four-hour bar.”

“I don’t drink!” Bryce frowned at Brayden. “You know that.”

“I’m not talking about you.” Brayden glared at Damen, who was now watching the two with raised eyebrows. “It’d be a shame if they misplaced a certain brand of liquor while we’re there. You might not be able to celebrate.”

“Hey,” Damen interjected, his curiosity morphing into a frown. “That’s going too far.”

“If she has so much as a scratch on her when you get back, you’ll lose more than just your precious alcohol.” Brayden said, nonplussed. “That’s just insurance.”

“Are you threatening me?” Damen’s eyes widened to an almost comical size, and his attention traveled between the two of them. Bryce was now grinning, finally at ease.

“Trust me, I don’t make threats.” Brayden smirked, lowering his head slightly, innocence radiating from him. Even so, a sudden chill seemed to pass through the clearing.

Damen grunted, cursing under his breath, as he continued to follow me through the trails.

We’d been hiking for at least two hours, and the once widened pathways had narrowed down to a point where only one person could pass through at a time. Titus led our group with a purpose—almost as though he was following an invisible trail, leading us confidently onward past various forks and alternative routes—and was followed by me, Damen, and Julian in that order.

Despite his quiet, rugged concentration, long-strides, and assurances that we were on the correct path, we did not seem any closer to finding Miles than we had been when we’d first started.

Must be a dragon thing.

Still, it’d been a long time since I’d been so deep in the forest. Slowly, even my anxieties began to fade. I could hear the rustling of the leaves, and the earth seemed to hum under my feet. This was one thing I’d missed…

Titus glanced back, lips curling as he held another flexible looking branch from the path.

Very nice.

I twisted it, testing the springiness under my fingers, before stepping forward, twisting slightly, and letting the branch swing back and smack Damen in the chest.

“Ow!” he complained again. “The fuck?”

“What are you whining about?” Julian’s amused voice trailed up from the end of the line. “Maybe if you weren’t so clumsy you wouldn’t keep getting hurt. You should pay more attention.”

“She’s doing it on purpose!” Damen hissed in response.

“I highly doubt it.”

A smile blossomed over my face. The longer we hiked, the lighter the atmosphere.

However, that lightness was overcome with a sullen gravity when—as the sky began to darken and we’d come across a small, flat clearing—Titus called us all to a halt. We would have to stop for the night without locating Miles first.

I knew it had been wishful thinking, believing we’d find him right away. But my heart still sank even before he’d spoken the words.

“We’ll camp here for the night.” Titus put his hands on his hips, surveying the area. “Here, princess,” he added, moving to me and holding my elbow as he led me to the side. “Unless you want to also ‘accidentally’ stab Damen with a spike, it might be better if you collect some firewood instead.”

I gasped after him—stabbing was just going too far—but he had rejoined Damen and Julian, who were already hard at work unpacking supplies and setting up the tent.

I tapped my fingers together, awkwardly watching the boys for a moment, and feeling quite out of place since I hadn’t been asked to help, when I remembered Titus’s words.

Firewood.

I could do that.

This was also the perfect opportunity to check the area for predators—though I highly doubted Titus would have missed any—and give in to my biological needs.

It was easy enough to slip out of the clearing, poking around the nearest woods while I accomplished all three of my tasks. The others were close enough… There was no need for panic or upset.