Page 22 of The Freedom You Seek

I’d never ridden on horseback, and my pain and exhaustion had me worried about that. Luckily, Dion’s arms acted as a cage when he grabbed the reins. His huge body held me in place and kept me from falling, which was more important than the embarrassment of sitting so close to a stranger. I couldn’t help but register the warmth radiating from him.

“Don’t get used to riding with me. Once we meet the rest, one of them can take you.”

Charming,I thought, but I kept my mouth shut. For now, I depended on these two men, possibly more than I could even fathom.

As we rode on toward the caves, I could feel Ireas’ reproachful gaze burning into my back, which annoyed me to no end. Yes, I’d been mean to the woman I’d rescued, but what did I care? I’d gotten her out and had saved her life, hadn’t I? It didn’t mean I had to have more contact except for the bare minimum. So I had every right to ignore Ireas staring daggers at me. Even his voice sounded more annoyed than I’d ever heard it before.

“Dion, I’ll take a detour to a nearby village to stock up on supplies for us and find something for Nayanato wear.”

“Now?”

“Yes. There’s one close. I remember passing it on our way to Credenta. Come on, don’t look at me like that. I mean, you have to understand that I don’t want to waste this opportunity.”

“I don’t like the idea of splitting up any more than we already have.”

“But Dion, it’s essentials I’m talking about. What if one of us gets wounded, and we’re out of bandages?”

Sighing, I nodded at him. Even though I didn’t like it, he was correct.

“It won’t take a lot of time. I’ll meet you and the others at the caves tomorrow. And Dion—be nice.”

Snarling, I bared my teeth at Ireas. Contrary to his request, I had no intention of being nice. Also, who did he think he was? As if he was in a position to demand anything from me.

The woman tried to sit as straight as possible, as if she wanted to minimize physical contact between us, which aligned with my wishes.

She was incredibly dirty, still covered in dry blood of unknown origin. She looked pathetic and would draw the attention of every traveler who had the misfortune of meeting her. What I thought was her trembling with emotional strain—she was shaking like a leaf—was actually something else entirely. When I accidentally touched her hand and found it ice cold, a small hiss of surprise escaped me. She was freezing. I tried to ignore her discomfort, but even I wasn’t indifferent to someone in my vicinity being soobviously miserable.

Taking the reins of my horse in my left hand, I undid the intricate clasp of the black cloak I was wearing and wrapped the fabric in one fluid motion around her shoulders. Before she could so much as react, I clipped it shut, taking care that the material didn’t press against her neck. I pulled the hood over her head and tugged at the fabric until I was satisfied that most of her face was covered. There was a split second when I wanted to smile to comfort her, but I immediately stopped myself.

“There. Better.”

“Thanks. I was freezing.” It sounded as if admitting that she was cold had cost her something, which I found curious. She was a peculiar tiny creature.

“Don’t mistake my actions for kindness or think I care about your comfort. But you look like something found in the gutters after rotting there for weeks, and we can’t have you drawing too much attention to us. So keep the hood up.”

“What’s your problem?” Her blue eyes lit up with fiery anger, blazing at me like two angry orbs, which I only noticed because she’d turned around to face me. That must’ve been painful, considering her injuries. Belatedly, I realized that the cerulean color of her irises had darkened to a cobalt hue as fury had entered them. What a fascinating effect that I wanted to explore more thoroughly.

“At the moment?You.Especially your vile smell. It’s even worse than your repulsive appearance, Jama.” Which was true. The scent of death and decay clung to her and veiled her natural odor. It was barely there, and as far as I was able to tell, it reminded me faintly of herbs andfreshly cut grass mixed with a touch of citrus. The mixture could have been enticing, but she’d need to clean herself thoroughly before I’d be able to form a final opinion. At the moment, she was an insult to my sense of smell.

Her previously stiff posture tensed further and turned rigid.

“Sorry for not asking for a bath before I was escorted to the gallows.”

Guilt clawed at my insides as my nagging inner voice chastised me for not soothing her instead of bringing up unpleasant memories, but I was determined to suppress the remnants of whatever was left of my conscience. For now and forever.

“Why did you do it anyway? If you’re so disgusted with me,whydid you save me?”

Shit. I wasn’t in the mood to explain this. “I followed orders.”

“Orders? Whose orders?”

“You can ask him soon yourself.”

I was determined to shoot down more irritating questions, and I could see her shoulders sag in defeat. The nagging voice returned with a vengeance, reminding me she had just been through more than most people ever had to endure. Before I hardened myself once more, I banded my right arm around Jama’s waist, pulling her closer. “Relax. Sleep. It won’t do you any good if you fall unconscious again.”

Her attempts to struggle against my hold were cute, but in vain. I scowled and tugged her even closer toward me,much to her annoyance. “I’m not letting you fall, Jama. So, relax.”

Jama finally calmed somewhat down, and after a pleasant minute of silence, I thought she’d fallen asleep. Obviously, I was wrong.