Page 85 of The Freedom You Seek

“I’ll be cautious. Ready?”

“Ready.” I ignored the slight discomfort as Dion’s fingers dug into my waist, as well as his low growling, which had become a constant over the last few minutes.

At first, I felt nothing but the horse moving underneath me, Dion’s large body crowding me a bit too much for my liking, as well as his chest vibrating against my back and the wind in my face and hair. Suddenly, there was a sharp pang of uncomfortable heat rushing through me, and Dion cursed.

“Stop whipping your hair in my face, Jama.”

“That was hardly my doing.” I gave myself some moments to recover from the uncomfortable feeling I’d just endured.

“It was you who agreed to let Antas try.”

“So it worked?“ My head turned around to Antas, who nodded.

“I had to search for your Potential, then coax some of it out.”

I could feel Dion radiating smugness behind me. “What, Dion?”

“Nothing. Except, I don’t have to coax. Your Potential wants to come out to play with me at the slightest nudge.”

Again, both Antas and I didn’t dignify him with an answer, even if I had to agree with him. It felt different when we worked together. A lot more pleasant, more likea loving embrace—even if that didn’t make any sense at all—and not the least painful.

After a few tests, we found out all the men could pull from my Potential, and even though we had nobody with water magic around, everyone assumed I could also support a Wielder of that affinity. We managed to conduct our trials without Lor noticing, and I wondered why the men were so cagey about their powers around her. After all, she’d seen Dion’s darkness—but well, if he got it his way, he’d prance around showing off his powers for all the worlds to see—and as a Marsian noble, I figured Lor knew more about the truth anyway.

Dion, of course, made a face as if he’d bitten into a bunch of lemons. He reminded me of a child in danger of having his favorite toy stolen. I could ease his mind and tell him darkness was the only element that didn’t feel uncomfortable when pulled, but I decided to let the bastard suffer some more. He deserved to sulk longer for all I cared.

Lor steered her horse next to us. “We’ll arrive at the Savatos Mountains soon. From there, it’ll take us two more days until we reach Larithia if the weather holds.”

Oddly enough, she gave me her attention instead of Dion. “Thanks for guiding us, Lor.”

“No, you don’t have to be grateful for that. I got out of Kalcas undetected and only have your situation to thank for.”

“My situation?”

“I know you’re wanted, and as I mentioned earlier, I’ve heard that the guards assumed you were nearby, since someone fitting your description left the city for a few hours last night.”

“I told you that running away was stupid and reckless.”

“Shut up, Dion. We’ve been over it.”

“And my point still stands.”

“I know your point. You can stop rubbing it in.”

“Never, Jama, never.”

Lor laughed. “You two bicker like an old married couple.”

“He wishes.”

“I don’t.”

Lor chuckled again. “My point.”

I made an unhappy face and curled my lips downward as I kept my attention on Lor, the biting sting of annoyance coiling in my belly. She’d changed into fine leathers, had cleaned up, and appeared more relaxed than earlier in the tavern. I pushed away my unjustified irritation, forbidding myself to dwell on the dark thoughts I had and returned to our earlier conversation. “It was self-defense.”

“I don’t need to know what happened. Just seeing you tells me you aren’t a cold-blooded murderer. You have your man for that.”

Lor’s words rendered me speechless while Dion chuckled. “Astute observation. She barely knows where the pointy end of a sword is.”