Page 41 of The Heart of Nym (The Twisted Roots Duology #1)

She gave another shrug. Words evaded her for a moment, her teeth nibbling at the inside of her cheek before she released a sigh. "I made a bad decision when I was fifteen. One that got my people captured—got me captured."

When her mother went missing, Nymiria didn't know what to do.

She didn't know how to lead a kingdom or govern thousands of people.

Even with the most skilled and intelligent advisors, she was not prepared for the job that she'd inherited.

Out of fear and desperation, she'd turned to the very people that captured her—bartering for her mother's freedom.

Much to her dismay, she discovered that Yaar hadn't taken her.

And she'd given up the location of her kingdom and her people by that one very bad, stupid choice.

She failed them. And when that man came out of the woods and cut her from the post she'd been tied to, she didn't warn her people of Yaar's arrival.

She just…

Ran.

"Why would you tell me something like that?" Trio chuckled. "Either you have a spectacular judge of character or you really don't care about someone knowing your deepest, darkest secrets."

On the contrary, she did mind. But Trio seemed harmless enough and, truly, she owed it to him.

So maybe he might understand her. It had worked with his sister, after all.

"I just wanted you to know. And I want it to be clear that you have nothing to fear in regard to me telling anyone about this. I've made that mistake before."

The way her voice dropped at the end made Trio perk up, his eyes roving over her from head to toe.

"You think that no one here has ever made a mistake before?

" Trio asked quietly. His voice was sympathetic, telling of something that he, too, also would regret until the day he died.

He pinched another bloom off of its vine and then tucked it behind her ear.

Nymiria gave him a half-smile. An understanding one.

"I abandoned my best friend at the most vulnerable time of his life.

And even though he hasn't ever held it against me, I always will have this nagging thought that things would have turned out differently for him had I been there to help guide him. "

Nymiria felt her chest tighten with a deep ache that was not her own but very familiar. "You're talking about Aziel?"

Trio only looked at her with sad eyes. They stared at one another for a moment before he cleared his throat and looked back out at the growing kingdom. "Don't tell him about that, either. I will never see a day of peace—he'll tease me relentlessly."

She could only shake her head at his comment, that warmth settling back on her shoulders once again. "I do have one more question about Aziel." Trio tilted his head, his curiosity piqued. "Is he ever happy?"

He opened his mouth to respond before jerking his head in the direction of the doors that led out to the balcony, his amused smile slipping and his back going straight.

She felt a slight panic at his change in posture, her hand immediately going to her thigh for her dagger, only to remember that it was probably still laying somewhere in her overgrown garden.

"I would be happier if Trio actually followed directions."

She turned, prepared to make a smart retort, but was left feeling breathless when she saw him walking towards them. His gloved hands were stuffed into his pockets, his eyes squinting against the bright rays of the sun and his hair fluttering against his brow in the breeze.

He was wearing his ranger suit again, the black jewels and silver chains that hung from one lapel to the other gleaming in the light.

His gaze flickered over her form, lingering at the curve of her waist before flickering back to the flower behind her ear.

"I hate to put a damper on the day, but I believe we must be returning you back to Yaar, Nymiria. "

No.

This time, the voice was her own. And it was a whisper, a faint voice that she hadn't heard in so long that she didn't know whether to listen to it or not.

Nymiria stepped away from the railing and gave a small, unsure nod.

She walked back towards the washroom, listening to the clacking of Aziel's boots as he followed her.

A small shiver ran up her spine, her eyes closing and teeth clenching as she tried to force her dream from her mind once again.

She thought she could easily forget about it, but her skin still seemed to burn in the places his hands had touched her—that strange dip of heat returning between her legs that left her feeling almost breathless with desire.

She paused.

"I don't have anything to wear."

He continued past her, his hand extended towards the large armoire in the bedroom.

"This whole armoire is full of clothes. Did you think—" His teeth ground together, eyes closing as if he was suddenly overcome with a bout of pain.

But then the moment was gone and he was looking at her again.

Only this time, with less irritation. "There may be something in here that you could find to wear.

Please…" He drew in a shaky breath and released it. "Choose whatever you like."

Whatever she'd dreamed of certainly could not come true. Because, now, the only thing she felt when looking at him was the desire to punch him in the throat again.

The forest was still just as dark as she remembered.

After all these years, she still remembered the path she would take to get to the house on the edge of the kingdom, just before crossing into the Wander.

She desperately wanted to follow that path again, and look through those windows to see if a fire still blazed inside.

She wanted to see the smoke billowing from the chimney and smell the unforgettable scent of dragon tart cooking in her Nan's oven.

But she didn't. Aziel was desperate to return, knowing that they had a two-day journey ahead of them with only a few hours of rest in between, he was on edge and plowing through the forest with such speed that Nymiria was struggling to keep up.

Even in her natural form, her legs were not quite as long or powerful as his.

He was a force to behold, really. Just the sheer power he exuded, it was enough to make her see why they called him the Demon of the Forest.

Mean. Brutish. Scary. And absolutely gorgeous, apparently. Not that she hadn't noticed before. The moment she saw him in that game room, she believed he was beautiful. Anyone could see it.

But something changed. Everything had changed.

There was more to Aziel than his grumpy little face and his snarky attitude. He was actually quite charming.

No, that's the dream talking. Give it another day and this attraction will go away.

Good gods, perhaps she needed to wear that gods-forsaken chastity belt.

Whatever she was feeling was beyond her.

Nymiria rolled her eyes at herself, averting her eyes from his back and focusing on the river.

They'd been following the same path for four hours already.

And even though her legs ached and her feet felt like they were on fire in these boots, she didn't complain.

She gritted her teeth and trudged through the pain, gasping and grunting against every incline while Aziel seemingly hadn't even broken a sweat.

The Beyond was not for the weak.

There weren't many clothing options in Aziel's armoire for her to choose from.

Everything was black and tailored to fit a man that was over a foot taller than she was.

The shirt she wore nearly hung to her knees before she bunched it up and tucked it into breeches that were currently rolled up at the ends and stuffed into her boots.

And they weren't even her boots. Aziel had bought them off of some poor woman on their way out of the kingdom.

She blamed that part on herself. The entire first mile that they'd walked, she'd complained about having to walk in Aziel's socks. After arguing for five minutes about why she wasn't going to wear his boots, he'd found the nearest house and asked for the shoes.

Nymiria was grateful, but she couldn't quite shake the guilt of taking someone's shoes from them. She had half the mind to turn around and go back, but that would only just delay them further.

Two more hours passed before the sun finally started descending below the horizon, blanketing the earth in a cold darkness that had Nymiria stumbling.

Though her sight was much better in her natural form, it was still hard for her see everything at once.

There were too many sights, smells, and sounds coming from every direction and it was hard for her to focus on just one thing.

Aziel stopped at a bridge along the river, pointing across it to the large building sitting further into the forest, the glowing windows shielded by an overgrowth of twisted, leafy vines.

"We'll stop here and rest for a few hours.

" Nymiria murmured her thanks to the heavens as he headed up the path.

"I'd suggest glamouring yourself before we go in.

I'm not sure who we might run into in here. "

She didn't argue. With a quick image in mind, she turned herself into the sun-kissed blond she imagined, only to have Aziel frown down at her and shake his head. "What?" She snapped. "Is this not good enough for you?"

There was no possible way for him to explain himself without looking like a jealous fool. He hated that glamour—the one that everyone seemed to drool over whenever she wore it. "If anyone from Yaar is inside, they will recognize you immediately. Change it." He said, instead.

"Do you know how to say please?"

He blinked down at her, repeating Trio's advice over and over in his head in order to remain calm.

He wasn't intending to seem angry and demanding, but it was the only way the words would come out.

Otherwise, he probably wouldn't speak at all.

"Please change your glamour, moonflower.

" He prettied the phrase with the batting of his lashes, rounding his eyes.

She did, but the moment her hair turned to auburn ringlets and her skin paled by a few shades, that wrinkle formed between her brows and her fist was flying directly into his shoulder.

He grunted at the impact, a hint of a smile forming at his lips as he watched her stomp past him.