Page 11

Jasmine

The fire crackled, and little bits floated up where they turned into ash as soon as they hit the cold air. A lone owl somewhere hooted, but that was the only sound out in the dark. It was so quiet now that everyone had gone to bed. I should be sleeping too, but even with a blanket, it was too cold in my tent. I didn't know how anyone else was dealing with it.

Maybe they were used to it while I hadn't gone a night without a burning hearth in a long time. Most of my camping trips had been in the summer months too, when it had been warmer. Hopefully, a cup of hot tea would warm me up enough to fall asleep.

Something rustled behind me, and I turned around, surprised to find Ryburn coming my way.

He looked surprised to see me. "I didn't expect to see anyone else up. Can't sleep?"

I shook my head. "I'm cold, and I was craving some tea. What about you?"

"My shoulder is giving me some trouble. I'm not used to sleeping on the ground like this."

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" I asked while shuffling to make space on the log for him. There was plenty of space around the fire, and if he didn't want to sit next to me, then he didn't have to.

But he did, sending a small thrill through me and making me think that I definitely wasn't imagining whatever it was between us.

"I slipped on some ice a few weeks ago," Ryburn said as he rotated his arm. "I'm still recovering from it."

"Was it a break, a pulled muscle, or a ligament issue?" I asked, unable to stop myself. I didn't even know why I was asking, it wasn't like I was a healer. I'd just heard Brew talk about this kind of stuff often enough that at least some of it had sunk in. Whether I could actually do anything about it was another matter.

"Ligament." He shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Your water is boiling."

I nodded my thanks and pulled my kettle off the fire, pouring some of it over the waterlogged leaves in my cup. They were starting to get weak, but I knew they'd still bring a bit of relief. We didn't have a ready enough supply for me to get fresh ones out.

I cupped my hands around the cup and let out a sigh. That was my third cup of the day and it was everything my aching bones and joints needed. I didn't know how my cousins could be on the go like this all the time, this was much harder than expected. Maybe Reese and Zoe were just made of sturdier stuff than I was.

I sighed when the smell of the tea filled my nose, and I could feel myself rejuvenate just from that alone. There really was nothing like real tea when it came to healing powers.

Once the tea was cool enough, I drank the whole cup. It woke up my magic, and I pressed my hand against the back of my neck and shoulders, channelling the power. Heat travelled up, and a faint green glow was emitted from my hand as it took away some of the pain from today.

I realised Ryburn was watching me with rapt attention and a different kind of heat sprung up to my cheeks.

"Was that weird?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It was amazing. So if you drink tea, you can also heal yourself? I thought it was just others."

"Only some tea witches can use their powers on others. It's not very easy." She grimaced. "I'm not particularly good at it, sadly. That's why I'm not a healer."

He gave me a playful grin while rotating his arm. "That's a shame, otherwise I could've asked you to take a look at my shoulder."

"I can still do that." I got up and moved behind him, putting my hands on his broad shoulders before I fully thought it through. This was foolish of me. I didn't know enough about healing to be very good at it, which meant he'd probably realise that this was just some attempt to get him to let me touch him.

Ryburn relaxed slightly under my touch, reassuring me that even if he did see through my suggestion, he wasn't against me touching him.

His muscles were well-defined and clearly the result of hard work. Even if I shouldn't, I let my hands wander with not quite enough self-restraint.

Another reason why it was a good thing I wasn't a healer.

Ryburn let out a funny sound.

"Should I stop?" I asked, sliding my hands back up to his actual shoulders.

He shook his head. "No, that feels nice."

I kneaded the hard muscles that connected his shoulders and neck, enjoying how Ryburn was leaning into me. I let my hands wander again, sliding them up his neck and into his hair. I wasn't entirely sure what had taken over me. I normally had more restraint, but something about Ryburn was testing that to the extreme and I wasn't even sure what to do with that.

He relaxed into my touch, tipping his head back and looking up at me. The firelight reflected in his eyes, illuminating something in them that sent a thrill through me even as I continued to massage his scalp with my fingers.

He reached up to touch my cheek, his hand surprisingly warm given how cool the air around us was. Then again, I was feeling rather warm myself.

I dipped down, pressing my lips on his while the world around us disappeared. He tasted of herbs and something sweet that made me crave more. He twisted around and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

I pressed myself against him, eager for more now that I knew exactly what he tasted of. This was only going to make it even harder to not think about him that way.

Something cracked in the dark and snapped me back to reality, reminding me that we weren't alone and what this mission was.

I stepped back, suddenly self-conscious. This trade alliance was possibly the most important thing I'd been in charge of, I shouldn't mess it up because Ryburn was attractive. Even if this was going to make it even harder to ignore.

I cleared my throat. "Erm, I should probably go to sleep."

"Yeah, me too." He touched his neck, seeming a little uncertain of what to say.

"We'll have a long day ahead of us," I said, knowing fully well that I wouldn't be sleeping any time soon if my racing heart was anything to go by. I supposed there was one way I might be able to deal with the tension within me. It might be good if I was going to stand any chance of focusing on tomorrow's journey without constantly thinking about Ryburn's lips.

Or maybe it would make it worse. There was really only one way to find out.

"You're right," Ryburn said, looking a little sheepish. "Thank you for the massage, I feel, umm, better."

"Anytime." I cursed myself for the response, mostly because his gaze dropped down to my lips again.

"I hope you sleep well," he said, his voice gruffer than it had been before. He scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat. "Good night, Jasmine."

Something in his voice made me want to throw caution to the wind, but to my relief, he was already retreating to his tent. It was good that one of us had some self-restraint because who knew where this would have gone. Except that I knew the answer to that, and it wasn't necessarily good for the alliance, even if I had a feeling it would be oh so good for me.