Page 19 of Torin and His Oath (Torin and the Princess #2)

LEXI

I n the dimness... faint splashes... breath gone... slipping away...

Hands grabbed my shoulders — I gasped, I couldn’t get a breath —

“I hae ye.”

Torin pulled me to his chest and hugged me, stroking his hands down my back. “I hae ye, ye are okay.”

I couldn’t breathe, intake of air, shook my head, gasping, grasping.

He peered at my face, “Ye well, Princess…?”

I shook my head again.

My feet tingled, my chest hurt.

“Och nae,” he said. “Breathe, ye must hae air.” He grasped my shoulders and forcibly straightened me up. His face close to mine, he said, “Breathe, Princess, ye must draw it in.”

I drew in a staggering breath.

“Let it go now.”

It whooshed out, but then I panicked — I wouldn’t be able to get it again. Torin’s hands rubbed along my back. I drew in another, staggered breath, and then released it, melting against his chest.

His voice low, his hands rubbing down my shoulders. “Once more.”

I let some air out and then drew in some more.

I felt like I could maybe possibly do it again. He rubbed my arm saying, “That is good.”

I nodded, but then snapped out of it. Fear turned to anger. He was crouched in front of me, I shoved him hard in the chest. “Get off me!”

I gathered strength from the rage in my heart and slammed my fists into his chest, once, twice. “I hate you! You left me! How can you do that to me? You promised you wouldn’t do it again!”

He stumbled back, landing hard in the mud. I scrambled up and stood over him, trembling with fury, rain streaming down my face.

Torin looked up at me, jaw tight. “I had tae see if our route was safe, Princess, I?—”

“Stop calling me that!” My voice cracked. “I’m not your princess! You deserted me in the middle of nowhere in the rain and—” My breath caught, my anger folding in on itself. I crumpled, dropping to the ground in front of him, my chest heaving.

He said, “Och nae.”

I said, “I totally agree, och nae, Torin, I will never forgive you.”

“Aye, I ken. Tis the price I hae tae pay tae keep ye safe.”

“I don’t even want this cloak. I don’t want anything from you. Nothing. You leave me alone in the woods, twice? ”

I unpinned the brooch, took off the cloak, and flung it at him. It landed half in a puddle.

Torn picked it up, draped it over his arm, and said calmly, too calmly, “Ye will be wet and cold. Ye are shiverin’.”

“Yes, I’m already wet and cold. All the way through, but I don’t want anything that’s yours.”

He nodded quietly and stood, offering his hand. “Tis safe. We ought tae go. We need shelter.”

I pushed to my feet without taking his hand, my sodden plaid and tunic clinging heavy, dragging at me. I raised my chin as if to say I meant to lumber up like this.

He led me to the horses, patted Lambo, and wordlessly waited to help me mount up.

I said, “You want me to get on the same horse with you? Now? ”

He kept his face impassive, but his eyes looked worried. “Ye must ride with me. Tis dangerous.” He patted the saddle again.

I calculated, shivering, furious, but not stupid.

I stepped forward. “Fine, but only because it’s twilight and getting scary and I can’t hear anything and can barely see, and I have had enough of it after being abandoned.”

With his help, I climbed up on Lambo, and sat stiffly, deliberately angled so that I touched as little of him as possible.

Torin climbed behind me and wordlessly draped the cloak over my shoulders. He set the horses into motion as I sat between his legs, fuming, and a lot of sulking, too.

Finally, I asked, “Those men, were they time travelers or… something else?”

“I believe they were men followin’ us, thieves or… worse. I daena think they were time travelers or we wouldna be here now.”