That’s all we were—partners. Nothing between us except this mission. This dragon.
“This changes nothing. You still refuse to Kiss me. But I need you for the dragon. Let’s get out of this forest. I just want to sleep.” In one swift movement I gathered up my curls and tied them back again. I brushed past Zach and heard him turn around to follow me to the campsite. He remained silent, but I could imagine the look on his face, and it was one I wanted to forget.
…
The next morning, I woke next to Bromley. I couldn’t remember much after standing in the forest under the stars. I vaguely recalled pulling Brom away from more Romantica food and tales and settling down to sleep, but after everything, the details were hazy.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, so the world was still mostly shadows. Zach was by the horses, saddling up and getting ready to go. I touched Brom’s arm and he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and got to his feet. I was a little slower.
“Go on, help him,” I said to Brom, gesturing at Zach. “I’m coming.”
I rolled up our wraps and fit them into our bag, which I then slung over my shoulder. I stopped briefly by Jiaza and Yana’s wagon. With a sleepy smile, Jiaza raised his hand in parting.
Though I still hadn’t forgotten his tale of lies, I remembered what Zach had said: they are good people. I smiled and raised my hand as well, in thanks.
The silence on the road was not tense, like so many of our other post-fight silences, just melancholy and uncomfortable. Bromley didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he gave no indication. Then again, Brom had a knack for reading my emotions, so he probably knew something had happened. However, neither Zach nor I acted rude to each other. In fact, we were civil. By speaking politely and using small gestures, it was as though we were strangers working together.
Which was far worse than hostility.
At noon we stopped for some leftover roasted meat Yana had packed for us last night. We were passing through wooded areas, but the trees and their branches were thinner. So rather than the woods being bathed in shadows highlighted by flecks of intruding sunlight, it was all golden. The sun seemed so close to us, its light bouncing off the shiny leaves, making everything glow with a hazy yellow hue.
Its beauty was not lost on me, but in the back of my mind I felt disconnected. From Zach, from Brom, from my mission altogether. I thought of the female mage and wondered again if the golden magic had been hers. Zach hadn’t seemed to care much, while Brom shared my skepticism.
I was so consumed in my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed Zach leave. When Brom caught me looking around for him, he said, “He went to get water.”
“Right,” I muttered, stroking Lorena’s neck. She huffed and tossed her head.
“You two had another fight?” Bromley asked.
Sighing, I turned to face my friend, and Lorena nudged my back with her nose. “I don’t get it, Brom—why can’t we get along? We’re supposed to be partners…but then he goes and…” I let out a frustrated groan and went back to my horse.
“He goes and…?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to bring Brom into the middle of this, but on the other hand, I wanted to tell someone. Maybe I was looking for some consolation. “Last night a girl… Well, he let something happen, and he said it was because he was distracted.”
Brom merely stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
“But—but that’s ridiculous, right? I mean, come on, distracted? He slices snakes as they jump through air. His reflexes are better than a werecat’s. I mean, really, what on earth could have distracted him to lower his guard that much?”
At this, Brom rolled his eyes and went back to rubbing down his horse.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m tempted to let you figure it out for yourself.”
I was surprised at his freshness. “Tell me. You know the fate of Myria—and possibly the other four kingdoms—rests on this mission. On our partnership.”
Brom paused, resting his arms and chin on his horse’s saddle, and smirked. “It’s you.”
“What?”
“He was distracted by you.”
His words settled in. Before my mind could comprehend them, my feet were already moving in the direction of the stream.
My whole body rang with a weird sort of inner hum, as if the speed at which my thoughts were flying actually created a kind of noise.
I had to know. I couldn’t stand another minute of only hoping Bromley was right—that Zach was distracted by me. Could Zach have been watching me last night? Dancing with that Romantica man within very close proximity? If he had been watching, maybe he’d lowered his guard so much that the girl had managed to plant a kiss on him when I couldn’t…
Zach stood from the bank of the stream as I came to a stop, realizing how careless I’d been—crashing through the woods like that.
“Ivy?”
“You were distracted,” I said, then pressed my lips together. I forced the next words out. “You didn’t mean to kiss her.”
Zach glanced around, like he expected someone else to come traipsing out of the woods. Finally he said, “I was distracted, and I didn’t want to kiss her.”
“It’s not that you’d rather…” I trailed off. I couldn’t finish it.
Zach’s confusion cleared, and he smiled softly. “When I said it didn’t mean anything, it wasn’t meant to hurt you. I wanted you to understand that I…I kiss only girls I like. And I kiss only for my own feelings. Never as a weapon. I’m sorry, Ivy, I just can’t do that.” He walked to me. “But not Kissing you has nothing to do with how I feel…I mean, who you are.”
My heart thudded heavily, racing in a way it had never done before. Not when Amias kissed me under the torchlight and not even when Zach had taken off his shirt. “I suppose I believe you,” I whispered.
Zach reached up and traced a thumb across my cheek, over my freckles. “How come you believe me now?”
“I have to believe my partner.”
“Wise decision. Besides, if I were to kiss someone, it wouldn’t have been like that.”
I couldn’t move. My body was heavy, like pounds of iron. “Oh really? And what would it have been like?”
Zach chuckled. “Nice try.”
“No, really, we’re not on the battlefield. I’m only curious.”
He regarded me for a few seconds then took a step closer. When he did, all my senses heightened. Slowly, he placed his marked hand on my hip then slid it up to my waist, then my ribcage. His fingers moved against the fabric of my tunic, feeling my ribs and rubbing my skin underneath. His other hand grasped my wrist, and his fingers curled around, resting on my palm. Our chests were practically touching.
“You ever had a real kiss, princess?”
I swallowed, unable to answer.
Zach’s hand moved up. His fingers touched the back of my neck, applying just the right amount of pressure so I tilted my head up ever so slightly. His thumb brushed my jaw and, against my will, my eyes closed.
He squeezed my side gently. My lungs shuddered for a breath under his hand. When I felt his own breath on my lips, something inside me crashed against my bones, like the waves of the Sea of Glyll surging upon the rocks by Freida Castle.
But there was nothing more.
He dropped his head to my shoulder. His forehead rested on my heated skin.
I willed my eyes to open as he drew away slowly. His face, then his chest, then his arms, until he held only my fingertips, then he let those fall as well.
Zach said nothing, but his eyes were not teasing as I thought they would be. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his jaw was clenched. He avoided my gaze as he moved past me, footsteps pounding against the ground like the Romantica drums.
He was usually so light on his feet.
I squeezed my eyes shut, let out another breath, and raised my hand to my cheek, then to my forehead, kneading my temples.
Erase it, Ivy. That didn’t happen. It didn’t.
I had faced trolls, witches, dwarves, goblins, griffins, wraiths, and stared Darkness in the face without stumbling, but standing here, in this golden forest, I was truly shaken.
Chapter
Twenty