I stay with Shadow, since the orb is in her pack and I'm not making that mistake again. I remove her tack and comb her mane out with my fingers, feeling her relax under my attention. "You'll tell us, won't you, girl? When Bas is close?"
She doesn't move. She doesn't twitch a muscle. But I know what she's thinking.
Of course. Of course I will.
"Hey," Gideon says.
I turn and he's there, tall and so different in armor from the Gideon who came to my RV last night in a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. As War, he's a little intimidating. He would be if I didn't know him.
"You doing okay?" His eyebrows are drawn. He looks serious, but his mouth is tugging up like he's thinking about smiling.
I feel it, too. Happiness. The flight of butterflies in my gut. The desire to laugh. Desire. So much of it. "I'm good, considering! My legs are still working." I sound a little too enthusiastic.
He looks at my legs. "Right. A lot of riding."
"It's crazy. How about you? Are your legs tired?" My gosh. Calm down, Daryn. What's wrong with me?
He eases his head to the side, smiling. "My legs are okay."
I nod. I don't look at his legs or comment on them. I just stare into his blue eyes and take a pass on talking, which seems like the smartest thing to do.
"All right over there?" Jode asks.
A moment ago, he and Marcus were stacking the wood for the fire. Now they're both watching us, big smiles on their faces.
"I didn't say anything to them about us, Daryn. They're just idiots." Gideon winces slightly with self-awareness. "I didn't mean that there's anything to say."
"Isn't there anything to say?"
Something settles in his eyes. A sincerity. A promise, like this moment is his and mine. Only ours. When he steps closer, my entire body buzzes to life. I feel actual voltage.
"I wasn't exactly sober last night," he says, pitching his voice low. "You may have noticed. But I wanted to say that I remember everything. And I meant everything."
"So did I."
He grins, and it's true and breathtaking. A smile I'll see again in daydreams and night dreams, I'm sure. "That's what I wanted to hear."
"Gideon, whenever you're ready to get your horse," says Jode. "We need a flame. This campfire won't start itself."
"Set us on fire, G." That's Marcus.
Then it's Jode again. "Yes, Gideon. You're so hot."
I laugh, but Gideon doesn't. "Be right there," he replies without looking away. He bends close to my ear. "This is going to be good, Daryn," he says. "I promise." Then he brushes a kiss against my cheek like it's the most natural thing in the world.
* * *
We claim spots around the fire and unpack blankets, fruit, crackers, cheese, and water, and then set to eating industriously.
There's no enjoyment. We need food, water, and sleep. We're just refueling before we can get back to searching. I'm hungry, but not hungry. Chewing is work.
The mood is subdued. My stolen moment with Gideon is like a brilliant canary in a cage. Nowhere to go. But still beautiful despite the grim context.
When we're finished we wrap ourselves in our blankets and stare into the fire with longing on our faces. For home. For Bas. For resolution.
The darkness presses into our golden circle and I keep imagining the Harrows out there beyond the light. Crouching on branches. Peering around the thick trunks. Watching us.
You won't succeed until you fail … Your only hope is surrender.
The words of the Harrow I slung to the tree circle in my mind like a riddle.
Then Samrael's. He's with me. He's safe. Sebastian is well.
Was he telling the truth?
Finally, I hear the echo of Isabel's words from the last time I saw her. Evil is its own undoing.
They're pieces of a whole I can't quite fit together. A kaleidoscopic view of what's right in front of me.
Gideon shifts beside me, reclining on an elbow and crossing his legs at the ankles. His pose is unconsciously seductive. An athlete in repose. His face is painted in flickering amber and gold. Contrary to his serene posture, he's concentrating intensely. Somehow I know that whatever he's thinking, it's in the service of someone he cares about. All the intensity in him comes from love.
And from passion.
Heat builds on my cheeks at my own thoughts. It's so strange to feel this-whatever it is that's growing between us-in this place, at this time. How can something this good be happening in here?
Gideon becomes aware of my attention on him and his mouth lifts in a subtle, private smile. Caught, all I can do is smile back, my heart aching and stretching and expanding to make room to accommodate moments like this in my life.