Duchess had stood at her side, so Sienna stroked her casually along the neck, which was at eye level. "And what do your bleeders experience?"
Silence. Nothing. She felt him behind her before she turned.
"Would you care to find out, sweetheart?" he asked. His expression wasn't his usual arrogant, hard facade. Rather the opposite. Temptation swirled around her like a net, binding her till she was breathless. He kept an arm's length between them, but it wasn't enough. He needed to be leagues away, with a sea between, for his powerful presence to have no effect on her. Even then, she wasn't sure it would be enough.
"No," she finally said. "That is … I think it is time to go."
Unmoving, he openly stared, examining her in minute detail, his intense study escalating her heartrate even further. "I agree," he said, the heat of a moment before vanishing behind his frosty exterior he wore so well. He stomped the fire down with his boot. "Best to keep moving."
Sienna felt the coldness seep in as she followed in his wake. He was right. Best to get on with this mission, so they could go their separate ways. She could return home to her cottage where she belonged, and Nikolai could rejoin the army of the Black Lily. And all would be right as before.
Except a niggling notion deep inside her gut told her things would never be as they were before. Something had changed the moment she saw him leaning against the old oak tree and he'd followed her home. Something indefinable and yet unmovable.
She focused on breathing evenly and listening to the night sounds of the forest. Her forest. Sorrow swept over her, thinking of the days ahead where she would miss her haven. A sable owl cooed out its sorrowful call as if it sensed her melancholy. She glanced up and caught the glow of its golden eyes in the branches, loving that it was one of the many creatures that lived solely within Silvane Forest.
"Thank you, kind owl," she murmured.
Nikolai slowed his gait. When she was even with him, he asked, "I'm not quite sure, but I thought I heard you speaking to an owl."
She laughed, knowing she must appear odd. "Yes. I was."
"And do you often speak to all the animals?" He walked so close, his arm brushed hers on one stride.
"I do," she admitted. "I suppose it's a hazard from living alone. Well, not alone. But without the companionship of another person."
"Mmm. Why don't you leave this place and return home to Dale's Peak?"
She glanced sharply up at him, unable to see little but his silhouette by the moonlight. "How did you know I was from Dale's Peak?"
Silence. She was about to prompt him again when he answered, "I asked Arabelle."
"Oh." Sienna felt a twinge of uneasiness, not comfortable with someone else relaying her past. "And what else did she tell you?"
"Nothing. She only warned me of Dale's Peak, as that is where your mother lives, and said we must use extra caution on our rendezvous there."
"Lived." Sienna corrected him, feeling a sense of relief that Arabelle hadn't betrayed her at all, but rather told him only what he needed to know to ensure her safety.
"Pardon?" She felt his gaze swivel toward her more than could see it.
"My mother moved away long ago." Though Sienna hadn't spoken to or had correspondence with her mother since she left her northern home, she knew her mother well enough that she couldn't abide the gossip that her daughter running away would've left behind. "There's an old apothecary in Dale's Peak. He was friend of my grandmother's and they'd kept up correspondence over the years as he has such a wealth of knowledge of healing plants. That's how we both knew she remarried a man in the east and left Dale's Peak."
"I see." Silence fell heavy between them, but his curiosity seemed to finally get the better of him. "And why have you decided to live in seclusion in the solitary woods of the Silvane Forest? Why did you leave in the first place?"
She laughed. "I was wondering how long it would take you."
"Were you now?"
"It is usually the first thing people ask me. Well, those who are brave enough."
"Brave enough? And why would anyone be frightened to ask you such a simple thing?"
"Now, lieutenant. Don't be coy with me." Once more, she could feel his eyes on her in the dark. He was staring intently, she was certain. She continued on. "Don't tell me that you've not heard what they call me."
"And what, pray tell, is that?"