The forest did not feel like the same place we had walked through that morning. The air was too still. The shadows too sharp. Every sound that reached my ears made my heart jump, even though I knew Asterin was gone. For now.
Nathan did not let me walk. Not even for one minute.
He scooped me into his arms the second the wolves stopped asking questions and the warriors regained their senses. I protested immediately.
“I can walk.”
“No.”
“I am fine.”
“No.”
“I have two legs, you know.”
He did not even look down at me. “Margot. If you try to get down, I will throw you over my shoulder instead.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“And you are injured.”
“I am not injured.”
His jaw tightened. “Your mark reacted so violently that it threw an ancient being across a clearing. That counts as injured.”
