I was on the first watch for the night and had my back propped up against a fallen tree while Kate and Forrest slept on close by.
After eating our dinner, Kate forcing a few mouthfuls down once Forrest cooked them with a burst of fire, she downed some of the water, and curled up in a ball against the stump of a tree. She’d shut her eyes, but I doubted she was actually asleep.
Forrest hadn’t said a word either, about what happened between him and Kate, and what he knew I’d seen. He nodded gravely at me, said to wake him up in a few hours, and found a spot on the ground on the other side of me.
The surrounding woods were quiet except for the hooting of a few owls and the rustling of other small animals rummaging through the leaves.
There was no scent of dragon, aside from the two sleeping beside me. I picked up a hefty sized stick and using my dagger, whittled away at it, not paying much attention to what I was doing, but needing to keep my hands busy.
Each time I closed my eyes, I saw Kate kissing Forrest, but then the image changed, and we were back at the witch’s house, and she was kissing me instead.
Our kiss had certainly been more intense then hers with Forrest, and I grinned, remembering the warmth of her lips against mine, how her hands had traced my tattoos so confidently and so comfortably.
I tried to tell myself, as wood shavings piled up beside me, that there wasn’t time right now to deal with a possible romance. I was with Kate for one reason only, and that was to find the rest of the shield, put it back together, and use it to trap the darkness for good.
But no matter how hard I tried to forget the way my heart pounded in my chest, remembering her kiss, it wasn’t possible. I wanted her to be with me and not the stuck-up dragon prince.
“Careful you don’t cut yourself,” Kate suddenly whispered beside me, and the knife slipped.
It barely missed my finger, and I frowned, watching as she sat down beside me, so close our shoulders touched.
“Thought you were asleep,” I said.
She shrugged and reached over to take my hand, checking my finger. “Hard to sleep when I keep dreaming about half a leg stuck in my teeth.”
I grinned, waiting for her to give me back my hand, but she held it, running her fingers over the small scars that covered my fingers and the back of my hand, mostly hidden beneath more tattoos. She laid her cheek against my shoulder and without thinking, I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered, sounding confused.
“With the dragon thing? You could be doing a lot worse,” I commented. “You haven’t killed either one of us yet, so that’s a plus.”
“No, well, yeah that,” she said sighing, “but I meant with you and Forrest. There’re too many rampant emotions running around in my head and everything’s fuzzy. And I keep telling myself it’s crazy, but… never mind, I’m not explaining right.”
“You feel like your world’s been turned upside down,” I said quietly, and she sat up, but I kept my gaze on our hands. “Like everything you do feels right and wrong at the same time?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“You’re not alone, trust me,” I admitted. “Ever since that morning you awkwardly walked over to my table at the diner, I’ve felt about the same.”
“But it’s weird.” She held up their clasped hands. “I feel a connection to you, a strong one, and I uh, I liked this morning.” Her cheeks flushed, and I smiled, letting her know I quite enjoyed it, too. “But with Forrest, I feel the same kind of connection, but it’s different, and just as strong.”
“He’s a dragon and so are you. It’s not unexpected that you should feel comfortable around him.” I stiffened thinking of their kiss and shook my head. “It’s not like either one of us is going away soon.”
“Meaning?”
I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “Meaning you have time to figure out where your heart really lies and no matter what happens… I’ll always be your friend, Kate. I think I owe you at least that much.”
“Just a friend?” she asked, and I finally let my gaze find hers.
“That’s up to you now, isn’t it,” I murmured, her green gaze locked onto mine.
I wanted to kiss her again, gods did I, but it didn’t feel right with Forrest so close. I might be half-demon, but I still had a strong sense of morals, whether Forrest wanted to believe it or not. I settled for draping my arm around her shoulders and letting her move in close.
We sat there, quiet for a long time, before she spoke again. “Do you think we’ll find what we need? At the ruins, I mean.”
“I’m hoping. Any clue we can find will help us onto our next step of the journey.”
“A journey I never thought I’d be on.”
“What, you never dreamt of finding and eating an entire den of fractorns?” I teased, and she elbowed me hard. “Ouch, damn, love, you’re going to have to watch that strength of yours.”
She cringed and rubbed the sore spot on my ribs, making it even harder to resist kissing her. “Sorry. Still adapting to the changes and all.”
She settled back into my side, and after a while, her breathing grew steady and deep as sleep took hold again.
I couldn’t move and contented myself with holding her close, watching the night pass by.
When my eyes started to droop, I knew I needed to wake Forrest up to take over. I picked up a few wood shavings and tossed them towards his face.
His nose twitched, and finally, he opened his eyes, jerking upwards and swatting at his face.
“Your turn,” I whispered, and he swung around to stare at me annoyed.
When he saw Kate sound asleep under my arm, his eyes narrowed, and his dragon flickered to life in the depths of those green pools, but he appeared reluctant to wake Kate, as she was half laying on me.
“Quiet so far,” I told him as he sauntered over and sat down on the other side of Kate.
“Good. Sun should be up in five hours or so. Get some sleep,” he told me stiffly.
I started to close my eyes, then stopped and poked him in the shoulder.
“What?” he grunted.
“Just tell me something. When this is all over, and Kate makes her choice, what will you do?”
“You mean if we all survive, and she is forced to choose?” he replied sharply, but when his eyes slipped to Kate, his tone and face softened. “I don’t understand these feelings I have for her… but I know I do not wish to hurt her.”
I bobbed my head in agreement. “Good to hear.”
“However, the chances of her winding up with a half-demon are laughable.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but was cut off.
“You know what else is laughable? Listening to you two bicker about my affections as if I’m not here,” Kate said, catching us both off guard. “You talk too loud.”
Forrest lowered his gaze, aggravated.
But I grinned, laughing quietly. “Sorry to disturb your sleep.”
She shifted against my side, but made no move to leave. “Whatever, just go to sleep, Craig.”
“Whatever you say, love.” I sheathed my dagger back at my hip, laid my head back on the log, and waited for sleep to take me away, at least for a few hours.