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I STOICALLY IGNORED Ruen’s digs and taunts during the next week of travel. Avoiding shifter territory, I didn’t attack any of the villages that we skirted around when the main road drew close again.
“I don’t like how quiet Saige has become,” Aurora whispered to Ruen when he rose for the night. We’d been in the fifth realm for two weeks now and we still had a long way to go.
“Her silence has been a blessing,” Ruen said. I’d headed out to hunt, but was just within earshot. “I wish I could personally thank Fate for manipulating one of Ms. Sterling’s ancestors to mate with a troll,” he added.
“If you knew what had really happened back home, you wouldn’t be so mean to her,” my bestie chided him.
“Saige quit,” he said flatly. “She walked out on us all without an explanation. Now Lord Gilden is down a bounty hunter and he’ll have to find a replacement for her.”
“She quit for a good reason,” Aurora said with annoyance evident in her tone.
“So you’ve said several times,” Ruen retorted. “Yet you refuse to tell me what the reason is.”
“I can’t,” she said with a sigh. “I promised her I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Is it because of her ridiculous crush on Lord Gilden?” he asked. My heart lurched that he knew how I felt about our boss even after his memory had been wiped.
“You know she likes your boss?” Aurora asked in surprise.
“She practically drools all over him whenever she sees him,” he said with an audible sneer.
“How do you think she felt when she found out he’s engaged to that weredragon?” she asked.
“I’m not permitted to speak about Lord Gilden’s private affairs,” he said primly. “I accused Ms. Sterling of being a petty little girl. She’s proven me right if she quit because of jealousy.”
“You said that to her face?” Aurora asked, aghast that he’d been so mean to me.
“Yes, I did,” he said in satisfaction. “She thinks far too highly of herself and she always has. She’s just a lowly bounty hunter with mixed genes. She could never be worthy of a fullblood weredragon. The mere thought of her thinking she could have a chance with Lord Gilden is ludicrous.” He uttered a shrill, high-pitched laugh, then went in search of food.
My former sidekick had just voiced my insecurities. He’d confirmed why my dalliance with our boss had been so fleeting. I’d never had a chance with Drake. I’d just been kidding myself all along.
For the first time since I’d turned into a troll, I was glad I couldn’t speak. I trudged back to Aurora after I’d filled my belly. Ruen returned with a few dead birds and animals. They butchered them and filled the meat sacks, then we got going again.
Neither of my companions noticed my melancholy mood. My face was too bestial for them to read my expressions. I followed Aurora’s directions and soon heard a rushing noise in the distance.
“Is that a river?” Aurora asked a few seconds later when she heard it as well.
“It sounds like rushing water,” Ruen confirmed.
Dread sank into me as we drew closer to the source of the noise. We topped a hill and I came to a stop to peer down at the blurry images below. I couldn’t make out anything, but I could smell water.
“Yep, it’s a river alright,” Aurora said with a heavy sigh.
“It stretches as far as I can see in both directions,” Ruen said. “It could add several days to our journey if we try to find a way around it.”
“It’s really wide,” my bestie said in a worried tone. “The current looks strong. How are we going to get across it?”
“Let’s get closer, so we can see how fast the water is moving,” he suggested.
My instincts were warning me to stay as far away from the river as I could. I dragged my feet down the hill and stopped a hundred yards from the bank.
Aurora and Ruen dropped to the ground and ambled over to the river. “It’s pretty fast, but it doesn’t look as dangerous as I’d feared,” Aurora said in relief.
“I’ll be able to get us both across if you cling to my back,” the vamp offered. She couldn’t swim, so she was going to need his help.
“Let’s get this done, before I change my mind,” she decided.
I hunkered down to watch them approach the river. Ruen placed our belongings in his large sack, then tied it around his neck. He sat down, then slipped into the water, holding onto a tuft of grass. Aurora sat down and cautiously slid into the river. She clutched hold of him and he quickly swam to the other side. The current carried them slightly off course, but not by much.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Aurora said when they climbed out on the other side. “Now it’s your turn, Saige!” she called out. Horror at the idea of submerging myself in the water stole over me and I shook my head. “I don’t think trolls can swim,” she said with a frown.
“Too bad,” Ruen said flatly. “She either crosses the river, or we’ll leave her here.”
“We can’t leave her!” Aurora exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “She’s Fate’s champion. We won’t be able to retrieve the scroll fragments without her help.”
“Then she’ll have to stop being a big baby and cross the river,” Ruen said smugly.
Weighing up my options, I figured there had to be a bridge somewhere. I could run really fast when I needed to, so I’d be able to catch up to them eventually. The main problem with that was that I didn’t want to leave Aurora with only the leech to guard her. She would be alone during the day while he slept and she wouldn’t have any protection.
“You’ll have to help Saige swim across the river,” Aurora said and gave him a light shove.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” Ruen complained bitterly. Handing his sack to her, he reentered the river and swam across to me. “Well?” he said impatiently as he clung to the bank. “We don’t have all night. Are you going to let me help you get to the other side, or are you going to sulk all night long?”
His snarky tone was enough to make me turn and trudge away. Frankly, I didn’t need his crap right now. I’d find a way to cross over without his help and catch up to them as soon as I could.
Cursing beneath his breath, Ruen hauled himself out of the water and raced to intercept me. “We don’t have time for you to be a stubborn, spoiled brat!” he snarled. “You can either get into the water voluntarily, or I’ll throw you in there myself!”
My response to his threat was to put my hand on his face and shove him out of my way.
“No, Ruen!” Aurora shouted in dismay.
Bony hands grabbed hold of my hairy wrist, then I was suddenly airborne. My eyes widened in horror when I flipped over to see the water rushing towards me. I landed halfway across the river and sank to the bottom like a rock.
Panic took over and I screamed in terror. My arms flailed uselessly as I gulped down a lungful of water. My hand was clenched around my hammer, as if it could save me from drowning. Fingers became tangled in my fur. I was too blind with fright to see, but I sensed it was Ruen. My head broke the surface and I vomited out the river water. Still in the throes of panic, my arms and legs thrashed as I searched for solid ground.
Ruen hauled me across the water in grim silence, while I screamed hoarsely in terror that I was going to drown. Aurora helped heave me up onto the bank. I dropped my weapon and reached out. Grabbing hold of them both, I crushed them to my chest. Hooting in distress, I rocked backwards and forwards, deaf to whatever they were saying to try to soothe me.
“Ugh, get off me!” Ruen finally shouted and shoved me hard enough to break free of my embrace. Looking up at him in pained silence, I saw nothing but contempt on his gaunt face. “We’re going to need to find a bridge on the way back,” he said with a sneer. “I’m not putting myself through that ordeal again.”
He stomped off and Aurora stroked my sodden head. “He’ll come around eventually,” my bestie said lamely. I hung my head, knowing she was wrong as she gave me my weapon and helped me to my feet. The vampire wanted nothing more to do with me. He’d made that abundantly clear.
Our strange partnership had ended when I’d quit my job, but I hadn’t expected him to hate me so much. Maybe he’d felt this way the whole time and he’d just been hiding it from me. If so, then there was no reason for him to continue to aid us in our task. Once this mission was over, I was going to have to cut ties with him completely. That thought pained me far more than I’d expected.
