A specific mantra had taken residence in Deklan’s brain. She’s too young. She’s too young. She’s too young. Over and over, he repeated the phrase, the reminder, like the lifeline it had become. He could not, would not, feel anything but professional civility for the woman, girl, standing in front of him. Not exactly the picture of innocence with her challenging gaze full of attitude.
She was more stunning in living color than the artistic rendering he’d stared at for days. Eyes a peculiar shade of gray, bluer rather than steel. Her long hair had been braided at one point, but an obvious struggle and whatever had happened in the night had left the golden brown frayed and dust-coated. Underneath the grime, her rosy beige skin looked touchable. Soft. He tightened his crossed arms to keep from giving in to the impulse. Her full lips, a natural lush pink, were another temptation he had to look away from. Summer sun, but she was beautiful.
Deklan returned his attention to the high window. One way or another, they had to get out of here, and the small opening seemed the only option. He growled. Izia mimicked the sound, and Deklan uncoiled himself enough to soothe his wolf.
Cia took a small step away. “Is your dog all right?”
“He’s fine,” Deklan said calmly. “He sensed my agitation, is all.”
“He’s beautiful. What’s his name?”
“Izia.”
“And you’re bonded to him, too?” she asked, her stare curious.
“I’m bonded to three wolves.”
Her mouth fell open. “I… I didn’t know that was possible.”
“Generations ago, it was common for a wolf beast master to bond with a small pack. Now? It’s unheard of.” He shrugged. “My father chose to accept a bond with my mother. Her Sziverian genetics was a blank canvas for my father’s stronger, more dominant Ruthenian traits.”
“My parents were both Ruthenian,” Cia said. “My father never spoke of why he left to serve Sziveria.”
Everything in Deklan stilled. He wanted to flee to the opposite side of the room and not allow her to touch him again. Under any circumstances. Cia could forge an unbreakable connection between them with little more than attraction and thought. He wanted to know how much her parents had taught her about their genetics before he allowed her into his personal space. But they didn’t have the time. They had to get out of this box and somehow find a way to follow his team.
He’d have to be careful on his end of the emotional spectrum. Not allow any errant desires to manifest. Deklan shoved all his feelings down deep and locked them away. He was being overly cautious, he knew. At no point had she given the impression she wanted anything from him in any capacity. And he refused to acknowledge the hint of disappointment.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s do it your way. The locks outside are tricky, but I can walk you through it to make it faster.”
“Great.” She grinned at him. Her teeth were white and straight, only adding to her overall beauty.
Deklan unwound one of many leather straps from his wrist to tie back his hair and moved closer to the window, looking up. “How do you want to—”
Her hands gripped his shoulders a second before her weight landed on his hips. Her bare toes dug into his side. She climbed him like a tree, rising onto his shoulders, using the wall in front of them to steady herself.
“Oh good, it’s not locked. Whew.” Her weight shifted, and Deklan wrapped a hand around her calf to ensure she remained stable.
The warmth of her skin seeped through the thin fabric of her pants. Her muscles shifted and flexed beneath his palms. Deklan stared straight ahead at the gray wall, his gaze tracing hairline cracks in the surface.
“All right, I’ll need your hands to get higher,” she said, slightly breathless.
Deklan inverted his hands and helped her balance on his palms. Looking up, he slowly lifted her. His biceps strained more from making sure she stayed steady than from her weight, which was less than one of his wolves. When her shoulders cleared the window, he pushed her, helping her launch the rest of the way through. An odd sound left her, but before he could inquire, her hips and legs disappeared through the opening. Deklan let out a breath and took a step back.
“Ready to get out of here, Izia?” Deklan asked, petting his wolf. The dog sat, tongue hanging out. “Yeah, me too.”
Deklan picked up Cia’s discarded shoes and moved to the door. “Are you out there yet?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she answered, her voice muffled.
Deklan guided her through the process of navigating the heavy tumble bolts. The last one clicked, and the door fell open. Smoking ruins, as far as he could see, greeted him.
Cia stood, a singed bag in her hand. “I think the doorway protected it from the worst.”
Deklan stepped into the harsh morning light. “What in the arctic.”
“I know.” A frown marred her pretty face. “The alarming part is there’s no bodies that I can see. Do you think they evacuated them?”
“How many people were here when you arrived?”
“I don’t know, it was nearly dark. I only saw a few.”
Deklan looked around again, turning. Ash floated in the air and covered the ground in a thick, gray blanket. Only the smoldering squares of what once were foundations attested to anything ever having existed in the location. What had that amount of power? Bombs blew things to pieces. What could leave a fine coating of ash behind like snow? He turned and looked at their building. Scorch marks scored the exterior, but the structure remained strong.
“A volcano?” Cia asked, facing the forest, her eyes shielded from the sun.
Deklan followed her gaze. The trees stood, though the ones nearest were covered in the same fine powder as everything else. “We would have baked to death if it’d been a volcano, and none of those trees would be standing.”
She wrinkled her nose and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I don’t like this.”
Deklan agreed. “There’s a reason the UZ’s exist.”
“Last night, this was practically a swamp. They had boardwalks in place.”
Cautious, Deklan pressed a boot toe where the walkway used to extend. His shoe met solid ground. He took a slow step forward. Izia whined. Deklan held his hand back, and Izia touched a wet nose to his fingertips.
What do you smell? Deklan asked across their bond.
Too much smoke, too much.
“We go slow,” he said. Apprehension curled through him. Whatever had caused the odd destruction originated from the UZ, of which they stood within the boundary. He wanted to be far from here as soon as possible. “Single file, step where I step.”
“All right.”
A faint breeze tugged at his clothing, warm and balmy. Deklan glanced up at the cloudless, vivid blue sky. “I think it’s going to be hot today.”
“Hot? Does anywhere get truly hot?”
“There’s still a desert in what’s left of Africa, but I don’t think it gets hot like it used to, pre-cataclysm. But for us, yes, it’ll feel quite unpleasant.” He tested the ground before each step, managing a steady pace. “I was uncomfortable yesterday walking during the day.”
“I was warm, but not enough to remove my jacket.”
“Today, you probably will.”
Thirsty, Izia whined.
I know, but nothing here will be safe.
He didn’t know at what point water would be safe. Not until they reached civilization or rain fell.
They eased along the barren landscape. Burnt plants and cracking mud crunched under their feet, mingling with their heavy breaths. The eerie lack of nature only added to his uneasiness. After an hour of walking, he shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to Cia to stuff into his pack. She’d tied hers around her waist at some point. Her damp hair clung to her cheeks and neck.
The flush of her skin and a glistening layer of perspiration had Deklan’s throat constricting. He imagined she’d look similar after a strenuous round between the sheets. A bead of moisture snaked from her collarbone down between her pert breasts, where her once-white tank stretched tight. Deklan turned away from her, his heart hammering in his ears and another, more uncomfortable part of his anatomy.
“You weren’t kidding,” she huffed behind him. “I hope we clear this soon. I think the ash is making it hotter than normal.”
“And the lack of shade.”
“Oh wow, do you think we’ll burn? I’ve heard of sunburns.” She grunted. “I’ve heard they hurt. Do you think they hurt? Have you ever had one?”
Deklan shielded his eyes against the glare of sun coming off the ash. “Why so chatty all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. I’m boiling and sticky. We’re heading in the opposite direction of the city all my things are in. I’m trying not to panic if you want the truth.”
“You’re an operative for the First Intelligence Office. Panic isn’t an emotion they usually accept for their guardians in the field.”
“Operative in training.”
“And yet, here are you,” he said, unable to keep the reproach from his voice.
“Were they upset?”
Deklan didn’t pretend not to know what she asked about. “Yes. Did you expect them not to care?”
She blew a raspberry. “I don’t know.”
“Funny thing about teams,” Deklan said, stepping over a large chunk of smoking wood, “they tend to care about what happens to each other.”
“I’m aware of team dynamics.”
“Really?” he asked skeptically.
“Yes, really.”
Deklan clenched his jaw and looked over his shoulder at her. Some of his frustration must have shown in his eyes since she gasped and took a hasty step back. “And yet, here you are,” he said softly.
Her already red cheeks deepened in hue. “I don’t expect anyone to understand.”
“They might have surprised you if you’d tried.”
Her lips compressed in a tight line. Deklan went back to navigating the unknown path.
“You know,” she began, “the tracks ran on the west side of the forest between the two mountain ranges. I bet they form a loop between the two cities. If we head in that direction, maybe we’llleeeaaahhh!”
Deklan whirled around on her shriek-morphing scream. Eyes wild and wide, she struggled in ash-coated mud up to her thighs. Deklan signaled for Izia to halt, seeing the wolf about to spring in his peripheral. Izia laid sphynx style and remained still.
“Freeze,” he commanded on a harsh bark.
Cia stopped moving. Hands raised, she stared at him.
“It’s sinking mud. The more you struggle, the deeper you’ll sink,” he explained.
“How far?” she asked, breathless.
“I have no idea. Some are only a few feet deep, others too deep to ever know.”
Color drained from her face. “What do I do?”
“For now, just relax.”
“Relax?” She sputtered and waved her arms. “How am I supposed to relax? I’m trapped in mud!”
“If you’d followed directions and stayed behind me, you wouldn’t be, would you?” he said between gritted teeth.
She flapped a hand and looked away from him. “Fine. Be that way.”
“What other way, exactly, am I supposed to be?” he asked, looking around for a long stick that wouldn’t turn to ash when touched.
Dust floated around her, and she flicked at small, settled piles in front of her. “I don’t know, charmed by my youthful innocence? Patient with my stupidity because, poor thing, I’ve lost so much.”
Deklan stared in silence until her gaze rose back to his. Pretty eyes. So much bluer now when surrounded by the colorless world. “Is that how you’ve been treated?”
She shrugged. “I think my father finally agreed to allow my training, providing I was treated delicately.”
Deklan spread his arms. “Nothing is delicate about real life or what this world will throw at you.”
She held up soot-coated hands. “Hey, I get it. I know that more than anyone. I figured the team I was placed with knew that, too.”
“Nuh-uh, nope,” he said, popping his p. He returned to searching for a lever. “Stop trying to blame your team for your inability to follow a simple task. I’m not buying it. You may be young, but you’ve faced enough horror to have lost naivety. And you aren’t stupid.”
Using his foot, he brushed away ash and kicked at debris. When he glanced her direction again, he found her staring at him, her jaw clenched.
“Fine,” she snapped and looked away on a glare and motioned to her right. “There are rails to the east of here. I thought if we went that direction, we’d find them and see if they were still usable. If we walk them long enough, we’re bound to find civilization or a train we can hitch a ride on.”
“I know about the tracks. I was heading to them on a safer route. However, even if I weren’t, the proper way to have handled that would have been to call a halt and have a discussion, not be a brat and take off on your own.”
She recoiled. “Brat?”
He snapped his fingers and tsked. “Forgot to add the spoiled to it, didn’t I? Sorry, I won’t make the mistake again in the future.”
While she sputtered, he dug up a half-buried stick with his boot. He tested the strength to ensure it wouldn’t break halfway through the rescue. He dropped his pack on the ground at his feet.
“I’m not a brat,” she murmured, reaching for the stick.
“Fine, defiant rebel then. Either one will endanger you, therefore endangering your team.” He braced himself. “Grab hold, and when you can reach my hands, take them. Don’t let go, or we’ll have to start over.”
Cia wrapped her grubby hands around the stick. She hated the odd, tight sensation in her chest. The knowledge she had disappointed him. She shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t mean anything to her. Yet, she did care. His opinion mattered, and right now, she didn’t think it could get much lower.
As the rough wood bit into her palms and the mud acted like a jealous lover refusing to let go, Cia wondered what he would have done if she’d been honest. If she’d admitted his assessment about her lack of faith in her team had been too uncomfortable, she’d sought a means to deflect. All she managed to do anymore was disappoint those she wanted to please.
Mistakes and misjudgments were becoming a dangerous pastime of hers. His calling her a brat had also been a little too accurate if she were honest. She had allowed her vendetta to saturate her every waking action. But she wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. If she had to become a defiant rebel, as he stated, then so be it.
Inch by inch, he heaved her forward. At some point, he’d unbuttoned his shirt well past his collarbone, exposing a defined expanse of chest sprinkled with dark hairs. The sun gleamed off his burnished skin, highlighting the strain and flex of his muscles. A sheen of sweat coated him, racing trails down his temples and darkening sections of his clothing. Cia tested her reach, still at least a hand length away from being able to touch his fingers. The mud sucked and gripped at her. She had to fight the urge to help, to try to squirm and find some purchase in the muck.
Each small increment she moved, her shoes slipped further off her feet. She squeaked as her toes brushed the heel, leaving her shoeless. If Deklan noticed her increased distress, he didn’t let it show. He grasped her wrist in a tight grip. Cia wrapped her hands around his forearms. Under her palms, the slide and flex of his muscles sent a little thrill zinging to her stomach. Ridiculous considering the situation.
Grunting, he pulled her up and forward. The mud released her in a sudden rush of goo. Cia careened into him, drawing in her legs to keep from getting stuck again. Deklan turned away from the bog, rolling into their fall. They landed in a heap of tangled limbs, sticky mud, and billowing ash. Cia coughed and struggled to rise. Her hand slid along his stomach. She had an unexpected impulse to skim her hand up his torso and lay along his body, find out how all his masculine lines would feel along her softer ones.
Where did these odd urges come from? Yes, she found him attractive. Immensely. He made her curious in a way the other men in her life never had. Which was saying a lot since the men she worked with were handsome, kind, and held the same physical standards as the one beside her. They, however, were all happy and married. Perhaps that was the difference. All the other men in her life were taken. Then again, Deklan might be, too. Cia knew nothing about his personal life.
Deklan remained on his back, his gaze on the sky, arms spread at his side. The blue sky reflected in his eyes, making their teal shade richer and more vibrant. The fine gray powder settled over them, sticking to his skin and leaving dark streaks behind. Using his hip for leverage, she sat up. Izia ambled over and nuzzled Deklan’s temple. Deklan turned into the show of affection, rubbing under the dog’s chin. Cia looked at her mud-coated toes.
“I lost my shoes,” she sighed.
Deklan laid his arms across his stomach, continuing to smooth his fingers along Izia’s jaw as the wolf laid his head on Deklan’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
Cia scrunched her face. “I’m sorry.”
“Please just follow instructions. When we return to Sziveria, you can go back to however you function with your team. With me? Listen.” He rose from a prone position in one smooth, flexible kick-up.
Cia blinked. She’d only ever seen Kevin pull off that move. She hadn’t yet mastered the action. The rapid movement stirred more dust into the air, sparkling in the brilliant noon light. The oppressive heat weighed on her, and they hadn’t even started moving again.
“Those pants are going to turn into brick,” he said, picking up his bag.
Cia poked at the tacky mud covering her lower half. “So, what should I do? Walk around pantless and shoeless?”
He rummaged around in his pack and dropped one, then two boots at her side. Next, he pulled free a long pair of cotton pants and held them down to her. “All of this will be too big, but it’s better than nothing.”
Cia accepted the clothing, leaving behind muddy fingerprints. “Thanks.”
With Izia at his side, he walked along the path they’d been forging, his back to her. Cia huffed and tried to peel herself out of the pants, but the fabric bunched at her ankles and stuck to her skin at every twist and yank. Her arms weren’t long enough to pull, and kicking only tangled the mess.
She muttered a low curse and breathed against the frustration. “Hey, um, Wolvenguard?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t get my pants off.”