I think Farrow was in shock. Or more likely complete denial.After giving him irrefutable proof that he was indeed my mate, he backed away, gave his head a quick shake as if to clear it, and then said, “We need to set up camp before the sun’s full in the sky.”I let him use his evasion tactic because we had the rest of our lives for him to get used to the idea, and honestly, I was a little worried about him. A dull roar of emotions wafted off him in unrelenting waves. They were jumbled together so tightly I couldn’t distinguish one from the other; I wasn’t even sure if they were mainly positive or negative feelings.I guess he needed a bit of time to process.But his silence bothered me to no end.“Want to know something ironic?” I asked as he pulled a large spool of leather from his pack and then bent to spread it on the ground. Realizing the covering was actually the roof of our tent for the day, I moved to the opposite end as him to help straighten it. When he didn’t answer my

It was the clicking that roused me.I’d been so tired I couldn’t even remember falling asleep, and I was still deep under when something began to tick and clack directly next to my ear, followed by swishing sounds, like someone sweeping a floor. Then more snicks. Maybe an insect scurrying past.A moment passed before I was able to drag my eyes open and spot blurry dark patches in front of me in the lighter sandy background.I blinked drowsily, still half-asleep.By the time I realized it was a scorpion that had sauntered right up to within a foot from my face, it was too late for me to do anything but scream.So, scream I did. Quite healthily.And that’s when I realized the scorpion wasn’t alone.“Omigod, omigod, omigod!” I screeched, jolting upright and then leaping to my feet, where I danced back on bare tiptoes, only to discover that not only was a horde of scorpions lined up next to my pallet in front of me, but there were more behind me, and to the left and the right as wel

Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!An arrow was sticking out of Farrow’s chest, near his left shoulder, just under the collarbone.“Farrow!” I screamed, leaping off Caramel so I could race toward him when he slumped off Mint and landed lifelessly on the ground.When something whizzed past my ear, the wind from its passage dusting my cheek, I realized more arrows were pursuing us.“Bloody bastards,” I hissed, ducking my face and falling to my knees to make myself a harder target to hit.But who the devil would be shooting at us before even finding out if we were threatening or not?Ire beginning to rise over the entire situation, I crawled frantically toward my wounded mate, who was lying supine and gasping as he clutched his arrow’s shaft only for his fingers to fall back limply to his side as if he’d passed out.“Farrow?” I whispered, hovering above him and barely making out his features in the early morning light.Seriously, who could even see well enough to aim bows and arrows at th

“Oh God,” I moaned.This felt divine.I tell you, nothing—nothing—felt as good as cleaning in the rocky stream of a small but glorious waterfall after going dirty for nearly a week.Another groan flowed from my lungs as I ran my fingers through my wet hair and rinsed out the scrubbing salts I’d smothered it with. I had used all the salts I’d packed from home, but it was worth it to clean myself.Farrow had rummaged through my clothes before leading me down to the stream so he could pick out appropriate Far Shore garments, as he’d referred to them. So a jewel-blue dress and leather boots awaited me on the shore to change into. But I was hesitant to leave the water just yet. It was simply marvelous here.And cool.The one stream we had at home down in the village of Mandalay was always so warm and temperate. The bracing feel of this water was kind of invigorating and refreshing. It made my nipples harden like fresh berries. After living my entire life in a desert, it was fascinatin

“It was my very own ancestor who applied the first mark of Elaina L’Amante,” Mydera explained in her deep, carrying voice. “So the story’s been carried down through the generations until I heard it every night as a lullaby when I was young.”I nodded, eager to hear more, as I popped a fresh piece of fruit into my mouth.But, mmm, fruit. After endless days of the tasteless bread-like rations Farrow had been feeding me, I gorged on the meal the mages had provided us with. And now, my stomach was full to capacity, yet I just kept stuffing more in.Next to me, Farrow sat close on the same log, his thigh pressed against mine the entire time. I knew he wasn’t a fan of this detour we were taking, but he endured because he knew I needed the break. And that made me treasure him even more.“Elaina L’Amante was the first queen of High Cliff,” Mydera was saying. “She was presented to King Grothier, I believe his name was—Awgust Grothier—as a gift from the kingdom of Tipton for their assistance