Chapter Eighteen

Yasmin woke freezing. She was curled in a ball on her side alone. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around the dark tent. The blanket was gone. She found it puddled at their feet. With a curse, she yanked it back over them and glared at Ravi in the darkness. He was on his back, his head turned away. She could just make out his silhouette. He didn’t make a sound. Yasmin touched his shoulder and snatched her hand away when she connected with his burning skin.

“Shite,” she murmured, tucking the blanket more securely around him after she got out.

She dressed in the dark with hands shaking in fear. Her gaze darted to Ravi often. She needed to find his herbs and mix some for him. How long had the fever raged? Why hadn’t she checked sooner? What if he died?

Yasmin halted her thoughts there. She searched for his pack but couldn’t tell which was which in the darkness. She cursed the fact that they didn’t have any light. Durga had given them everything. Why not a light? The answer was simple. Ravi ~was~ their light. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help with that now.

She sat back on her haunches and felt the same crushing fear she had when he went into the river. She couldn’t tell how late in the night it was or even if dawn was close, but she couldn’t see anything in the tent. Her best bet was to go outside. She grabbed both bags, crawled to the closed flap, and silently opened it to look outside. The snow seized the meager light and held tightly so the ground seemed to almost glow.

It was still night, which meant she needed to be careful about predators. She drew in a deep breath and left the tent, shutting the flap behind her. The moons were hidden behind the clouds, making it even harder to see, but there was enough illumination for her to find what she needed in the bags.

Yet she knew without a doubt that something was out there. Her gaze slowly scanned the area, moving from tree to tree, then to the river and beyond to more trees. She looked at the limb where Ravi’s clothes were. Only, they were gone. She bent and retrieved the blade from her boot, setting the packs down before slowly turning in a circle and searching for whatever was out there.

Her gaze kept returning to the left and the tree nearest the river, but she couldn’t see anything. She glanced down at her blade. It was small and would do the trick in a tight spot, but it wouldn’t do much against a predator. And there were plenty of those in the mountains.

Yasmin didn’t have time for this. She needed to get the herbs to Ravi soon. A shadow moved near the tree she stared at. It took a moment for her gaze to pick out the person leaning a shoulder against the trunk. He wore thick furs, a hood pulled up to cover his head and pointed ears.

“Took you long enough to spot me,” he said.

Yasmin’s knees went weak at the sound of Manu’s voice. She hadn’t realized how anxious she had been until then. She had wondered if she would see him, but Mountain Elves were distrustful of outsiders and kept their distance.

“It’s good to see you,” she said, walking to him. “I could’ve used you earlier.”

“You did fine on your own.”

She stiffened as his words registered. “You saw it?”

“Aye. I was on my way to you, but you had it under control.”

“Under control,” she said softly, fury roaring through her. “I was struggling, or couldn’t you see that?”

“I saw.”

She felt his black eyes on her. “You saw?” she repeated in disbelief. “You saw and did nothing?”

Manu straightened from the tree. “You forget, I know your strength. You continue to believe you’re broken and defeated, but you were far from that when I found you four years ago, and you’ve only grown stronger.”

“He could’ve frozen to death,” she stated, ignoring his words.

Manu grunted. “You got him out of the water.”

“Barely.”

“Are you angry because I didn’t rush to your aid, or that you once again managed on your own?”

Yasmin fisted her hands at her sides. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Is he feverish?”

She blinked at the quick change of topic. “Aye.”

“I saw him rubbing his head.” Manu took something from a pocket and held it out to her. “Get this in him quickly. He has to swallow it.”

Yasmin looked at the bottle. “He has his own herbs.”

“Those aren’t from the mountains. They won’t help. These will. They’ve been crushed to powder. Something in the mountain water causes some elves to become ill. It’s simple if treated early, but the fever can kill.”

She closed her fingers around the bottle. “How much do I give him?”

“All of it.”

“In water?”

“Straight into his mouth,” Manu said. His other arm held out Ravi’s clothes. “I’ve dried them. Take them into the tent or they’ll freeze again.”

“Thank you.”

“You shouldn’t have returned,” he said when she started to turn away.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You could’ve let the river have him and freed yourself from whatever he has over you.”

She studied Manu for a moment. She couldn’t help but remember the first time she had seen him as he walked through the blizzard as if it were nothing before gathering her in his arms and carrying her to safety. It hadn’t taken her long to learn that he had been tracking her. “How long have you been following us?”

“Long enough.”

Which could’ve meant a few hours or days. Manu wasn’t exactly the talkative type. He was the reason she was alive now, though, and she would forever be in his debt. Manu had said the gods sent him to her, but she didn’t believe that. She wondered why he hadn’t asked who Ravi was. Could it be that he knew? She knew better than to dismiss anything when it came to Manu. “Are you here to guide us to Shaldorn?”

“You seem to be doing that well enough on your own. Who told you to take this path?”

Yasmin shrugged. Manu might have saved her life, but that didn’t mean she would share her secrets. “A guess.”

“You haven’t been in the mountains in four years, yet you somehow know the back way to Shaldorn.”

She needed to get him off this subject, so she shifted to another that might make a difference and gain his assistance. “A device is being sold at Shaldorn. The buyer intends to toss it across the Idrias border.”

“Because a Dragon King paid us a visit?”

Her brows rose. How did the Mountain Elves seem to know things when they never left the peaks? “Aye. How did you know that?”

“We live in the mountains, Yasmin, not another country. Get those herbs in him. Quickly.” He turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

There was no answer. Soon, the night swallowed him, just like when she’d awakened in another cave all those years ago and found Manu gone. He appeared out of nowhere and left just as swiftly.

Yasmin slipped back into the tent with everything and had to give her eyes a moment to adjust. Then she spread Ravi’s clothes beneath her side before returning their bags to the corner. She could just make out his silhouette. She wished there was more light to see him. He hadn’t moved since she’d come in.

After removing her shoes and sitting beside Ravi, she placed a hand on his forehead. The fever still burned. She had never heard of such a sickness and was surprised that it hadn’t ever affected her. It must have something to do with the differences between humans and elves.

Her fingers slid into his hair, pushing it away from his face. The locks were thick and cool against her palms. He looked so peaceful. She wouldn’t even know anything was wrong if she didn’t know about the fever.

“Ravi?” she called. “Can you hear me? You’re ill. I need to get these powdered herbs into you, okay? They will end the fever.”

He made a sound. She didn’t know if it was an agreement, but Yasmin held out the small bottle Manu had given her and dumped some of the herbs into her palm anyway. Then she set the bottle aside and parted Ravi’s lips. He turned his head away. He was unconscious and not intentionally fighting her. Or maybe he was. It sounded like something he’d do.

“Ravi, please,” she begged. Then she changed tack. “Your mission is at stake. You’ve never failed. If you don’t take these herbs, we’ll never get to Shaldorn.”

She watched his face, trying to see in the darkness. Her fingers ran up his jaw, covered with a thickening beard since they’d left Rannora, and moved to his mouth. His lips were soft and pliant beneath her fingers. He didn’t fight her as she parted them. She brushed the pad of a finger against his lips before tugging his chin down to open his mouth wider. He grunted but didn’t turn away. Yasmin carefully pinched a small amount of the herbs and placed them into his mouth.

Manu had said no water, but she didn’t know how she was supposed to get them down Ravi’s throat. She didn’t want to dump them all into the back of his mouth and have him choke. So, she gently ran her thumb and forefinger along his throat in hopes he might swallow. It took some time, but she finally felt his throat bob.

Yasmin smiled and repeated the steps until all the herbs were gone. There was no reason for her to continue to caress his face and throat, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She told herself it soothed him, but in reality, she was the one who wanted the contact. She stayed in that position until her hip ached, and one side of her arse had gone to sleep.

She thought about earlier when she had felt his arousal. Her sex throbbed at the memory. Desire slid sensuously through her, making her legs clench, and her nipples tighten. She looked down, her fingers lingering on his lips for a heartbeat longer. Then, she slowly moved away before she did something foolish.

Yasmin tugged out both of their water flasks and set them nearby. He would want them once the fever broke. She yawned and decided to try to sleep some more. It didn’t take long for her to remove her clothes and put them on top of his beneath the blanket. As she slipped under the cover, she put her hand on his forehead and felt the sweat beading.

“At least the herbs work quickly,” she muttered.

She tried to turn on her side, but Ravi pulled her down beside him. As soon as she rested her head on his chest, she felt his body relax. Yasmin didn’t read too much into that. He was ill and sought comfort. She had been the one to warm him. His body recognized that. If he were awake, she would be the last person he’d want next to him. She didn’t take offense to that. She felt the same about him.

Or she had before.

She didn’t know what she felt now. Her emotions were too jumbled after the river incident. She would sort it all out in the light of day when he was healed, and she had time to think. Fear and the darkness had created this mess. And Ravi’s hard, naked body.

Yasmin squeezed her legs together and felt a throb of longing, a craving that wouldn’t relent. She swallowed and closed her eyes. Ravi’s steady heartbeat lulled her. He murmured something and settled back into slumber.

Despite her exhaustion, sleep evaded her. Her mind ran rampant with lustful thoughts of all the ways she wanted him. His chest was close enough she could press her lips to it or run her tongue along his skin. Her palms itched to move over his hard body. Her fingers flexed, coming into contact with the thick sinew of his arm. She felt the power of his legs beneath hers, slung across them.

She cautioned herself about such thoughts, but her body rebuked the warning. She didn’t want to feel these things but couldn’t turn them off. It wasn’t Ravi. He might be handsome and had rescued her twice, but she had never felt such things for Manu. It had to be because they were naked.

Once she left Shaldorn and her body was hers to do with as she pleased once more, she hadn’t let anyone touch her. Why did she crave it now? Why Ravi?

She tried to turn away, but he tightened his hold again, refusing to let her go. Yasmin waited for the flare of fear at being detained, but it didn’t come. Nor did she really want to put distance between them. Not when he felt so good against her. She settled back down and closed her eyes. His large hand splayed across her back, and she felt every inch of his palm. She wanted to hate it, to despise his touch. What would that hand feel like cupping her breast? Teasing her nipple? Or sliding between her legs? Inside her.

What would he feel like inside her?

Yasmin bit back a moan. There was no stopping her thoughts as she pictured him over her, thrusting inside her, his hard length sliding in and out and touching her exactly where she needed. Or maybe his hands gripping her hips as he drove into her from behind.

She rocked against him as her fantasies played out in her mind.

A groan rumbled in his chest. Her eyes snapped open, and she stilled. What was wrong with her? Ravi was ill and unconscious. She had no business acting in such a way without his consent. Yasmin had never been more embarrassed and ashamed of herself than in that moment. She cleared her thoughts, forcing all the images into a box she locked away. She removed her leg from his and then evened her breathing and endeavored to sleep.

When she finally tumbled into slumber, her dreams were filled with Ravi’s very willing body doing sinful, wonderful things to her.