Praetorian Rising, стр. 28

It'd only been a dream, but was so intensely real that it burned her to the core all the same. Not until she shook her head to rid herself of the images did she realize that she was clasping her hunting knife, ready for an attack.

Soft footsteps crunched against the rocky ground nearby, and her head snapped toward the intrusion. "Good, you're awake," Vesyon said, eying the sharp hunting blade briefly. His expression was pinched and slightly worn with fatigue, and he seemed instantly older to her. "We need to be on the move again—by mid-morning this hillside will be swarming with Chimera."

"Now wait for just a second," Camille said shoving the frost dampened blankets off her legs before standing to face him. "Is it really a good idea to keep running from these beasts only to lead them into another village?"

"We aren't running from anything—we're leading them toward us," Vesyon replied briskly.

"I'm sorry—what?!" Camille asked. "Why would we do that?"

"You're the most infuriating woman!" Vesyon burst out, leaning so close she could've punched him square in the jaw if the mood struck her. "We don't have time for this! We need to be on the move." He immediately regained control and stood back, though his eyes continued to storm wildly.

"But why'd we leave Sierra Village alone? Shouldn't we have stayed there to protect them?" Camille asked. "What if they didn't all come after us—what if some stayed to take out the whole village?"

"We are protecting Sierra Village," Vesyon huffed. "We're taking what they want most as far away from that village as possible."

"Which is?"

"Isn't it obvious by now?"

Camille snorted as she shoved her belongings in her pack. "I can assure you it isn't."

"They want you, Camille. They were coming for you."

"Me?" Camille nearly dropped her pack. "Lunci had been attacked because of me?"

"Yes. So, keeping you out of Sierra Village is the best way we can protect the people there."

His words rang in her ears and Camille fell against the boulder, overcome with guilt. Without warning, Vesyon reached out with a gloved hand pulling her upright and into his arms. "I'm sorry Camille. I left you there too long." His arms tightened around her, gentle and yet firm as though he were trying to press his apologies into her skin. She felt the raking brush of stubble scratch against her cheek as he shook his head. "I'm so very sorry for what I've done."

His intimacy caught her off guard as much as it fascinated her. She couldn't be sure, but she could swear that he looked at her the same way Jacob had stolen glances at her a few times during their hunts: deep longing so beyond a simple desire that it was almost painful. Camille had never brought it up with Jacob. She hadn't wanted to embarrass him, but every time she caught the sideways glances or desperate longing in his stare, she had smiled gently in a show of blissful ignorance, not wanting to stoke the fire with encouragement.

With Vesyon, the piercing looks felt incredibly different. It not only caught her off guard, but it also confused her. She didn't look at Vesyon like a friend or a hunting partner; she saw him as a stranger. Albeit a very present and intense stranger currently pressed against her and holding her close. He was a fierce and intimidating man, but he was incredibly warm, and for the first time in her life she felt completely safe.

Disentangling himself from her, he kept his eyes averted, putting several feet of distance between them. The chill crept back in, and she more than regretted his sudden distance.

"The pack that followed us to the river will be here soon. We must cross into Romeo Village before nightfall," Vesyon said, his eyes looking everywhere but at her. She nodded, clutching her cloak tightly around her shoulders as they trekked deeper south into the trees, her skin still tingling where he'd touched her.

It was well into the afternoon before they crossed into the outer arms of Romeo Village, and by then Camille's stomach was roaring for sustenance.

"We can stop here," Vesyon said, glancing around the area. "I'm going to collect some wood for a small fire—see if you can find some food."

Camille studied the frosty ground and came up empty plant-wise; she'd have to do some hunting. Dropping her pack to the ground, she dug around and found some thin but heavy-duty rope that was perfect for trapping.

She set about tying off looping circles and knots for her tree traps, keeping a circular loop on the ground and devising a weighted pulley system by wrapping the remaining rope over a tall branch and under a rock at the base of the tree. The loose and tight knots felt so familiar under her small fingers that she found herself smiling at the memory of Peter teaching her how to hunt. A pang of worry stung her chest as thoughts of Lunci swam to the forefront, but she batted them away like flies, concentrating on the matter at hand: she was hungry and needed food. It was a problem she could solve.

With one trap done, she set about starting a second one. Camille knelt in front of a new length of rope, continuing to knot and loop the way she'd learned.

"What's this? A hunter off her guard?" A silky voice remarked from behind her as a blade pressed into her back.

Camille's fingers instantly froze, her heart speeding into triple overtime. The voice was familiar, but deeper in timbre than Vesyon's.

She leaned slightly forward and spun, kicking out her right leg to throw him off balance. He leaped away, and Camille pursued him, throwing another kick that landed successfully against his left shoulder. "Ow—hey!" he shouted, glacier-blue eyes dancing with playfulness.

He arced the sword in her direction, and Camille ducked, yelling as it whooshed mere inches over her head. "It's you!" Camille burst out, shoving the blond drifter she’d