It was growing darker, but there was still enough light filtering down through the forest canopy to see clearly as Tess waded in the river. The cold water felt good against her feverish skin. She sighed heavily, knowing that it wasn’t the fight that had warmed her so much.

The more time she spent with Matt, the harder it was to fight the attraction she felt. She found herself staring at him too much. She would catch herself longing for his touch, remembering the feel of him, the taste of him, and she would want him to touch her again... kiss her again... Then she would inwardly groan at her daydreaming. He was like a disease; she couldn’t get away from thinking about him, from wanting to be near him. He plagued her and she hated that she couldn’t just stop, couldn’t make this desire for him go away.

Every day he flirted with her, said things with double meanings, grinned wolfishly, and looked at her with hungry eyes that held such promise. His offer had been clear even when he had left with the blond woman. He had turned to give Tess a look and raised a questioning brow, but she looked away, telling him no, so he went with the other woman. But Tess' resolve was weakening. She only wanted him more as time went on. She was drifting closer and closer to the fire, longing to let herself burn in it.

She mentally calculated the number of days it would take until they reached Malluk’s true temple—almost a week. She whined out loud. It had been a week and a half since she had met him, surely she could handle a little longer. Then he would go away, and she would be with just Ayden again, and she wouldn’t have any stupid desire to struggle with. But even aside from the sexual attraction, she didn’t want Matt to go away; he had become her friend, she honestly liked him. She did want him as a friend. If only she could get over the desire part.

With another sigh, she got out of the water and wrung out her unbraided hair with her hands as she headed to where she had left her clothes a few feet up the riverbank. Then, with perfect timing, Matt walked into view.

She groaned. “What do you want?”

“I need to tell you something,” he said seriously, but by the end of the sentence, he faded into distraction as his eyes traveled the length of her wet, naked body. “You’re beautiful.”

She wasn’t embarrassed by her nudity—she was rarely embarrassed by anything—but his words made her uncomfortable. Beautiful was not a word people used for her. She couldn’t even remember someone saying it to her before, not once. Not that she cared about her looks at all. “Um... thanks. Is that what you came to say?” she asked in annoyance as she reached for her pants.

“No, that can wait,” he said dismissively. He closed the distance between them in three strides and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from dressing.

She looked up at him and sighed wearily. “Matt, please...”

His intense blue eyes were smoldering as he looked down at her. “Please what? Please leave you alone?” His voice was now warm and velvety.

“Yes.”

“Why? You don’t really want that.”

“Yes, I do.” She could have rolled her eyes at how weak she sounded.

He gave her a half grin as he took the pants out of her hand and dropped them to the ground. He pulled her around the rest of the way to face him. “Why do you fight something you want so badly?”

“Because it’s wrong.”

“Why?”

“Because... I don’t love you. And I’m not like you. I don’t... I’m not like... that.”

“If you’re hungry and someone offers you food, do you eat it?”

“Yes, but—”

He put a finger to her lips, silencing her. “Then why not satisfy your appetite? You want me, I want you, what’s wrong with that?” He moved his thumb over her bottom lip, and she shivered.

“It just is,” she argued quietly.

He lowered his head until his mouth was almost touching hers, until she could feel his hot breath on her lips. One tiny move would bring them together. He was inviting her to taste him, to feed that carnal hunger inside her. “Be honest,” he murmured. “Does it feel wrong?”

He was right, she wanted him too much, and just then, when he was so close, so tempting, she couldn’t remember why she should fight it. She didn’t care anymore. “No,” she whispered. She looked at his full lips, aching to feel them again.

“Say it—say you want me,” he coaxed.

She swallowed, then breathed the words, “I want you.”

He stood straight again and kept his hands at his sides. “Then take what you want.”

A thrill shot through her, and her heartbeat quickened. She hesitated for a moment before looking down to watch her hands touch the bottom of his shirt. She pushed it up, feeling the smooth skin of his stomach as she did so. He took off the shirt and tossed it aside for her, but then stood still again.

He just watched her as she let her hands glide up his torso, slowly, feeling the muscles of his abs and chest. She licked her suddenly dry lips as she caressed her way up to his neck and beautiful face, then weaved her fingers into his hair and met his heated gaze. Her breath caught, and there was a fluttering in her stomach as she pulled his head closer and pressed her lips against his. They parted for her, only slightly, offering but not taking. She closed her eyes and did what she had longed to do before—she ran her tongue across his bottom lip.

He finally grabbed her and took control. All tenderness left as the fire roared to life, as she felt the hunger of his mouth and met it with all the power of her own desire. His hand gripped her bottom, pulling her against him as he continued to kiss her, deep and ravenous.

An electric feeling flowed through her at his touch, exciting her beyond anything she had ever known. The world blurred around her. All she knew was his mouth on hers and his hands roaming over her body, each touch making the need inside her build. She wanted something desperately, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

He guided her down onto the forest floor and covered her; the weight of his strong body pinned her to the ground, molding her to him. She couldn’t remember the rest of his clothes coming off, but now she felt his warm, naked body pressed against the length of hers. She opened easily, cradling his hips with her thighs and wrapping her arms around his neck. But he still wasn’t close enough. She wanted more. She needed more.

He lifted his head to look down at her, his eyes burning into hers and a small, slightly wild, grin on his lips. The look scared her and excited her at the same time, like the moment before a fight began.

Then suddenly, forcefully, he pushed in to her. His smile widened when she gasped softly at the unexpected pain. But then he began moving inside her, and each movement brought with it a ripple of pleasure. Her moan was muffled as he started kissing her again, hard and fervent, and she responded eagerly. His grip on her tightened, and the movement of his hips grew more aggressive.

When he looked down at her again, she could see her own fierce passion reflected in his eyes. They were both part of the fire, scorching and wild, equally savage and fully unleashed. And within the storm of exquisite sensations, the word wrong lost all its meaning, because nothing had ever felt so right.

A tension began to build inside her, driving her toward something unknown. But it was good and she wanted it more than anything—she needed it desperately. She closed her eyes and held on to him, making sure he stayed as close as possible. She wrapped a leg around his waist and moved with him as the wonderful tension mounted higher and higher.

Then, all at once, it burst inside her. She clawed at his back when the unbelievable pleasure erupted and coursed through her body. She clung to him as the intense waves pulsating inside her and she cried out loudly. She was only vaguely aware of his groan as he felt the tremors of his own release.

She let out a final moan as she blissfully floated back to reality. When their bodies stilled, he moved off of her, onto his back, and she stared up at the dark branches above them. “Gods,” she murmured.

He chuckled softly. “Understand now?”

She gave a small laugh of her own. “Mmm, definitely.” She sighed in wonder.

But his sigh was in slight annoyance. “Left my jacket at camp,” he grumbled lightly. When she looked at him questioningly, he answered, “Smokes.”

“Who cares?” She rolled onto her side and slid a hand across his chest with a grin. She moved it to his shoulder and pulled, urging him to come back to her. “I want more,” she demanded greedily.

He grinned too as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her to him. He tipped her head back, bit her neck, and then ran his tongue up her throat, over her jaw and to her lips. “I’ll wear you out,” he warned in a low murmur.

She chuckled. “You can try,” she told him, then bit his bottom lip before kissing him fiercely.

__________

A beam of sunlight woke Tess up the next morning. She grumbled and turned her head away, getting it out of her eyes. She had barely gotten a few hours’ sleep. She still felt exhausted, especially physically, and the cold, hard ground didn’t help. She felt bruised everywhere, and her legs felt a bit wobbly when she adjusted her position. But the pain was nothing; it was actually satisfying. Like soreness after a fight, or in this case, achy muscles after an amazing night. She smiled at a particularly nice memory.

A splash caught her attention; she opened her eyes and lifted her head enough to look over at the river a few yards away. Matt was there, just breaking the surface of the water and standing so that his entire top half was visible. The golden sunlight touching him made his wet skin glimmer as drops of water trickled down his body. He was beautiful. The whole scene should have been a painting—a perfect masterpiece.

Suddenly her smile faded as she remembered Ayden. She had been gone from camp all night, and he would know something had happened. She let her head fall back a couple of inches to the ground and groaned softly at the idea of facing him. He hated Matt, and aside from that, they had mocked Vivyka for years, calling her the tramp of the town. Tess felt like she understood her a little better now—but would Ayden understand? She remembered him calling Matt a sleazy asshole and sighed. What would he think of her now?

She turned her head to look at Matt again. Maybe she should just date him. But what did that really mean? She thought of the people she knew who were together—her mom and dad, Cael and Lotus, Marian at the orphanage and her boyfriend... did she want to be with Matt in that way, be with him all the time like that? Then she wondered if Matt were always around, every night, then where would Ayden be? Would she ever be able to be with just him again?

She watched scenes play through her mind, even simple ones, like sitting with Matt by the fire while Ayden was on the other side, or waking up in the middle of the night and seeing Matt beside her. She couldn’t imagine whispering with him in the dark when she couldn’t sleep, the way she did with Ayden. She couldn’t imagine Matt being comforting and loving as Ayden was. Matt was fun, but would dating him take away from her being with Ayden? She liked Matt, and she definitely liked sex with him, but she didn’t want anyone replacing Ayden in any way. She didn’t want her relationship with him to change; he was the only one she wanted to be around all the time, and she wasn’t going to let someone else get in the way of that. No—dating was out.

Missing Ayden as if she hadn’t seen him in a week instead of just last night, she got up and dressed quickly. Matt gave her a smile when he noticed her, and she returned it automatically before heading back to camp.

“Ayd, I...”

He wasn’t there. She did a quick scan of the clearing—two horses, two bedrolls. Ayden’s things were gone. She frowned in confusion and disbelief. Where had he gone? Why had he left?

She saw a note on her bedroll and walked over to it. Maybe they had left something back in Morras. She unfolded the paper and suddenly couldn’t breathe.

Tess,

It’s obvious that I’m not needed.

Three’s a crowd.

Goodbye,

Ayden

She shook her head, denying what she was reading. No, he wouldn’t leave, she thought. He wouldn’t. He promised he’d never leave. She felt herself start to tremble, and her eyes stung as they filled with tears. Her knees seemed to simply give out, causing her to sink to her bedroll where she sat, just staring blankly at the ground.

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” Matt said as he came into the small clearing, “I’ve met my match.” He paused to pick up his jacket and put it on. “You’re a damn animal.” He grinned. “And I have the marks to prove it.”

She looked up when he got to her, and his smile fell. He sat down and lit a cigarette, then took a drag and exhaled before asking quietly, “What’s going on?”

She just held out the note.

He looked at it, then looked around the camp and handed it back. “Gone, huh?”

She nodded slowly. “But I don’t understand. I...” She shook her head, unable to finish.

He let out a smoky sigh. “Well, I can make it a little better.”

She set the note down in front of her and stared at it. “How?”

“By telling you the good news,” he said solemnly, as if he didn’t really want to tell it. “You’re not going to die.”

“Didn’t know I was planning on it,” she mumbled.

“No,” he agreed. “I was.”

She glared at him. “That’s really not funny at a time...” She trailed off. He was serious. No, she must have heard him wrong. “What?”

“I was planning on killing you,” he said calmly. “But I’m not going to now. I don’t want to anymore.”

She rubbed her face, trying to grasp what he was saying. “But... why?” she breathed.

He stood up, walked to the saddlebag near his horse, pulled something out, and then returned to sit in front of her. He handed her an old book with a tattered brown cover. “I’m the one that stole the Canaran book from the library,” he told her, nodding to it, “because it said what powers the Spirit Dagger has. I wanted to make sure you and Ayden didn’t know that it also has the power to bring spirits back to life.”

“Okay...” she said slowly, not understanding yet.

“Kieran is my mother.” He said the words slowly and clearly so there could be no mistaking them.

She gasped. “You’re... the heir?”

“Yes.” He took his cigarette into his other hand so that he could remove one of his wristbands. Underneath, on the back of his right wrist, was a birthmark in the shape of a hellhound’s head—Malluk’s symbol. She realized now that he had never taken his wristbands off before, not even last night when everything else had been off.

“I used you both to help me get the dagger,” he explained. “Most of what I told you was true... everything except who my mother was and Iris—there was never a fairy involved. All the information I needed was in that book. Though I had to find someone who could translate the book for me, so it took a while; not many people actually know Canaran. I even got the map to the first cave from that. I just had it copied onto a scroll.”

“So, we’d help you get what you needed and then willingly walk into the temple to be sacrificed,” she said, feeling a bit dizzy as her mind whirled chaotically.

“Yes. When you told me about Sera being a cleric, I decided to just use Ayden as the second sacrifice instead. And Sera never got your letter, of course. The courier knows me.”

She stared at him in bewilderment. “But... now you’ve had a change of heart?”

He huffed. “Heart has nothing to do with it. I’m a servant of Malluk, remember? I have no heart.”

“Yes, you do,” she disagreed. “Or you wouldn’t be telling me this.”

“I just don’t feel like killing you,” he said, looking away from her.

“Why? Because of last night?”

“No. I went to find you to tell you the truth, but...” He smiled. “Well, you were wet and naked, and I’ve never had a fighter before,” he admitted, shrugging.

His words stung. She knew she had just been a piece of ass to him—which was all he was to her, really—but still, it hurt to hear him say it, especially like that, like it was nothing.

“But,” he continued, “you might have saved my life with that skeleton, now I’m sparing yours. It’s as simple as that.”

She nodded then suddenly frowned. “Ayd... did you say something to him? Is that why he left?”

“No,” he said as he exhaled some smoke. “I don’t know why he left. Well... I can guess.”

“Why?”

“He wants you for himself. I doubt he liked me having you first.” He shrugged again. “And I’m sure the fact that he hates me doesn’t help,” he added with a smirk.

Her frown deepened. “He doesn’t... we’re just friends. If anything, he’s disgusted with me for screwing someone like you, for being so... easy.”

“Are you really that stupid?” he asked with a short laugh.

“He doesn’t want me like that,” she insisted. “He would have told me if he did.”

“It’s ridiculously obvious,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But it’s not my fault he doesn’t have the balls to get what he wants and I do.”

She suddenly remembered bits of previous conversations. Ayden asking her if she liked Matt when they had first met him, when he had never asked if she liked anyone before. Then the other day he had said, “He wants you, that way, you know what I mean? Do you...?” Had he asked because he wanted her himself? And then, “Tess, you know I love you, right? I mean—” What had he meant? Had he meant romantically?

A knot formed in her stomach, making her feel sick. “Oh gods,” she moaned. “If he... but why wouldn’t he just tell me?”

“Maybe he didn’t realize you’re an idiot,” Matt offered.

She glared at him. “Shut up.” She rubbed her aching chest, desperately hoping that Matt wasn’t right. She hoped Ayden was just disappointed in her, disgusted even, but not in love with her. Not like that. If he was... she couldn’t imagine how much she had just hurt him. Tears began to slide down her face.

Her crying obviously annoyed Matt. “Anyway, the dagger...”

She sighed. “Yeah, we have to deal with that first.” She wiped away her tears. “Saving the world is more important then my problems.” She took a deep breath, trying to let it go for now.

“Just give me the dagger and leave.”

“No,” she said incredulously. “It’s bad enough that we don’t have Ayd with us, I’m not leaving you on your own.”

“You really can be seriously stupid,” he said, rolling his eyes again. “I’m not destroying my mother, I’m just letting you go.”

She stared at him for a long moment, feeling bitterly disappointed. “But... you can’t bring her back,” she said earnestly. “Can’t you see how wrong it is? She’s evil; she’ll destroy everything that’s good in this world. And she’ll just go after me and my family first. You’ll only be putting off my death.”

He sighed. “Just go and I’ll make sure you and your family are safe,” he promised. “Ayden too,” he added quietly.

She laughed humorlessly. “As if Kieran would listen to you.”

“She won’t have a choice,” he said flatly. “Now go.”

“No. Kieran can’t come back and regain power. I won’t let her.”

He smiled, a bit sadly. “You have guts, you’re not scared of anything, and you never back down... I really like that about you,” he told her sincerely, then frowned. “But you’re just a stupid girl who’s in over her head, and if you don’t leave, you’ll die.”

She got to her feet. “You know, I actually liked you. I mean... I thought we were friends.” She sighed heavily as she walked several yards to where her saddlebags were sitting and put the book inside.

He tossed the rest of his cigarette into the cold remains of the campfire and stood, too. “So, you’re leaving?” He sounded hopeful, yet surprised.

“No.” She sighed again and started pulling her boots on. “I’m getting my daggers.”

“Tess, you won’t beat me.”

She laced up her boots as quickly as she could. “I have to. I don’t have a choice.” She pulled out her dagger and the Spirit Dagger as she stood. “I really don’t wanna kill you... but I will.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, and then sighed as he drew his sword.

“But regardless of what you think, I’m not stupid,” she told him. “I know I probably can’t do it alone.” She quickly dropped her dagger so she could jump onto her unsaddled mount and take hold of its dark mane with her free hand, keeping the Spirit Dagger securely in her other. With it, she sliced the strap that tied her horse to the tree, then kicked hard and bolted into the forest.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she raced through the trees. She felt too many things at once—stupidity, betrayal, heartache, guilt... But she kept going. She knew Matt would be right behind her, and she wasn’t sure who would win if they fought for real, for their lives this time.

She stayed parallel with the Belthon River, riding as fast as possible along the riverbank until she found a shallow enough place to cross. She had to slow her pace as she went deeper into the redwoods of the Ifori Forest, and the ground became more unsteady, with dips and large tree roots hidden by ferns and other thick undergrowth.

This was elf territory. The elves hated all intruders, including her, their prejudice had only grown worse over the years. But she was still safer here than in Brunya Forest. She figured she would be fine as long as she didn’t accidentally enter the Saelythian village. Since their buildings were actual redwoods themselves, it was hard to tell where it was until you were in it.

She wondered if Matt would follow her here. Surely he knew the danger. Any elf would be more than happy to kill the son of Kieran, the murderess who had wiped out the entire race of Shia’Lan elves twenty-three years ago.

Or maybe Matt would realize that Tess was going to Chendal. She knew that’s where Ayden would most likely have gone. He would want to be with Sera. Would Matt just head around the Ifori Forest instead of going through it? If he did, she told herself, she would still get there much faster.