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I charged through the water, my eyes trained on his shoulders as he bent. Reaching the damp shore, I grabbed my slip and pulled it over my head. It only reached an inch or two past my thighs, but it was the quickest option, and the last thing I wanted to do was force my breasts into the bodice of the damn gown in front of him.
I picked up my sheathed blade—
“I do hope you aren’t pla
I turned to him, my irritation spiking when I saw that he still had his back to me. Obviously, he wasn’t worried at all about what I would do with it.
“I haven’t been the one issuing threats, so I would hope not.” He faced me then, a smirk fixed on those well-formed lips. He stood there, the flap of his breeches undone, still wearing no shirt. I was positive he could’ve finished dressing. His fingers made quick work of the flap of his breeches. “You should unsheathe that blade.”
My brows lifted at the unexpected request. “Do you want me to use this one on you, too?”
He laughed again. “Are you always this violent?”
“No.”
“I’m not sure I believe that. But, no, I do not want you to use it on me,” he replied. “We’re not alone.”
Leafy branches rattled, shook by a sudden burst of high wind. I tightened my grip on the dagger as I looked up. The limbs had stilled, but there was a sound, a low moan that came from deep within the woods.
Ash bent once more, retrieving a scabbard. Gripping the silver hilt, he withdrew the short sword I’d seen him use before.
Seeing it reminded me of what I’d thought when he first used it. “Why do you carry a sword?”
He looked over at me. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“You’re a god. Do you really need a sword?”
Ash eyed me. “There is all ma
I sucked in an edgy breath as his words made me think of those damn books in the Atheneum. The illustrated ones.
“But just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I should,” he finished, snapping me out of my wayward thoughts.
My gaze shifted to the shadowy tree line and then back to him. A god with limitations? Interesting.
“We are about to have company,” he said, and I blinked. “I don’t believe they will be nearly as entertaining as you surely find me.”
“I don’t find you entertaining,” I muttered, and that was a foolish lie the god didn’t even bother challenging. Who wouldn’t be entertained by a god or Primal, even one as a
“You sure about that?”
“Yes. They like to moan and make all ma
Ash stared into the woods. “These are not spirits.”
“No one enters these woods,” I reasoned. “It has to be a spirit.”
“I entered these woods,” he pointed out.
“But you’re a god.”
“And what makes you think that what is coming is of your mortal realm?”
I halted, my stomach hollowing.
“I have a question for you. Are your spirits flesh and bone? The ones that haunt these woods?”
My gaze flicked up. All I saw was the darkness among the elms. “No.” I turned to him. “Of course, not.”
Ash lifted the sword, pointing the blade toward the trees. “Then what would you call these things?”
“What things?” I leaned forward, squinting. There were only shadows, but then I saw something drifting out of the darkness between the elms, a figure cloaked in black. A nightmare.