Something in the Night

Chapter Fourteen

The gentle knock on the door brought Nina out from a light sleep and she sat up, rubbing her eyes with one hand as she called, "Yes?"

"It's Thorin."

Her hand fell away from her face at the stiff coolness in his voice. Perhaps it was only her imagination. Perhaps Thranduíl had told them they could not remain in Mirkwood and had to leave immediately. Either way, her stomach knotted as she replied, "Come in."

The door handle turned without a sound and as he came into the room, one would have to be an utter idiot to not see the storms in his eyes or the scowl tucked into his beard. An uneasy feeling swept through her. "What is it?"

"I don't know," he said slowly, as if still gathering his thoughts. "I've heard some rather disturbing news."

That unease grew worse and she tried to ignore it, gingerly getting to her feet. Her stitched leg ached, and stung, and that only made her feel even worse now. "What sort of disturbing news."

"You tell me."

He met her gaze then and she almost backed away from him at the fury in his cobalt eyes. Her mouth going painfully dry, it took every bit of will she possessed to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth in order to say, "I'm—I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Is that so?" He thrumped past her, out onto the terrace, his voice growing hotter as he continued, "A prisoner was taken from the battle. An orc. He spoke of the bounty Azog had placed on my head."

She was going to be sick. No. Surely it was anything but what she thought.

Please. Let it be anything but that.

"Thorin," she limped out onto the terrace, where she found him staring off into the forest, hands clasped behind his back, "I'm not following you. I told you about it, about how it remained in place. So, why are you upset?"

"I think you know the answer to that." He slowly turned to her. "Don't you? Tell me again, how you knew I was going to be in the clearing at Rivendell?"

"I told you. I was following you."

"That's right. You were following me." His eyes grew colder, his voice devoid of all emotion now. "But, you never said why you were following me. And don't play me for a fool, Nina. Admit what I already know to be true. Tell me why you followed me."

A sour, brackish taste flooded her mouth, her pulse pounding through her head with such force, black dots danced before her eyes and the thumping almost hurt. "Thorin... "

"You weren't there watching over me," he growled, his voice low. "You were hunting me."

"No." She shook her head, her eyes stinging now. "No, I can explain. Really, I—I can."

"Is that so?" He folded his arms over his chest and affixed a steely gaze upon her. "I am listening."

"Yes, I—I admit I was in that clearing with the intention of being the one to collect the bounty on you. I was—I was just so angry with you for unleashing Smaug, or because I thought you'd done that intentionally. All I could think about was what you'd cost me and I—I thought it only fair.

"But, then I met you and came to know you and—and I wasn't going to harm you. I wasn't. And—and I wanted to tell you—I tried to tell you, but then Dwalin appeared and..." Her throat squeezed shut on her and she swallowed hard against the lump rising in it. "You were never in any danger."

"Or you were but biding your time," he growled.

"Thorin, if I was going to do it, I had ample opportunity. More than once, in—including last eve while you slept, and in fact, I—"