Ring of Gold Revisited

Chapter Ten

Tallis woke to a hand shaking his shoulder gently, and he shot upwards in surprise. Waylana was leaning over him, already dressed in her leathers. He'd fallen asleep on the couch.

"We're leaving soon," she said.

His eyes flickered to the window to his left and he grimaced as he took in the rain that splattered against the glass. It seemed the weather wouldn't be in their favour today. Rolling off the sofa, Tallis pulled on his boots and threw a thick cloak around his shoulders.

The others were eating in the kitchen, all fully dressed and ready for a day's worth of travel. Almost immediately, his gaze locked with Kessia's. He was so tired that he took him a moment to remember the time they had spent together last night, and more importantly, what they had read.

There was a look in her eyes that said she couldn't quite believe it either. Tallis struggled to recall the last time they had been alone together for that long without one of them storming off.

He grabbed some food, wrapped it in a cloth from the kitchen, and tucked it into his satchel before ducking out into the rain. Even with his hood up, he was soaked through to the bone immediately. They'd freeze if they spent too long in this.

Letting out a curse, he led three of the horses out of the fenced area, leaving the other three behind. Waylana, who had just stepped outside, noticed what he was doing and offered him a nod. He offered the reigns of one horse to Waylana, and when Cryo came out with the others, Tallis handed him one as well. Ghys hopped up with his sister and Cryo, who was grinning charmingly, offered a hand to Maelynn.

Kessia stood in the doorway, arms crossed and looking anything but impressed.

Tallis felt the corner of his mouth curl up as she threw up her hood and approached. "I don't bite, you know," he said, ears twitching in delight when she scowled. Placing his hands on her hips, he lifted her up into the saddle with ease, receiving a surprised yelp in response. "You're not my first choice of riding partner either, but you could look a little more thrilled by my company."

She laughed as he hauled himself up behind her. "Really? Then who is your first choice? Your ego?"

Tallis sent a glare at the back of her hooded head and grabbed the reigns, guiding the horse towards the trail that curved east through the rocky terrain. He looked over his shoulder at the others, half blinded by the rain, and shouted, "Keep up! We have a lot of ground to cover."

They took off into the wood, hooves thundering behind him. Thunder cracked overhead, so loud that he grimaced, and he could only hope that it wouldn't startle the horse into bucking them off. He didn't exactly want to land in a puddle of mud when already wet and cold.

As they rode, Tallis lowered his mouth to Kessia's ear and whispered, "You brought the book?"

Kessia looked back at him. "No, I forgot it," she deadpanned.

"Why do you have to be like this," he groaned in frustration. "A simple yes would've sufficed."

"A simple yes would've been rather boring."

Tallis bit his tongue and forced himself to gaze ahead, focusing on the trail rather than the girl in front of him.

After an hour of riding, it was beginning to be evident that they were drawing close to the border. The rocky terrain leveled out the trees began to thin. Even the rain seemed to come down more heavily.

Those damn water wielders.

They eventually broke from the treeline and there it was, a deep cavern stretching left and right as far as the eye could see.