He was not going to be swayed.
‘If I go to Changan, I’ll be hanged,’ he said with forced coldness. ‘Is that the sort of man you want to be travelling with?’
She tensed, but refused to back down. ‘What did you do? Did you steal something?’
‘No.’
‘Did you kill someone?’ Her voice faltered.
‘No.’
She shouldn’t look so relieved. He wasn’t a thief or a murderer, but he wasn’t much better. Anger and regret flooded him all at once. ‘I made a mistake.’
A half-witted, disastrous mistake. He should have never taken that command. He wasn’t fit to lead others. He could barely keep himself alive. The fire crackled and sputtered as it began to die.
‘I’ll take you to the nearest town,’ he said, tossing more wood into the fire. ‘You can find someone else to take you home.’
After a long silence, she settled in the grass beside him and pulled her legs to her chest. She didn’t argue with him, but he could see the stubborn determination in her eyes.
‘I want to help. I’m just not the right person to do it.’
‘I know you’re a good man.’
The firelight danced in her eyes, reflecting a spark of gold within the irises. His gaze strayed to her mouth despite his best intentions. Desire blindsided him, heated, unbidden and greedy.
‘I’m not,’ he muttered.
Ailey shouldn’t have been alone out there, as trusting as she was. A man could easily take advantage of her. She would be silk and moonlight in his arms. A couple of hours of forgetfulness.
He was a savage to even consider it. She was stranded and desperate. She had begged for his help and he had refused after she had shown him the only touch of kindness he’d known in a long time. The first since he had woken up in a hovel a month ago, the gash on his head still healing.
He struggled to find something civil. ‘You’re pretty good with those swords.’
‘My brothers and I would practise together. I have five—had five.’ An unmistakable look of sadness crossed her face.
‘Where in God’s earth are they?’
She grew quiet, scraping the toe of her boot against the dirt. ‘They’re scattered to different corners of the empire.’
‘I can’t believe there is no one nearby who can help you. An associate of your father’s or the town magistrate.’
‘There is no one.’
She raised her chin stubbornly. His hands itched to stroke the graceful line of her neck. He could almost taste how sweet her mouth would be, innocent and untried. Grabbing a twig, he snapped it in two and threw it into the flames. Apparently he did have some principles after all. Her faith in him, misplaced as it was, humbled him.
He drew his sword. She started at the sound, her lithe body coiled and ready. Fighter’s reflexes. The kind that took time and practice to develop.
‘I’m laying this down between us,’ he explained.
Her eyes lit up. ‘May I?’
His attempt at honour seemed lost on her. She wrapped her slender fingers around the hilt with careful reverence. Her arms sank under the weight.
‘It’s quite heavy,’ she murmured.
‘It belonged to my father.’
What had compelled him to tell her? It had been years since he’d spoken of his father. Her gaze roamed over the guard and down the length of the battered steel. The scrutiny felt so much more personal than if she had looked him over with the same admiration. Suddenly it bothered him to be sharing this moment with a stranger, this odd girl who liked swords.
Without a word, he took the weapon from her hands and placed it between them. She regarded him with a confused look before withdrawing. Hugging her arms around her knees, she scanned the darkness. The whir of cicadas filled the night. For a moment the look on her face was so vulnerable, the need to protect her overwhelmed any other urge. They were both stranded out here with no idea what the next day would bring. He wagered she wasn’t as accustomed to it as he was.
He undid the clasp of his cloak and tugged it from his shoulders.
‘I’ve got thick skin,’ he said when she protested.
That earned him a faint smile. She thanked him and wrapped the cloak around her, disappearing into the wool. Seeing her in it sent another wave of possessiveness through him.
He lowered himself to the grass and tucked his arms behind his head. ‘It’s not far to the next town.’
‘Did you just come from there?’
‘Yes. They chased me away with shovels and axes.’
She blinked at him, not understanding.
‘Someone will help you there,’ he amended.
She pulled his cloak tight around her, as if shielding herself from the night. ‘I know you have done all you can.’
A grunt was all he could muster in response.
If she knew any better, she’d have never asked for his help. Even the soft sigh of her breath seemed like seduction. He dug his nails into his palms, using the sharp bite to distract him as he stared at the outline of the trees against the sky, black on black. There was nothing he could do for her and he hated it.
‘I should tell you something,’ he said.
The grass shifted beside him as she turned onto her side. Only her face was visible from under the hood. The fire cast a deep shadow beneath her cheekbones.
‘You do not know how to lie.’
She frowned. ‘I don’t lie.’
‘You carry a sword and have five brothers trained to fight. Why would your merchant father be raising a small army?’
When she said nothing, he knew he’d hit his mark. She had the look of a cornered fox ready to flee.
‘What does it matter? You will be gone by tomorrow,’ she said.
The dwindling fire crackled in the ensuing silence. He let his head drop back against the hard ground. Apparently, he’d made the right decision not to get involved.
‘You’re nobility. Warrior class.’
She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. Nobility or not, Ailey was not for him. He was a barbarian in this land and always would be. Her sword-wielding brothers would castrate him if they discovered him alone with her. And then they’d kill him.
Chapter
