She felt like she had been a sleep for only a few moments before someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes and blinked.

Damien bent over her. “We leave soon.”

Her eyes went wide, and she rolled away from his hand.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Selene lifted herself up from the ground and found herself wrapped up in the woolen blanket. “Confound it,” she said through gritted teeth as she tried to detangle herself.

“Here, let me help.”

Before she could refuse, Damien grabbed the corner of the blanket, freeing her.

She crawled out beneath his arm and stood, face hot. “Thank you,” she mumbled, too embarrassed to look at him. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had startled her from sleep.

Damien folded the blanket and put it away in one of the saddlebags. Selene massaged the side of her head where her temple throbbed. Her eyes felt even scratchier today. If only she could have slept longer. She had finally fallen into a deep slumber devoid of dreams.

“I’ll get you something to eat.”

Selene glanced over and nodded. As Damien headed back to the fire, she turned and went into the woods to attend to her own personal needs. It appeared it would be another nice autumn day. Selene yawned and redid her braid. Her hair was in bad need of washing, not to mention the rest of her body and clothes.

She paused and looked down. If there had been any illusion that she was a lady, those thoughts were dashed. Her tunic was stained, and her pants were torn along one calf. And she smelled like something that had been dragged up from a muck-filled pond. Not how most ladies appeared in the days following their wedding.

Selene straightened up and headed back toward the camp. If Damien was expecting a lady like Lady Adalyn, then he was in for disappointment. She might not look the best, or smell the best, but she doubted any other lady had been through what she had.

She came back to the fire. Damien handed her another small loaf of bread, while Cohen and the other men prepared for their journey. She tore off a chunk and chewed slowly as she stood along the perimeter of the camp. She stared off in the distance, her mind wandering when she felt eyes on her. She paused midchew and found Damien staring at her.

Could he see the fatigue on her face? Or did she look as bad as she smelled?

He never said a word. Instead, he went back to packing.

Selene pulled her hood up over her head, her appetite gone.

They finished cleaning and packing in a short amount of time, and before she knew it, she was back in the saddle and they were on their way. By midday, Selene could barely keep her eyes open. The cool autumn sun peeked out here and there across the trail where there were breaks within the trees. Sten and Karl rode ahead of her, while Cohen, Taegis, and Damien rode behind her.