“Come up behind me so quietly. I’d be on latrine duty for a month if my commander had seen you sneak up on me like that.”

Kyra shrugged. “I’ve been practicing.”

Tristam shook his head. “Do it again. Just walk to that tree over there.”

She humored him, strolling to the tree he had pointed out and noting with satisfaction that her footsteps were almost completely quiet, though she could hear the occasional rustle. When she came back, he was shaking his head, staring at her as if she’d grown an extra arm.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I spent an entire childhood in the forest and still make more noise than you do after a day of practice.”

“Maybe you need to lose some weight.” Kyra walked back and tapped gently on his well-muscled stomach. She smiled impudently up at him, and there was a glint of grudging amusement in Tristam’s eyes as he took her hand to pull it away. He was just a second slow to let go of her. It was barely noticeable, but long enough for Kyra to go still, and to understand that their conversation last night had cracked the walls between them. It would not take much to bring them down completely.

They stepped away from each other at the same time.

“Should we break camp?” she asked. She touched the spot on her palm where his fingers had been, but let go when his eyes flickered to the movement.

Tristam let out a slow breath. “Let’s move to a different place tonight.”

They did a respectable job of pretending nothing had happened. The two of them kept a careful distance between them as they traveled, and when they spoke, it was about the trail and their mission. Kyra spent the silent periods between conversations calling herself choice names. She knew better, after James, than to make eyes at any man who held a knife over her. She’d seen enough of life to know how dangerous a nobleman could be to any city girl, much less a prisoner of the Palace.

They spoke little as they hiked, and eventually, Tristam picked a spot for their second shelter. Kyra busied herself with gathering leaves and branches, but when it came time to enter the shelter, she was reluctant to go in. She told herself it was because she was tired of cramped spaces, and not because she felt self-conscious to be in such close quarters with Tristam. She looked around. It was late summer, and the trees were lush with leaves.

“The shelter’s too cramped. I’m spending the night up there.” She pointed to a particularly dense tree.

She could tell from the look in Tristam’s eyes that he knew the real reason she didn’t want to stay close. He slowly nodded his acquiescence. “Give it a try.”