And then Cassius might hold me while we were sleeping.

Not to mention doing other things on that pallet.

Oh, and not least, we’d be getting to know each other better in other ways as we were destined to spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife.

I watched my feet as we made our way back to camp and fortunately Jazz didn’t press the conversation.

We were outside her tent before she spoke again.

“He’s fine-looking, that’s certain,” she said quietly. “But he’s Airenzian, Elena. Maybe he’s one of the good ones, as well as one of the good-looking ones, but don’t forget that, in the end, he’s Airenzian, and lose yourself in the forgetting.”

Now that, I had a feeling, was good advice.

I looked into her eyes and nodded.

She gave me an encouraging smile, a warm hug, then moved into her tent.

I walked to mine.

When I was inside, I saw there was one lantern still lit, the one by my trunk, which was thoughtful for I could use it to move about and prepare for bed without bumping into things in the dark.

This I did with my back to the pallet and I did it without thinking any further about how thoughtful it was that Cassius had left a lantern glowing for me (something I did not do in the times I went to bed without him).

Once changed, I blew out the light and quickly moved to the bedding because the autumn chill was claiming Wodell, and I’d learned the Firenz desert nights could be cold, but the wet Dellish chill was biting.

Cassius had not moved or made any noise while I was in the tent, so I suspected he was asleep.

This suspicion was incorrect, and he did not delay in communicating that to me for I’d barely pulled the quilt over me before his arm was about my waist and the warmth of his front lined the cool of my back.

His deep voice also vibrated into my hair, causing a trill to trace down my neck and spine.

“Did you see pixies?”

“Yes,” I told the dark.

His arm about me tightened.

My, but I liked his strength.

And his warmth.

And how very long he was.

“I should have let you apologize the way you apologize,” he shared.

This was unfortunate, for now I was wondering why I’d even apologized.

I decided not to reply.

He continued to share.

“I do not respond well to shouting.”

I decided that it might not be constructive for me to reply to that either.

“I should also have let you say farewell to Dora.”

Like he should be able to let me do anything.

I clenched my teeth together.