Queen of Jastain (5 page)

According to Avant, the men on horseback were the king's soldiers, and they didn't tolerate visitors. His concern was that they would scour the land for her car. He'd apparently been looking for her (or someone he thought was her) when they'd discovered him. As the leader of the resistance in the north, he would've been killed had they captured him. Raking her gaze down the back of his body, her heart thumped against her ribs.
What a waste that would've been.

She flexed her arms and pushed up from the rock. A groan of pain that originated from every major muscle group exploded from her mouth.

Avant turned to greet her.
“Ah, I apologize, fair lady, for the inferior quality of the accommodations, but alas, we have at least one more night of the same.”
He tipped his head and smiled.

My God, he was gorgeous, but way too…Shakespearian.

He shot her a strange look. “
I know of another shelter we may use tonight, but we must leave shortly to make it by nightfall. We have a two day trip from here to reach my home.
”

She focused her mind. Could she still communicate with him? “
Are there roads? Can we take my car?
”

 
“I am afraid the roads are not open to us and we dare not take your car.”
He pointed to the ledge.
“If you need to relieve yourself, there is a place down on the next landing to the left.
”

Lovely. She couldn’t wait to pee outdoors. “
Thank you
.”

She half-climbed, half-slid down to the next level and fell on her ass. She found a grassy area with a tree and a small stream of water running off a nearby rock.

God, I must look like a street urchin.
And it didn't help that sexy Sir Hots-A-Lot up there thought she was
The Chosen One.
It sounded like some new computer role-play game. Good Lord! There was no way she could be the person he was looking for. Abby giggled, but a chill ran down her arms. What could she possibly do to defeat the Darkness? Shop it to death?
I do wield a mean credit card.

Even if Hots-A-Lot was delusional, maybe he could teach her to get back home with this Implanting thing. If that's really how she got here. It was all so…convoluted. She looked up to heavens. “C'mon, Lord. Can you throw me bone here? Is anything for sure?”

A shaft of light shone through the trees and reflected off the trickling water.

She rolled her eyes. “That's all ya got?” She shrugged and took a long drink.

Her stomach growled. Before she single-handedly defeated the evil king, she needed food. Just not squirrel stew. She’d hardly eaten anything in the last day and a half. At this rate, she'd be a skinny stick in no time. Smiling at the thought, she gave a booty-wiggle and winced from the pain in her sore muscles. There wasn't a lot to smile about in her current circumstances, but losing weight was something to be grateful for in any world.

When she got back to the cave, she found Avant packed and ready to go. He offered her breakfast, which was the remainder of the soup. Still not hungry enough to eat small rodents, she politely declined.

He went to the “facilities” while she waited. Abby contemplated drinking the Red Bull, but decided to wait until tomorrow. She might need the energy more after a second day of hiking. Also, maybe something better than squirrel would happen along. “Please, Lord.”

When he climbed back to the cave, his hair was wet. He'd slicked it back from his face and tied it into a little ponytail with a leather string. The sexy shadow of a light beard softened his angular jaw, and the thick waves of his hair shined with chestnut highlights in the morning sun. It was a good look for him, but then again, what wasn’t? Abby ran her fingers through her own tangled tresses and pulled her hair back. What she wouldn't give for a hairclip.

“
Would you like a thong for your hair?”

She giggled at the word
thong,
certain that what she pictured was not what he referenced. “
Do you have an extra one? I’d like to get it out of my face, and I don’t have anything
.” Actually she had her own thong, but she sure as hell wasn't putting it in her hair.

He immediately unlaced the tie at the neck of his shirt and handed it to her.

She gasped and put a hand to her face to hide the heat in her cheeks as his shirt fell open below his breast bone. “
You don’t have to do that
.”

Her blood coursed wildly at the sight of the smooth muscles of his chest. A soft sprinkling of dark hair beckoned her fingers. She swallowed hard.

 “It’s all right. Please use it. It will be a hard day’s journey with hair in your face.”
His words rang in her mind so sincerely she forgot her embarrassment, but her eyes kept flitting to his heavenly chest.

“
Thank you, Avant, and not only for the lace but for everything you're doing to help me.
”

Holding her gaze, he nodded once, and her heart fluttered. Was it getting warm in the cave? She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

 “It is time to be off if we are to make it to the next shelter before nightfall.”
He picked up his pack and walked to the mouth of the cave. She grabbed her bag and followed.

Climbing down proved to be more difficult than going up. The muscles required to lower herself from one level to the next worked her thighs and butt like no gym equipment she'd ever experienced. It was like doing hours of squats. She trudged down the mountain with the previous day's tumult weighting her down like the “freshman ten.” Avant helped her along on the steeper steps, but, for the most part, she made them on her own, clippity-clopping in those damned Docinis all the way down.

When he reached the bottom, he disappeared around an outcropping. Abby took the last little step to the base and hurried after him. As she turned the corner, Avant grabbed her arm and spun her around. Driving her back against the rock, he pressed the length of his rigid body against her. His face, barely three inches from hers, clenched in thin lines of stress. Her heart raced…with fear.

She was pretty sure it was fear.

The jagged rock pressed into Abby's back. Avant's taut body molded to hers did nothing to regulate her labored breathing.

Stifling her scream, he cupped his hand over her mouth. “
Please, my lady, there is danger.”

The canter of horses and the voices of men echoed against the mountain. How many she couldn’t tell, but it was more than a couple. Although he held her gaze, Avant appeared to be listening to determine their number and direction. Several minutes after they passed, his body relaxed against her. As if realizing his hand still cupped her mouth, he released his hold but not his gaze and remained inches from her face. Her heart continued to race, but not from fear. At least, not
just
from fear.

The pure blue of his eyes pierced through her, and desire rolled off him in heavy waves. For a long moment, they stared at one another. The harsh lines of his face softened. His eyes clouded as his gaze traced the lines of her lips. Avant's chest rose and fell rapidly, and he seemed as if he might….

He pushed away from the rock and took her hand to help her out of the little cleft in the mountainside. Realizing she'd forgotten to breathe, she closed her eyes and exhaled in a rush. She wouldn't think about what almost happened.

Once a safe distance from the travelers and after her breath returned, Abby stopped him.
“Were those the same men from yesterday?”

His brow furrowed in a scowl, and his gaze was remote.
“No. They were soldiers sent by the king to spy on the stronghold of the Freelands. Aesdil fears an attack from my men.”
His tone again turned cordial, and his face became unreadable. “
I apologize if I frightened you, Abigail.”

Heat spread from her chest to her forehead. He'd done a little bit more than scare her. A vision of his full, dramatically lined lips brushing hers formed in her mind, and she swallowed hard.
“That’s okay.”

His eyes widened, and he diverted his gaze to take a swig from his water pouch before looking at her again.

“You don’t think there are any more of them, do you?”
Avant seemed like he could take care of himself, but she was glad those men hadn’t found them. How could he have battled alone against a bunch of trained soldiers?

“It is likely, and we will exercise caution as we go.”

“
So where are we headed?”

“We have a half-day’s walk to the eastern fork of the Great River, called Itehris. There's a place where the northern part of the river narrows and can be crossed on foot. In the Ventium Vale is where we will shelter.”

No trace of the earlier distress or the desire showed on his face, and unlike with other guys, she couldn’t get a read on him.
“And then tomorrow, we'll reach your estate?”

“Tomorrow we will journey near the village and then another hour to my fief.”

As if to purposely distance himself, Avant quickened his stride, and she had to follow at a half-jog. Taking almost three steps to his one, she struggled to keep up in her little sandals.

He didn’t do chitchat very well. The strong, silent, and very Hots-A-Lot type. Of course, he could only speak into her mind when looking directly at her, and that made it hard to talk and walk at the same time. Abby snickered to herself. Plenty of people back home didn’t think she could talk and walk at the same time either. The guys at Alpha Tao Omega reveled in presenting her with a new blonde joke every time they saw her.

She breathed out a heavy sigh. Grasping hold of the idea she'd magically transported herself to this place—to this guy—was like trying to catch dollar bills in the wind. One thing was certain, the next time she teleported somewhere, she would bring her effin' Nike Cross Trainers. The little toe on her right foot was a solid blister and pain stabbed through the balls of her feet.
Damn you, Diego Dolcini, Italian shoemaker asshole.

She stumbled along a faint trail, following behind Avant. Trees sprawled over the mountainside with low-lying bushes at the base of the rocky terrain. Chipmunks scampered across the way as they walked. She eyed Avant's back, hoping he wasn't thinking about lunch when he saw the little animals.

Avant pointed out some large animal tracks.
“Be alert, Abigail. There are roaring lions about, seeking whom they may devour.”
He flashed a devilish grin, and her heart skipped a beat.

Skirting the eastern side of the range, they moved toward the smaller mountains directly ahead of them.

“Once there, we will stop for a brief rest before reaching the river. I have something I wish to show you.”
Avant gestured to two closely positioned mountains.

When they reached the pass, Abby looked out over the vista. A beautiful valley, green and lush descended before them. The mountains, low enough for the sun to infuse the plants with life but protection enough from the other elements, created a garden effect. Cypress and willow trees flourished along the flow of water, and the mossy rocks gave the appearance of small rolling hills. She filled her lungs with a deep breath. The scent of fresh grass scented the late summer breeze.

Avant sat next to the brook on the soft moss, and Abby plopped next to him, rubbing her aching feet. Fish darted back and forth in the bubbling flow of the stream. She pulled out her Evian and gulped down the whole thing. After refilling the bottle, she drank another.

Avant's gaze honed in on her as he popped the top off his leather pouch and took a mouthful. He looked away when she met his eyes over her upturned Evian bottle. She could feel his stare when he thought she wasn’t looking. What did he think of her? He believed she was
The One
, whatever the hell that was. But what did he think of
her
? He'd been about to kiss her earlier. She stole another glance at him. Maybe their romantic moment was wishful thinking.

He unwrapped a small brown paper package to reveal a square cake. Holding it up, he offered her some. She nodded, finally hungry enough to try his food. He brushed her palm as he laid it in her hand. Heat bloomed in her cheeks at his touch.

Giving the biscuit a sniff first, she took a bite. The dense cake smelled like butter and flour and tasted like a cookie with just a hint of sweetness. She ate the whole thing in three more bites. Her stomach growled for more, but he popped the last bite into his mouth.
Drats
.

They sipped their water and refilled their containers.

“
Did you enjoy the panas? It is my favorite. The baker’s wife makes it just for me.
”

With those blue eyes and that smile, Abby just bet she did. “
It was delicious. Thank you.”

He schooled his face.
“Abigail, the Implanting manifests in many ways. No one is sure how or why, but as the Light needs, it empowers the chosen ones with Giftings to help accomplish its purpose. I believe you have several manifestations of the Implanting. It is my desire to teach you what I know.”

Avant closed his eyes in concentration and lifted his hand toward the brook. A stone the size of a baseball floated out of the bubbling stream and into his upturned palm. She gasped and blinked.

Holy Crap. The Implanting was amazing. Telekinesis and telepathy. She'd always believed in the dormant power of the mind, but never thought she would see or experience it. These people had somehow tapped into their dormant mental abilities.

Avant clasped the rock and held it out to her.
“Take it from me.”
She reached out to grab it, but he withdrew his hand.
“With your Gift. Take it from me.”

She concentrated on the rock and in her mind spoke to it,
Come to me, rock.

Avant watched intently and nodded.
“It is similar to mindspeak but the substance of your thoughts must infuse the rock. All thought has substance, Abigail. No word or deed has ever been that wasn't first a thought. It is the elemental beginning of all things.”