“We should probably stop for the night,” Cadmus said, his voice betraying his weariness. We had walked a very long way already and the sky was so dark that it was difficult to see since the moon was new. The Spiritlands sky swirled in its typical way, a blue, black and gray aurora borealis. During the day, it offered lighter hues, but at night it was inky black.
“Alright,” I agreed. “Where?”
Cadmus stopped and looked around. Since we were in the mountains, there were many places that we could tuck into and sleep for the night. He examined the horizon and then pointed toward a rock formation a few hundred yards away.
“There.”
I nodded and we continued for the few remaining yards, not speaking until we arrived. Once there, I pivoted and examined our little shelter. A semi-circle of stones formed an embankment on one side. The other faced a jagged cliff.
“Do you walk in your sleep?” I asked, eyeing the edge of the cliff nervously. Cadmus smiled.
“Nope. You?”
“No.”
“Then, we’re fine. This is the perfect place to stop. The stones provide shelter and no one can approach us from the cliffside.”
He made valid points. But still. Sleeping directly next to a cliff made me nervous. Cadmus could see it on my face and nudged me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll sleep between you and the edge. If anyone goes over, it will be me.”
“How gentlemanly,” I smiled. But secretly, the thought of him plunging over the side of a cliff was enough to give me heart palpations.
We opened our knapsacks and began to make camp. Cadmus built a fire while I spread out our bedding to form pallets.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“A little.”
He pulled a small bundle out of his bag and opened it, handing me a piece of dried beef. I thanked him and took it, finding a place next to the fire to sit. I breathed a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the pine trees that surrounded us here in the mountains. It smelled fresh and clean here. I liked it, although the cool night breeze caused me to shiver.
“Are you cold?” Cadmus asked, pulling a soft wrap from his bag. He bundled it around my shoulders and then sat next to me. I shivered again and Cadmus smiled.
“Come here,” he said quietly. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he pulled me close. I was instantly enveloped by his warmth, by his scent, by him. I took a shaky breath.
“Are you alright?” he asked in concern, gazing down at me.
“Of course,” I answered quickly. “I’m just nervous.”
“Nervous?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “Why?”
I was embarrassed and self-conscious, but I felt like I needed to get my feelings out there. If I didn’t risk telling him, I wouldn’t gain anything.
“You.” My one word sounded small in the night and I felt Cadmus tense at the sound.
“Me?”
“You. I was going about my life, doing my normal things and feeling perfectly normal. Then you came along and nothing is normal anymore. You are all I think about and then when I see you, my heart feels like it’s going to explode.”
He looked at me for a moment.
“Like this?” He picked up my hand and pressed it against his heart. It was pounding like crazy against his sternum.
“Yes, like that,” I whispered.
“Why does it make you nervous?” he asked curiously. “It’s amazing. I was beginning to think I’d never meet someone who makes me feel like you do. It’s nothing to be afraid of, Harmonia.”
He pulled me back a little bit, looking into my eyes. His were dark and bottomless.
“You never need to be nervous around me, not for any reason. We’ve been given a gift, an extraordinary gift. There is no reason to fear it.”
“No?” I asked in surprise. “Right now, we can’t even be together. My father would throw a tantrum like Olympus has never seen before.”
Cadmus smiled. “Right now, yes. Your father would be angry. But Harmonia, I don’t even have a full year of servitude left to serve for him. Very soon, I won’t be his servant any longer.”
“But you’ll still be a mortal,” I answered weakly.
“Is that so bad?” he asked in surprise. “I don’t find it to be a horrible affliction. Am I distasteful to you because of it?”
I looked at him quickly. “Of course not. But Zeus is the only one who can bestow immortality. I’d have to somehow get him to grant it to you. I can’t fall in love with you only to have you grow old and die.”
There was a pregnant pause full of charged silence before Cadmus finally turned to me and picked up both of my hands.
“Are you planning to fall in love with me?” He sounded surprised, hesitant, nervous…and pleased. Color exploded in my cheeks and I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Good,” he answered before he pulled me to him. “I don’t want to be the only one falling.”
Before I knew it, he was kissing me and all of my nervousness faded away. I couldn’t remember what I had been anxious about in the first place. Being with Cadmus felt so right, like it was exactly where I was meant to be.
It was a simple, sweet kiss filled with promise. After a minute or so, he pulled away. I tried to kiss him again, but he shook his head.
“We can’t, Harmonia. I told your father that I wouldn’t touch you and I’m a man of my word. But this trip won’t last forever and when we return, we can decide what to do. I’m a soldier, Harmonia, and soldiers have sharp instincts. And I have a feeling now, a very strong feeling, that I was meant to find you. You were meant for me. I know it.”
Warmth flooded me and I suddenly felt more comfortable than I had ever felt in my life. He was right. There was nothing to be afraid of. We might be on the precipice of something life-changing and wonderful.
But even as I thought it, something else came to mind, a very dark thought. Hades’ warning. Even though he wasn’t here, his words stayed with me.
You’ve been warned.
I shook my head, as though to rid it of troubling thoughts, and snuggled into Cadmus. He tightened his arm around my shoulders and all dark thoughts faded away. Whatever bad things that Hades wanted to warn me about… it was worth it to face them, all for the potential of a life with this man.
I closed my eyes and slept.
Chapter Six
We had been walking for hours again.
This time, the sun was high overhead and the sky swirled in pinks, whites, yellows and blues. It cast a colorful glow onto our skin, a cheerful, happy light.