We caught up with the tracking spell and continued to follow it, quietly and cautiously, through the gorge. Its speed was still quite slow, but I hoped it was only a matter of time before we’d see it dart toward wherever Fiona was being held captive.

I grew mildly accustomed to Caspian’s body, in the sense that his strong torso provided me with comfortable back support—I’d leaned into him, gradually relaxing and hoping he wouldn’t notice. He didn’t seem to mind, and, since he was the one with the reins, I took the time to analyze our surroundings and use my True Sight to look through the walls.

There were only animals scurrying through neighboring gorges and no sign of Vincent or the Correction Officers. The strip of sky visible above was an intense black sprinkled with stars, and one of the moons looked down on us, the other two hidden beyond the gorge’s walls.

I was feeling a little drained, and it dawned on me then that the last time I’d fed it had been off Blaze, on our first day here. It usually took more than two days for me to tap out, and I could tell, from my True Sight range at that point, that the daemon fight had left its mark on my energy levels.

As much as I’d disliked the idea of being so close to Caspian prior to riding the horse together, I was relieved that he was there. I could actually relax for a handful of minutes, before checking to see if any of my teammates would spare some energy for me. My worst-case scenario involved syphoning off the next hostile headed my way, but that sounded like quite the mission. Daemons were far more interested in killing me than standing by for my sentry nourishment.

“What’s wrong with you?” Caspian asked me.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I mumbled, my gaze fixed on the tracking spell hovering ahead.

“You’re getting soft,” he replied. He then lowered his head, his lips tickling my earlobe and sending electric impulses down my spine. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to flirt with me, with the way you’re melting in my arms.”

“Wait, what? No!” I blurted, and immediately sat up straight, startling our horse. The creature shuddered, and I wound up being tilted back into Caspian.

I tried to move again, but his hold on my waist tightened, keeping me firmly gripped against his torso.

“I didn’t say I disliked it,” he murmured, further lighting my senses on fire.

Was he toying with me? Was he being sarcastic? Was there an endgame here?

“Nothing like that, Lord Kifo,” I replied through gritted teeth. “I’m just a little weak, that’s all. Trying to save my energy. I’m a double-trouble when it comes to feeding. I need blood for sustenance, and I need mental energy from creatures around me to keep my sentry side sated and capable of creating strong barriers and accurate True Sight.”

“Barriers… You mean the pulses you were pushing out earlier?”

“Yes. They’re concentrated energy waves.” I sighed, once more softening against him and secretly hating myself for it.

“Tell me more about your sentry abilities,” he said.

With nothing better to do, I obliged. I figured he’d be more open with me if I told him more about myself, hopefully establishing a two-way trust channel with the Mara who knew most about this place.

“Sentries are creatures that developed from humans after spending too much time around ghouls,” I explained briefly. “Humans are a lot like your Imen, if that makes sense. Sentry abilities are mostly mental. We can syphon energy off other creatures, which is how we sharpen our sentry senses. We can read emotions. That’s kind of like reading minds, to an extent. Some of us can see through pretty much any surface with True Sight. We can even mind-meld, which can be best described as two souls merging, feeling and sensing each other at all times. It’s very intimate, usually done by couples. And we have some mind-control abilities as well, though not as strong as the Maras’, from what I’ve seen so far.”

Several moments passed as Caspian seemed to process my brief description of sentry abilities. He cocked his head to one side, turning it slowly to better look at me, curiosity glimmering in his jade eyes.

“Can you read my emotions?” he asked, his voice low.

I shook my head in response, trying to hide my disappointment. My life on Neraka would’ve been much simpler, had I been able to read a Mara’s emotions. We might have even solved this mystery by now.

“That’s a shame,” he muttered. “And you need energy from living creatures to strengthen your barriers and hone your meddlesome vision…”

“Yeah,” I replied, ignoring his jab regarding my True Sight. He was still holding a minor grudge for the way I’d seen through his mask, earlier in the night. “Normally I’d ask Caia or Blaze, since he’s a dragon and has tons to spare, but Caia’s in the middle of this with us, and Blaze is recovering from his injury, so I’ll have to tough it out till later. I’m still perfectly functional, but I’ll perform much better once I syphon some energy. My bet’s on the next daemon I cross paths with, assuming I’ll manage to hold him down for long enough to feed off him, then kill him.”

Another minute went by in silence before Caspian spoke again.

“Would you like to syphon some energy from me?” he asked, making my stomach drop.

My head whipped around so I could look at him, and I instantly found myself locked in the pale green pools of his eyes. Judging by his expression, he was serious. My heart skipped a beat as my sentry hunger kicked in hard, and I started wondering what it would be like to let his energy flow through me. My lips parted slowly, and his gaze dropped to them. I tried to get my brain to catch up with my mouth.

“I-I’m not sure that’s necessary, Lord Kifo,” I croaked. “Surely, you need your energy, too, given where we are right now. I’ll manage till later.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Miss Hellswan,” he replied, still staring at my lips. It was odd and confusing, much like everything else about him. It was like he was showing me a different side of him, one I didn’t know how to approach just yet. “You must feed now. Your sentry abilities are clearly an advantage against the daemons and against this entire damn gorge. Your team needs you at full strength. Syphon whatever you need off me. I’ll be fine.”

I mulled it over for a couple of seconds. Could I even feed off a Mara? I’d never tried it before. I didn’t even think it would be possible, given how mentally cut off their species was from me. I couldn’t read their emotions, nor could I influence their minds. However, I was curious, and figured it was a good time to answer that question. Besides, he was right. I needed my sentry game back on.

I nodded and allowed myself to relax. His arm still rested around my waist, and I tilted my head back, leaning it against his shoulder. I brought my hand up and placed it over his, intrigued by the electrifying sensations buzzing through my fingertips as soon as our skin touched.

I felt his entire being open before me, and my body instantly reacted to his energy pouring into me, to the waves of cool green that matched his eyes and filled me up like fresh mountain air. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he carefully examined my face, while I syphoned off him and felt the blood rush through me with the strength of a waterfall.

Caspian was an interesting specimen, to say the least, brimming with energy and strength I’d rarely seen. My entire being hummed, my hand gently clutching his before I realized that I was losing myself in him. I moved to sit back up, but he swiftly tightened his hold and beckoned me to stay exactly there, my back against his chest and my head on his shoulder.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

I nodded, not sure whether I should look away or keep gazing at him. He was beautiful, the blade of his nose casting a shadow over his left cheek, his soft lips dangerously close to my face. His energy was not to be underestimated, either. It fueled me in more ways than one—both physically and mentally, strengthening my resolve. At the same time, it rattled me to think that there was a little bit of Caspian flowing through me.

He pulled me even closer, then focused on the road ahead. I could hear his heart thudding in his chest. There was more darkness and danger waiting for us in that gorge. Fiona was in there, somewhere. But for that brief moment in time, I was fine with just being there, on that horse, in Caspian’s arms, sated with his energy.

I’d worry about his rattling effect on me later.