***
“You’re thinking about the Order again, aren’t you?” she gently accused him.
Ferro shook himself from his daze, meeting her gentle glare.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Is it that obvious?”
Ana snorted in a most un-“ladylike” manner, though he found it rather cute and endearing.
“I’ve been talking to you for the past five minutes. Have you heard a word of it?”
A strange feeling overcame Ferro just then. It took him a moment to realize it. He was blushing! Embarrassment wasn’t something that happened to him often anymore.
Giving Ana a wry smile he shook his head. “No. I have been doing you a disservice.” He grabbed her hand and gently pressed his lips to the back of it. “You have my abject apologies, m’lady.”
She giggled, but didn’t snatch her hand back either. “Well, I mean, if they’re abject, then who am I to hold it against you?”
Ferro grinned. God she is perfect.
It didn’t occur to him that he’d known her for less than twenty-four hours. It felt like so much longer, as if they’d been friends for a long time who had only recently discovered that they were, in fact, so much more. Their elongated life spans meant that they could share thoughts and experiences that no one else would ever truly understand.
It also meant she could read his body language with an accuracy that was bordering on scary. He instantly made a vow then and there to never try to hide anything from her. Not only would he fail miserably, but she would never let him forget it either.
A smile split his face at that thought.
“What are you grinning at mister?”
“You,” he told her with a wink.
Ana giggled again, shaking her head at his unabashed words.
They were in the mountainous hills east of the village. That was where Ferro had initially been headed before he had stopped to render assistance. Now, they were hiking up a game trail, ascending to well above sea level as they went.
“Where are you taking me again?” she asked as they pushed on, their brief pause done.
“There,” he said, pointing vaguely upward.
“Oh. Right. Up,” she said sarcastically. “So Mr. Specific,” she said, using the words like a title, “is there a particular destination at the end of this journey ‘up,’ or are we just going for an exploration?”
He smiled. “Yes, there is a particular destination at the end of our journey,” he informed her.
“Ow!” he cried, as a rock careened off the back of his head. Looking back, he gave Ana an incredulous glance.
“It wasn’t me!” she protested. “It must have come from ‘up.’”
He stared at her for a moment before breaking into laughter, which only served to agitate his momentarily irritated skull.
“Next time, ‘up’ had better use a rounded rock, if it knows what is good for it,” he said, shaking his fist in mock anger at the incline ahead of them.
“Are you going to tell me?” she inquired as they resumed their climb.
“Of course!” he reassured her.
There was silence for a moment, before she sighed dramatically. “When are you going to tell me?”
He considered his answer carefully. “Soon,” he answered cryptically.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re rather annoying?” she asked cheerfully.
“Occasionally!” He ducked the flying rock this time.
He was fairly positive he could hear Ana’s teeth grinding behind him, so he decided to take pity on her. A joke was a joke only until it was taken too far, after all.
“The primary residence of the Dragon Council is located within these hills,” he told her, his tone now serious.
There was a short silence before Ana spoke again. “You don’t really think the Order was dumb enough to set up base here, do you?”
Ferro shook his head. “No. But the Council may have left clues.”
“Clues to what?”
“Their whereabouts,” he replied. “The Order did not get them all. They all but confirmed that to us. Some, if not most, of the Council is likely now in hiding. It is my hope that we can find out where.”
“Have you considered that the Order may have agents watching this place? They obviously know where it is, or else they wouldn’t have been able to overthrow the Council.”
“Yes.” He hoped his body language didn’t give away the fact that he thought that not only possible, but a near certainty.
Unfortunately, Ana seemed to pick up on that as well. “You think they’re watching it, don’t you?”
He didn’t reply.
“Oh my God,” she said, getting angry. “You’re hoping that they do! You want them to see you. To see us!”
Ferro stopped his progress, turning to face Ana. “They were going to find us again eventually,” he told her, trying to ignore the way the lock of black amidst her platinum blonde hair bounced as she shook her head.
“No. They were going to find you. I could be,” her voice trailed off, but she threw her hands wide, indicating the world. “It would be easy enough for me to lose them,” she accused.
“Perhaps,” he agreed. “I thought that through as well. I figure it to be more likely that they will eventually find you. When they find you, they will kill you,” he said, his voice deadly serious. His gaze bore into her, driving home the point. “You stand a much better chance of staying alive if you stay with me.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “If I stay with you? Did you ever ask me if I wanted to stay with you?”
“Ana—” he began, but it was too late.
She spun in place and began working her way down the mountain.
“Ana, wait!” he called.
“I’ll be at the bottom. I’ll wait four hours. If you aren’t there, I’m leaving,” she said without turning back to look at him.
He stood still, watching her form recede down the small trail. The sun was hidden by clouds, the dull gray daylight reflecting his current mood. That was not how he had intended for things to go.
Already breaking your vow.
That wasn’t exactly true. He hadn’t lied to her, nor had the subject even come up. Was he in the wrong for thinking—after the night they had had and the connection they clearly shared—that she might want to stay with him?
What if she wanted you to stay with her?
He rocked back on his heels as his subconscious provided him with that thought.
You idiot. Of course. You were not thinking of staying together and figuring out things together. You, being the big idiot you are, simply assumed she would come back to Genesis Valley with you, and the two of you would live happily never growing old operating your bar. Why the hell would she just up and agree to that?
Ferro cursed himself, feeling the fool. He had made assumption after assumption that she would change everything to become a part of his life. What was worse, he couldn’t chase after her. Not yet. He had to inspect the Council chambers. That was bigger than him and Ana, little though he wanted to accept it. There were lives at stake here, hundreds and thousands of lives.
If he had to, he would choose to save all of those innocents, in turn giving up his chance at love.
Okay there, do you not think you might be getting just a little ahead of yourself? It won’t take you four hours to get there. Not now that you can go by air.
He snorted. His inner voice had a flair for the dramatic, it was true. It also had no problems calling him out when he started acting like some sort of comic book character.
With a sigh, he summoned his dragon and made for the Council chambers at best speed.
Please still be there when I get back…