Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)

Chapter 20a

The following morning, I expected lots of awkwardness. That kiss had been amazing... until I brought it to a crashing halt with my fears. Was he put off when I stopped his advances? Did he feel rejected when I told him it couldn't happen again?

"Hungry?" Jastin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked over to his smiling face. He held out a strip of salted fish.

He didn't look put off to me, but I couldn't be sure. "Are we... " I stopped, realizing there was no we. "How do you feel?" I finally asked, taking the fish from him.

He seemed to know what I was talking about and gave me a reassuring nod. "We're okay. And we'll go at your pace. I'm a patient man."

My pace? Did that mean he still wanted me? "But... I don't think it's a good idea."

"Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinions." The grin he gave me was so endearing, I decided to stop pressing the issue. For now.

* * *

It was close to lunchtime when we finally reached the cave. The entrance was a jagged hole between boulders, easily mistaken for an animal's den.

"This is it?" It looked like we would have to crouch to enter it. I wondered if the entire cave was that low.

"Yes, we have arrived." Jastin slid the pack from his shoulders and set it against a tree a fair distance from the cave entrance.

"Aren't we going in?"

He eyed the cave entrance, and his mouth pressed into a tense line.

It was the first time I'd ever seen trepidation on his face.

"We should rest before entering," he said, his eyes fixed on the cave. "No telling what might await us inside."

I shivered at the thought. I was eager to get this over with, but at the same time, I had no guarantee that I'd come out of this alive.

I tossed my pack beside his and sat next to it. "No argument from me."

"Well, that's a surprise."

I shot him a look.

His lips curved into a teasing smirk. He was baiting me.

I shook a finger at him. "Not this time."

He settled against a tree opposite me. "I just want you in fighting form when we get in there."

"Ha. Believe me, it won't take much." I dug a piece of jerky from the pack and tore off a piece. "How do you know this is the place? Maybe a bear lives here and the actual cave is somewhere else."

"You see that pile of rocks near the entrance?"

I looked where he was pointing. A circle of medium-sized stones formed a base while a strategic formation of smaller stones piled on top.

"That is what we use to warn other people of danger in the area."

I frowned a little. "Why not close the entrance? Barricade it somehow? Keep people from going inside in the first place."

"We've tried." Jastin sighed. "But I don't know. Either people open it up again because they think there's treasure, or whatever is inside clears it out."

I stopped chewing, thinking of the latter possibility. What would we find inside?

"I'm taking a nap." He stretched out on the ground and threw an arm over his eyes.

I stared at the cave entrance, wishing I could see inside without actually going in. Would we find a monster? Some kind of magic? Or worse, would we find nothing at all?

Could be anything in there! Vote before you discover what?