The Hollows In Our Freedom | 'Hollows' Book Ⅲ

Chapter Forty-Seven

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T h e   H o l l o w s   I n
O U R  F R E E D O M
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I think it was the sun that woke me up a few hours later. All I knew was that I suddenly became aware of my surroundings; there was a quiet chatter outside the tent as well as a bright light and the faint smell of wood burning.

Oh, and I was also cuddled up to Jace.
And he had his arm around me.

I didn't know what to do, so I just rose and stretched out.

That woke up Jace. "What time is it?" He asked, after rubbing at his eyes.

I turned back to give him a questioning glance, "do I look like Tick Tock the crocodile?" I think my humour this early in the morning made him fumble slightly, but he did manage to crack a smile.

"How did you sleep?" He asked me as he sat up, leaning over to drink what was left of his water and throwing me mine.

I caught it with ease, feeling a smile creep it's way onto my face. "Entertaining." I responded, watching him frown at me. "You're sleep-talk is quite cute—have you always had it?" I asked, running my hands down my hair to smooth the flyaways from my braid.

He stared, lips parting as the look of realisation crossed on his face. "Are you...are you joking?" He asked, cheeks flushing.

I smiled, feeling slightly guilty for embarrassing him. "No, Clarke; it was very endearing."

His face flushed even redder. "What did I say?" He asked, though he looked too scared to find out the answer.

"Oh," I said, getting onto my knees, my water bottle in hand, "just how much you love me."

With that, I turned and unzipped the tent, stepping out and into the company of half of our team.

I frowned down at Jonah, who sat upon a log in front of the fire. "I'm surprised you made it up this early." I commented, making him look around and spot me.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not incapable, Abbot."

"Well."

I have a feeling Jonah would've slated me in response, but Elle interrupted us both when she produced a cauldron-like pot out of thin air. It was, in fact, probably a cooking pot—or something like that. Quite obviously, I am not a lady for a kitchen.

"I didn't pull my weight for no reason." She said, placing the pot over the fire, on some DIY metal rack.

"Jameson will come back with the water soon." Elle said, brushing off the mud from her clothes, "then we can drink some water and eat."

"Thank God for your weight pulling." I said, sitting myself down on a random log.

Elle rolled her eyes, obviously not feeling the emotion in my comment. "How was your sleep?" She asked to change the subject.

I rubbed at my eyes. "Great. Jace is cool company."

"I'm sure you enjoyed yourselves." Jonah commented, brushing his fingers through his dark hair.