The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 25

Early in the morning, Alek brought Calista to a halt. I rubbed my blurry eyes to try to see what was happening. Alek had forced me to stay awake since our escape to try to get rid of my 'concussion'; if it wasn't for Alek's constant badgering, I probably would have gained a couple hours of sleep by now.

He slid off the horse and crouched down on the ground, holding the flame torch closely to inspect the dirt. After a moment, he stood up and peered out into the darkness.

"Why have we stopped? Are there wraiths?" I asked, yawning.

Needing to stretch, I used the stirrup to lower myself down to the ground. With a growl, Alek rushed forwards and swept me up bridal-style.

I scowled. "I told you – my ankle is fine."

He shook his head. "A broken ankle like yours will take weeks, months even, to get back to normal."

I frowned but had no energy to retaliate. He slowly placed me onto the ground. My fingers ran over fresh dirt. One sweep of my fingers sent the dirt running downwards –

My eyes rounded. We were on a hill. I was so relieved to see something other than flat rock that I could have wept happy tears.

"There aren't any wraiths," he said. "We're out of the wastelands. They won't come here."

"Oh, thank God. It looks a bit like we're on a mountain."

"We sort of are. We're on a volcano."

"A volcano?" I exclaimed, my jaw dropping. "Please remind me; how does the Underworld have one of the worst natural disaster structures ever but not rain?"

He shrugged.

"Isn't it kind of dangerous to be stopped here?" I asked, looking down at the ground nervously – like it might explode on us any second.

"It's much more dangerous to be in the middle of the wastelands. Besides, none of the volcanoes have exploded in my lifetime."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

He frowned. "Well...yes."

I sighed and stood up, grabbing some of the bags from Calista's saddle.

"Serena!" Alek shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

I spun to face him and threw down my bags. "My ankle is fine! I've been trying to tell you that for ages!"

His eyes flashed and he stormed forwards, until we were inches apart. "We both saw your ankle break before, and now you're denying it? You don't need to pretend to be tough in front of me."

My heart broke at the kindness in his words. But still, he wasn't listening. I'd have to show him. I set my lips into a firm line, determined. I leaned down and unwrapped Alek's makeshift splint, despite his complaints. His shirt, bandana and the tent poles fell to the ground, revealing my lightly bruised, yet very functional ankle. The light from Alek's torch cast a warmth over my legs.

Alek blinked a few times, not believing his eyes.

"What...?"

I stayed silent as he kneeled down, dropping the torch beside him and making sure it didn't roll away. He slowly reached out a hand, touching then holding my ankle with such tenderness I shivered. He lightly traced the area that once would have ached to touch – but now felt so intimate. His expression ranged from confused, to fascinated, to something else entirely.

His fingers grazed my skin and made my stomach lurch. I lost my balance and instinctively reached out for a hold on his shoulder, steadying myself with his steel-like balance. Alek let out a heavy breath.