Afraid of him

The third day would undoubtably be the worst. Conversation was relaxed but minimal. My thighs and bottom hurt from days of riding in the saddle and Caliban's rough treatment at night.

My saving grace was the great quantity of sunlight I was exposed to as the forest thinned out and the thick copse of trees became increasingly sparse the further north we traveled. Although the sun's rays only went so far to fight off the frigid cold.

"What do you know of the Thanaten capital?" Caliban questioned.

"Nothing, really." I shrugged and jut my lower lip in a pout I knew he couldn't see.

"We'll be there around sundown." An uneasy chill crept over me at the thought. Some old instinct in my bones wanted me to be afraid of whatever I was going to see when we arrived. Or maybe I was scared of my future still.

Following the last argument, I had done my best to push those fears to the back of my mind and not even consider bringing it up again.

After rutting with the king in the woods last night as th