Tethered (The Avenlore Series) by Tasha Van Der Hyde Page B

blanket around me again. 
    Relief washed over me and I smiled to myself at his thoughtfulness.  Looking over my shoulder I gave him a small smile as well.  “Thank you.”
    The warmth in his eyes did more for my temperature than the blanket could.
    “Shall we?”  He asked, eyes sparkling.
    I nodded and we were covering ground again with a quickness.  To my great happiness, we made the spotty trees without being attacked by water droplets or anything else.  On the hills, I could make out a blue mountain rising, not too terribly far in the distance.  It wasn’t particularly tall as far as mountains go, only reaching far enough to obscure the view of what lay beyond it. 
    We talked about simple, easy things to pass the time, like how the landscape was beautiful and that his horse’s name was Drift (which I thought was awesome).  The storm clouds decided to leave us in peace, but I still heard when the down pour started somewhere behind us.
    We pressed on, deciding to skip out on meals and by dusk, we had almost crested the blue mountain.   The clouds had abated, and the sun made its return, splashing the sky with deep pinks, pale purples and blues, and yellowish-oranges.  The wind died down, a calm breeze replacing it once again. 
    Right before we’d made the top of the mountain, Nikolas pulled the horse to a stop and jumped down from the saddle.  Facing me, he reached out his arms.  “May I?”
    “What are we doing?”  I asked, glancing around in search of the reason for this unexpected stop.
    A traffic stopping smile spread across his face.  “Allow me to show you something?”   he asked, eyes twinkling.
    Dumbstruck by him, I simply nodded. 
    He lifted me down from saddle carefull y, eyes never leaving mine.  Setting me safely on the ground, he looked down at me with a full on grin as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.  “Close your eyes.”  I could smell the salt on his skin he was so close.
    I blinked at him.
    He cocked his head to the side, mouth still pulled up at one corner.  “Dani, close your eyes.”
    I stared at him for a few seconds before obeying.  The moment my eyes closed, I felt his hand at my elbow and his touch slid lightly down my arm until he had my hand in his.  Goosebumps rose along my skin in the wake of his fingers and I could feel the tingles gliding over my body.  He towed me forward silently and I could feel the ground rise beneath my feet. 
    Instead of concentrating on my footing, I was solely focused on his skin against mine.  Our fingers weren’t interlocked , but the way he held to my hand felt more intimate than that.  My fingers were draped over his and his thumb spread across the space between my knuckles, like being led onto the floor for a slow dance.  I could hear his breath, slightly ragged just like my, reacting to the electricity we seemed to conduct between our bodies. 
    When the ground leveled off, he pulled me to him and I could feel his breath against my temple when he spoke.  “Open your eyes.”
    I obeyed and inhaled sharply at the scene before me.  The ground sloped down from us in deep green rolling hills that gave way to fields bordered by low rock walls that contained fruit bearing trees, their bounty glimmering like jewels in the light. 
    Fat, stone houses were clustered together here and there, widows glowing with flickering light.  I could see children running and hear their laughter as it carried up the mountain.  A carriage rolled down one of pebbled roadways.  Lanterns were hung from high rock columns and I watched as they began glowing into life, seemingly of their own accord. 
    A wide river, at least a mile across , flowed slowly through the land.  I followed it with my eyes until it split around an island. 
    Then, I saw it.  Seated on top of the island was a lavish castle the color of ivory.  The stone had a smooth, almost glassy quality as it reflected the evening sun.  A high wall surrounded the castle, two