Chapter 91

After dinner, the hunters and Atlas cleaned the cooking utensils while Rhobart and Ayla prepared the sleeping platform for the night. Gunther and Martin were first to stand watch.

Ayla snuggled next to Rhobart under the furs. Kerra curled at their feet.

“Thank you for not going into the forest,” she whispered, not wanting to disturb the others. “The idea of something happening to you...”

He kissed her forehead while running his knuckles over her cheek. “I know, I feel the same,” he whispered back to her. “But during the war with the Orcs, anything could happen to me. If I di—”

Ayla put her fingers against his lips, not letting him finish the sentence. “You promised!”

“Ayla,” he tried to reason with her.

It might have been the bond or the mere idea of losing him, but she found herself on the verge of crying. Again. “I won’t let you die! And if it is to ever happen, I will find a way to bring you back,” she promised. “I will even fight Beliar.”

The tip of his nose touched hers.