Liut had a small stumble in his step. Smugly, Jace skipped in front of him. His feet no longer hurt; he felt full of vigor, life was great, and the forest was beautiful.

  “Keep up!” Jace sing-songed, jumping over a root protruding from the ground. He was light like a feather. Ah, what a good fuck can do to a person.

  He heard Liut cursing behind him and smiled wider.

  “What was it, dear?” Jace gnced over his shoulder.

  Jaw clenched, Liut fixed his pants over his crotch and gred. He was so, so cute like that. Apparently, a little squeeze there and a small bite here could bring even the protagonist down. Though Jace reasoned, Liut definitely enjoyed it in the moment.

  With a sigh, Liut shook his head and smiled back. Yep. Definitely enjoyed it.

  “Don’t go too far,” he cajoled, picking up his pace to join Jace.

  Deep down, Jace was sure Liut was pying it up—Jace hadn’t really gone that far with his revenge.

  As opposed to Liut the Protagonist, Liut the Guy Jace Was Traveling With was surprisingly far less cool and stoic. He was the same charismatic smooth talker, of course, but there was this cutesy, immature side to him. At first, he was hellbent on being some untouchable suave Casanova, but the more Jace got on his nerves, the more Liut reacted in unexpected ways.

  Jace wondered how far he could push Liut.

  “Speaking of far,” Jace quipped, easily maneuvering through trees as they walked, “how much longer until we get to the mountain?”

  Back when he first observed the forest from afar, it looked grand but not huge enough to warrant close to a week to pass through. It was not something Jace bothered with before—all thoughts were mostly focused on how much everything hurt and how irritating everything was. Now, rejuvenated, Jace realized that the distance and time were slightly mismatched.

  Leaves crunched under Liut’s sole. He fell in step by Jace’s side and looked up for a brief moment.

  “A few days, depending on the weather.”

  Not once did it rain here, nor did any drastic change in temperature happen.

  “Ha?”

  Liut stopped and urged Jace to do the same. He tapped Jace’s chin, inviting him to look up.

  Above, just as before, no sky was visible. A thick veil of branches, swaying and creaking, covered them. No sunlight managed to breach the mantle of countless pine crowns—only a sheer glow of dark green lit up the needles and bathed the woods in its emerald shade. It was as mesmerizing as it was unsettling, unnatural. Trees cannot possibly grow this close to each other.

  On the path they had to stray from, the colors were warmer. Somehow, Jace always knew when it was dusk, daybreak, dawn. He saw no sun, but he felt the light streaming through the woods shifting from gentle to burning to waning.

  “Do you see the clouds?” Liut asked him, a whisper in Jace’s ear.

  Lost in the view, Jace momentarily forgot why he was even staring up, forgot to register his surroundings. Liut was right behind him, so close Jace could put the back of his head on Liut’s shoulder. Which was exactly what he did, rexing into the makeshift pillow.

  “No, obviously.” He side-eyed Liut’s chin, since it was the only thing he could see from here.

  The pillow under his neck shook as Liut chuckled. Gently, Liut brushed a lock of hair back behind Jace’s ear, then pinched Jace’s chin between his fingers and directed him to continue looking above.

  “It is believed that this forest is so ancient it has forgotten the flow of time,” Liut murmured. “Day, night, over and over. The trees here have put their roots so deep they could survive without sunlight for ages.”

  Eyes unblinking, Jace watched the endless greenery and listened to that velvety voice telling him another legend.

  “But when it rains, the forest comes alive.” Liut’s hand circled Jace’s waist, bringing him closer. His hot breath tickled Jace's temple while the metal of his armor cooled Jace’s back. High, so high above, the pines wavered, so high that, of course, they had been here for centuries. “And when alive, it remembers the time.”

  Jace blinked as a drop fell on his cheek. Then another. Trickling through the branches, water tried to make its way to earth.

  “It’s raining,” Jace whispered.

  As if enchanted, he couldn’t look away from small teardrops gathering on the tips of pine needles. They weighed the slim points down, then released them to spring up as droplets plopped onto the ground.

  “Then we’d better go; might get there sooner,” Liut murmured and didn’t make any move to continue walking.

  Something was wrong. Something didn’t add up. The rain slowly grew louder, pattering away, and Jace’s brain cells drummed in tandem.

  “But—” He frowned. “If it’s the time, then the days should be longer, not the distance,” he measuredly reasoned. Yeah, right. Liut’s legend didn’t make sense! Ha!

  Behind him, Liut stilled.

  Pat. Pat. Pat.

  Droplets kept falling on top of the trees, scarcely managing to reach the ground through the thickness of branches.

  Slowly, Jace turned his head just enough to gnce at Liut’s profile. He seemed pensive.

  Eventually, when a huge, fat raindrop fell squarely on Jace’s forehead and he flinched from the surprise, Liut also came back to his senses.

  He gazed down at Jace. Eyebrows knitted and a contemptive bite to his lower lip, he tapped the damp spot the drop had left behind and narrowed his eyes.

  “You’re right,” Liut conceded. “The distance shouldn’t change.”

  The pure, open confusion on Liut’s face was an absolutely delectable view. So wonderfully out of pce, Jace tried to suppress ughter and failed—a throaty snort shook his whole body.

  Quick to react, Liut sent him a gre. Then, Jace felt a jab to his side.

  Liut jabbed him.

  Honestly, like a brat, he jabbed Jace because Jace snorted at him. How fucking childish was that!?

  “Hey!” Jace elbowed Liut in response. “What was that for?”

  Liut jabbed him again.

  “Your face was too smug.”

  Ha!?

  Jace elbowed Liut again. He tried to turn around but Liut’s hold around him was made of iron.

  “I point out one disparity in your knowledge and you stoop to physical violence!?” Jace excimed, truly fbbergasted. He couldn’t move much inside Liut’s clutch, so he resolved to plunge his elbow into whatever part of Liut’s body he could reach.

  “It’s not my knowledge! I just read about it,” Liut muttered, twisting himself so that the majority of Jace’s blows only grazed him.

  “How is that any different!?” Jace changed his approach and tried to pry away Liut’s hand secured around his waist in a death grip. “You’re always the smart one and I just listen! Is your ego so fragile!?”

  Liut pressed him firmly against his back and leaned his head down. Then, he bit Jace’s shoulder. Over the cloak and the shirt underneath, he just bit him.

  “Ha!? What are you, a child?” Jace tried to shake him away, but Liut only growled like a dog. The hell was that?

  “Mhm mhmh—” Liut muffled something, but the fabric between his teeth made it impossible to decipher anything.

  “Speak properly!” Jace elbowed Liut again. This was a travesty.

  With a loud ‘pwah,’ Liut spat out the cloak. He used both of his hands to encircle Jace, grab Jace’s wrists and cross them over his chest. Now, Jace was truly in the full mercy of a bear hugging him from behind.

  “I said,” Liut muttered into Jace’s ear, “that—” he stopped, only heaving, the warmth of his breathing tingling over skin—“no matter.”

  An eyebrow arched, Jace flicked him a questioning gnce.

  “You’re weird.”

  Liut chuckled and buried his face in the nook of Jace’s shoulder.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, hugging Jace tighter. “It’s been a long time since anyone argued with me like that.”

  Biting aside, Liut’s reaction kind of made sense. Probably. From what Jace read in the original novel, ever since the Dark Brotherhood got destroyed, Liut’s teenage arc was over. He no longer needed to prove himself and was written to be smart and capable. Under the light of the protagonist’s halo, he was exempt from any mistakes in his knowledge. Only some schemes and lies to further the plot were allowed.

  Huffing a ugh, Jace rexed into Liut’s hold.

  “If you promise to engage in a peaceful debate, I can graciously continue to argue with you,” he offered, both serious and teasing.

  With a sigh, Liut smiled, the tip of his nose tickling Jace’s skin.

  “I’d like that.”

  ***

  Heavily and unwillingly, Jace pried his eyes open. It was dark, deep into the night; the woods creaked, and a bird wailed somewhere far away. The fire was down to a few smoldering embers; the burned-down coals were the only source of glimmering light.

  Liut’s hand hugged Jace close to his chest, the heat from his body warming Jace up in the otherwise chilly night air.

  It was so cozy in Liut’s embrace. Even the twigs and roots littering the ground and digging into his side were no bother. But what was a bother was a pressure in his bdder.

  Full of regret, Jace gently got out of Liut’s hold, careful not to wake him up. Minding each step, he silently wandered a bit further into the trees.

  The task was done without Jace reaching full awareness, for which he was grateful. He slowly made his way back. Root after root that wanted to trip him, he gazed only down to the earth. Used to darkness, his eyesight saved him from a few sure falls. Finally, he noticed the orangey light peeking through countless trunks.

  The beacon of hope enticed him to follow it, so, half-asleep, Jace turned left and did just that. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, scratched the back of his neck. That was such a good dream he was having. He really wanted to snuggle back to Liut and doze off in his warm hands.

  As he neared the light, Jace realized that it burned a bit brighter than when he left. Liut must’ve woken up and rekindled it. He was nice like that, always making sure the fire burned bright so Jace wasn’t afraid.

  A smile tugged on the corner of Jace’s lip. He heard some whispering, too. Liut probably cursed him for wandering off. He was so cute when he was nagging.

  “Hey, Liut, I’m back! Sorry for waking you—”

  Two pairs of eyes stared at him from behind a brightly lit fire. Neither of them belonged to Liut.

  “—up,” Jace finished weakly.

  Fuck. Shit. What the fuck!?