A Little Night Muse

Adelyn forced herself not to scoff. So the Hunter disguised himself as a good neighbor by letting cows tromp through his fields? How...worldly of him. “Where do these friends go, after they leave here?”

“Back to Hollywood, I suppose.”

The phae had their own holy woods, but none of the runaways would be welcomed there. Not anymore. Was Josh hiding more than he was saying? Out here in the world, she was uncertain of the strength of her musetta power to inspire him. Maybe she just hadn’t found the right incentive to unlock his secrets. She had to find it and, through Josh, find the Hunter, if she wanted Raze to lift her exile.

Josh was scanning the valley—as if there was anything interesting to see—so she used the moment to study his face.

Even the ugliest phae had a certain undeniable intensity that compelled the eye. Josh had none of that. And yet...

Maybe the simplicity of him stunned her. What sort of man rescued a damsel in distress without expectation of...Ah. Speaking of simple. Inspiration was about passion. And buried passion had a special power.

“Thank you for taking me.” She let her voice thrum in her throat.

His arm, looped behind her back to hold the horse’s reins, flexed against her shoulders. “It was nothing. I couldn’t leave you there alone.”

She resisted the urge to huff in exasperation. She didn’t want him thinking it was nothing; she wanted him to want payback.

To want her.

“Still, I’m imposing on you.” She gazed up into his muddy-agate eyes. “As you said, people come to get away. Yet here I am, intruding on you with my needs.”

A ruddy flush brightened his cheeks, highlighting a thin scar that arrowed up his right cheekbone to a point below his clouded eye. “Vaile would want me to watch out for you.”