Kevan checked her backpack one more time. She knew that nothing had changed since the last time she had checked it, but she had to do something as she watched all the activity happening around them. They were breaking the camp down, and already half of the people that had been with them, had disappeared into the forest. She knew they had done this before, many times, by the speed with which they had done it. This was it. She knew it. She could feel the surging of adrenaline in her veins. they were about to start the search for the grimoire, they were going to find it, and make sure that it was put somewhere that nobody ever had access to it again. The only thing that was making it bittersweet was the fact that Caleb wasn’t going to be by her side.
Since they had gotten together, they hadn’t been away from each for more than a few hours, and she knew that this was going to take a lot more than a few hours. She had no idea how long it would be before she saw him again. Her thoughts drifted to the rest of her family, and she prayed that they weren’t going crazy with worry. She hoped that with this time difference thing, that it hadn’t been years since they had jumped into the portal.
“Kevan,” her train of thought was happily interrupted when Caleb pulled her into his arms, holding her close.
“Is it time?” she asked, burying her face in his chest, trying to absorb some of his essence into her.
“It’s time,” he told her, closing his eyes, holding her tight, never wanting to let her go. “We need to go now; it won’t be long before the guards are here.” Kevan’s heart ached at the thought of leaving him.
“Promise me that you’ll be careful,” she begged him.
“I promise I will be careful. You trust Marcus. He may be arrogant, but he is a hell of a leader, always was.” Kevan nodded, as she fought the urge to hold onto him and never let him go.
“I love you, Caleb MacLaren.” He leaned back, and looked into her eyes, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.
“I love you, Kevan Cameron.” He bending over, kissing her more gently than he ever had before, as if he were memorizing her taste. A shout broke their moment, and they stepped back from each other. He wanted nothing more than to haul her into his arms and never let her go. Taking another step back, his eyes never left her face, as he fought his instincts to not to change his mind about letting her go on this quest without him.
“Be safe,” he told her.
“You too,” she whispered, and then he turned away, striding across the camp to where the horses were waiting to take them to Galen. Stopping one last time, he looked over his shoulder at Kevan, who still stood where he had left her.
Kevan stood watching him walk away from her. She hated that they weren’t going to be doing this together.
“Kevan?” she jumped as Kaitlyn interrupted her thoughts. “Hey, you okay?”
Kevan looked to her sister. “He’s going to be alright,” Kevan needed her assurance. “Won’t he?”
“Kevan, my dear, he’s an immortal warrior who has fought god knows how many battles.”
“That’s not helping, Kaitlyn.”
“Kevan, he’s going to be just fine. He has something to come back for,” Kaitlyn told her. “Come on, we’ve got to get moving. Wren says we can’t risk the dragons flying into camp, so we need to get to the edge of the forest to meet them.” Kevan nodded, as she threw one more look in Caleb’s direction. He looked at her and smiled; a quick nod from him was her last view before he turned away. Kevan took a deep breath and turned to Kaitlyn.
“Okay,” she told her. “Let’s get this show on the road.”