"I think we should chance spreading the ward and exploring the woods," he suggested.
The others nodded and Riley stepped back as the four shifted into their tiger forms. He still wasn't used to that. It was impressive, the four of them looking even more regal. They let out fierce roars and a white light beamed up through their mouths into the sky. For the first time, Riley could see the ward. There was a subtle gleam to it, like glass that was so clean if you weren't careful, you'd run into it. The barrier expanded, inching outward slowly. It spread far into the woods. Shortly after Khalon shifted back to human form.
"Adira, you and Ezra remain in your t
iger form. Rayner, you and I will explore in our human form."
"What about me?" Riley asked, looking from Khalon to Rayner and back.
"You stay here."
Riley frowned. "Why? The space is warded, right?"
"If there's any danger, I want you safely indoors."
Riley narrowed his eyes. "But any demons that would have come in contact with the ward when you spread it would have disintegrated."
Rayner turned his face away in a clear attempt to hide his smile.
"Fine," Khalon grumbled. He spun on his heels and stormed off toward the woods. Adira and Ezra pranced off with happy chuffs, seeming delighted by the expanse of woods they had to run in. Soldati weren't fond of being confined to one area, no matter how spacious the village might be.
Riley followed Rayner into the woods, keeping his distance from Khalon. As beautiful as the village was, being in the woods was refreshing. It was a warm, sunny day, and Riley tried his hardest not to stare at Khalon's bare arms beneath his short-sleeved tunic. Riley wasn't wearing his flouncy-sleeved shirt either, but his arms were hardly as impressive as Khalon's, even with the tattoos around his wrist and arm. For the next few hours, they explored the woods around the village and luckily found nothing more dangerous than nature itself.
Up ahead a colossal fallen tree blocked their path. Khalon climbed the huge branches with incredible grace, leaping up to the top before disappearing over the other side. Adira and Ezra did the same, leaping from branch to branch until they were up and over.
"Um...." How was he supposed to get up there? He could climb the branches, but the highest branch was way too far from the top of the trunk for Riley to jump.
Rayner landed at the top, and for a moment Riley thought he'd be left behind. Instead Rayner turned and got onto his stomach. He reached down, a wide smile on his handsome face.
"Use the branches to climb up, then take my hand. I'll pull you the rest of the way up."
Riley did as he was told and carefully climbed like he used to do when he was a kid. He'd been pretty good at it then and surprisingly still was. When he ran out of branches, he stood on his toes and stretched himself as far as he could to take hold of Rayner's hand. He pulled Riley up like he didn't weigh a thing. Rayner motioned for him to stay, then leaped down, landing perfectly on his feet. He turned and held his arms up.
"I'll catch you."
Riley felt a little silly, but he couldn't jump from this height without hurting something.
"What's going on?" Khalon asked, appearing beside Rayner. He frowned up at Riley. "What are you doing? We've no time for games."
"I'm being assisted by your second since the almighty king has forgotten I can't leap skyscrapers."
Khalon rolled his eyes. "That's a fallen tree, not a skyscraper."
"It's like a freakin' redwood. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you yet again with my human frailty and inability to leap tall buildings in a single bound."
"Oh, for heaven's sake." Khalon turned to Rayner. "Adira is mewling about being hungry or something to that nature. Go see what she wants."
Rayner bowed his head and was off, leaving Riley with Khalon and the royal stick that was once again wedged up his fine ass. Khalon raised his arms.
"Jump."
Riley sat down on the edge of the tree, eyeing Khalon warily. "How do I know you won't drop me?"
"If you don't hurry up, I just might."
Riley swung his legs back and forth, a sweet smile on his face. "Tell me something. When you court your next prince, do you plan on being this charming, or am I just special?"
Khalon growled, a deep rumble that came up from his chest. Okay, maybe he shouldn't poke the grumpy tiger with his witty repartee.