I WOKE WITH A JERK, heart pounding, mind sharply aware of a person's hand moving across my leg.

'Sorry,' Rashid hissed the word under his breath.

I felt the saddle bag he'd grabbed drag across my lower leg. The breath I didn't realize I'd held whooshed out in relief.

In the dark of the early morning, with no moon to offer any light, I couldn't see a thing but the warmth of the two centaurs meant there wasn't a chance to feel cold. Listening to their steady ...