Thanks to your reviews, I've gotten a few ideas I might run in later chapters. Thanks!

Eragon sat up as the sun began to break into the sky. He hadn't been able to sleep for the rest of the night. Leah didn't just have a nightmare about the Ra'zac. It was a premonition. There was no way she could have an ordinary nightmare about the Ra'zac without knowing what they were. Eragon had spent the rest of the night worrying and staring at Leah. He looked over at her. She was sprawled on her back with her blanket draped over her slim body. Eragon wanted to curl up beside her and hold her. He shook his head. It'd never happen.

Leah sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Morning, Eragon," Leah mumbled groggily.

"Morning," Eragon grumbled back. "We need to leave as soon as we can. Hopefully we can reach the base of the Beor Mountains by night."

"What's the rush?"

"The Ra'zac must be close."

"How do you know?"

"You've never seen the Ra'zac, so there's no way you could have an ordinary dream about them. It was a premonition."

Eragon woke Murtagh and they packed up camp. Wyvern and Saphira carried the three fighters into the sky toward the Beor Mountains. They flew smoothly for several hours. At mid-afternoon Wyvern began to slow down. He touched down in the fields below, too tired to carry Leah any further. Saphira landed beside him.

"It'll take us ages to get to the Varden at this rate," Eragon said.

Murtagh jumped off Saphira's back. "Then this is where I leave you."

"What?!" Leah cried. "You can't go."

"You no longer need me. You are nearing the Varden, and I'm just a burden to you."

"Murtagh-"

"Leah will ride Saphira with Eragon and Wyvern can fly on his own. I will go into hiding and hopefully, all goes well."

"Murtagh, you don't have to go," Eragon said.

"Yes, I do."

Leah jumped off Wyvern's back and threw her arms around Murtagh. "Don't go. Not yet."

"I can't stay," Murtagh protested. "You know that."

"Will I ever see you again?" Leah asked, tears forming pools in her golden eyes.

Murtagh sighed. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. Maybe we will, maybe we will not. If it is to be, then it shall be."

Leah buried her face in his chest and cried. "I don't want you to go."

"I know, Leah, but I have to." Murtagh helped Leah onto Saphira's back behind Eragon. He gave her one last loving look before he turned his back and began walking across the plains. Eragon commanded Saphira into the sky. Wyvern followed close behind. Leah watched Murtagh on the ground, walking alone. She wished that he would turn around to look at her one last time, but he didn't. She bit her lip and choked on her sobs. Eragon reached back and laid his hand on her knee.

"It's okay," he said to her softly.

Leah buried her face in Eragon's back and wept. Eragon didn't mind the hot tears soaking through his shirt. He liked the feeling of Leah leaning against him. By nightfall, Leah seemed to have gotten over the shock. Eragon sensed that the Ra'zac were closing in.

"We're going to have to fly through the night," Eragon said. "We may have to fly for another day before we reach the Beor Mountains. It'll be more dangerous on the ground. Will you be alright?"

"Sure," Leah said quietly. Sadness rang in her soft voice.

Eragon pitied her. He understood how it was to live a loveless life. He wanted to reach into her mind and draw out the old memories that had been forgotten. He decided against it, thinking this was a bad time. Leah was heartbroken over Murtagh. It would be wrong for Eragon to invade the privacy of her thoughts.

Within a few minutes, Eragon could feel the steady rising and falling of Leah's chest against his back. He could hear her deep, steady breathing in his ear. He wished desperately that he could get some sleep too, but sleep just evaded him nowadays. Just as the sun began peeking over the horizon, Eragon felt himself fall out of consciousness.

Leah woke up with a jolt. Once she regained herself, she realized that Eragon had fallen asleep. She reached for his shoulder to wake him, but then she stopped herself. She should just let him sleep. Leah began to wonder when was the last time Eragon had slept. She began to think, trying to figure out what day it was. Then she smiled.

I'll let him sleep, Leah thought. It's a good day. Then she sighed. If only Murtagh was still here…

Eragon began stirring in his sleep. The muscles in his back and shoulders tensed. He seemed as if he were having a bad dream. His hands clenched into fists. His entire body became rigid. Leah stroked his brown hair to calm him down. Eragon settled down in just a few minutes.

"You really care about him," Wyvern said.

"Of course. He's my friend."

"You've never been nice to Eragon. Normally, you would have woken him up. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I don't know. He just seems so…" Leah paused, searching for the right word to describe the sleeping boy.

"So what?"

"He just seems so human…and vulnerable."

"That's because he is."

"I've never seen him like this before. He's so mysterious. All he ever does is either yell at me or sulk around by himself. He always seems so cold."

"You love him, Leah."

"Whoa, I wouldn't take it that far."

"Why can't you just admit it?"

"Don't start this again, Wyvern. Eragon and I are just friends. I don't love him. I couldn't – not with the way he gets sometimes."

"But somehow, you always tolerate the way he takes out his anger and frustration on you."

"Yeah, because he's my friend."

"Because you love him."

Leah blocked Wyvern from her mind. It was early afternoon by the time Eragon woke up. He groggily rubbed his eyes, then realized that he was flying on Saphira's back. It was also then that he became aware of Leah's hand stroking his thick, wavy hair. Eragon quickly pushed her hand away.

"Hey, who said you could touch me?" he grumbled in an annoyed tone.

"You know you like it," Leah smirked.

Eragon turned his face forward as the blush exploded into his cheeks. Did she know? Had she taken advantage of his vulnerable mind while he slept?

"Relax, I was kidding," Leah laughed.

Eragon didn't relax. "Don't touch me again," he growled with frustration.

The two Dragon Riders flew in silence until nightfall. They finally reached the base of the Beor Mountains and set up camp. Leah took a short walk in search of a private place where she could change her clothes. Once she came back, Eragon had started a fire and was making stew out of rabbits that Saphira had found. Leah sat down and watched him work. His face was expressionless and serious – the face of a warrior. Leah remembered how he had looked as he slept on Saphira's back – so peaceful and calm…so human and real. She wondered how old Eragon was. He didn't look too much older than she, but he sometimes acted much older. Leah found herself wanting to see Eragon as that human, vulnerable, young boy she had seen earlier. She hated seeing him so hard and cold.

"Eragon may seem cold, but he's really not," Murtagh had said.

Then Wyvern had said, "He may not be as cold-blooded as you think."

Leah began to trust and believe what Murtagh and Wyvern had told her about Eragon. Having witnessed a bit of this, now she wanted to see the whole truth. Leah stood up and walked over to Eragon as he wiped his hands on a piece of cloth. Eragon ignored her and just sat cross-legged, staring into the fire. Leah kneeled down in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Eragon was too confused and surprised to react as Leah's lips slid across his. His heart was racing, and his mind was reeling. He had waited for this for so long that he could hardly believe it was actually happening. Eragon wrapped his arms around Leah's small frame and held her tightly as if she were his last anchor to life.

Then Eragon's mind came back to full function. He and Leah were still in dangerous territory. They needed to be alert in case the Ra'zac found them or a band of Urgals ambushed them. But the kisses felt so good. Eragon didn't want to let Leah go. It took all the will power Eragon had to tear himself away from Leah's kiss.

"Eragon-" Leah began to protest.

"Now isn't a good time to be doing this," Eragon said breathlessly. He couldn't believe how fast his heart was beating and how hard he was breathing. "We're in dangerous territory, and we need to stay alert."

Leah couldn't hide her disappointment. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Leah apologized quietly as she stood up.

Eragon reached up and wrapped his hand around hers. "Don't be. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you kissed me. Really, I am. I never would have managed the courage to do it."

Leah gave him a weak smile and went back to her spot on the other side of the fire. The rest of the night was spent in awkward silence. Eragon kept glancing across the fire at Leah, but she never looked up at him. His lips still tingled from the kisses. He smiled as he thought about it.

For the rest of the night, Leah kept her eyes from meeting Eragon's. She couldn't believe what she did. What was she thinking? She wouldn't so much as be polite to Eragon, and suddenly, she had the great idea of making out with him. She didn't know why she did it. She didn't know why the thought even fazed her.