by Tasha Black
He nodded, looking impressed.
“And then there was Cori,” I said. “I hate to admit it, but she was kind of my ticket into that group. I teased her, but she didn’t seem to mind it, and I had my place in Bellwether as the tough one that palled around with her.”
He walked on, listening.
“After Cori was chosen, we ran into even more problems with the Order,” I explained. “There was this big ceremony, and they tried to bring back the Raven King. Cori sacrificed herself to save Reed and to stop them. And she paid her ultimate price.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“The price for her magic was memory loss,” I said sadly. “And she pushed her magic so far that she paid the price permanently.”
“Total amnesia?” he asked, turning to me with a horrified expression.
I nodded.
“She will never remember anything that happened before she woke up and Reed claimed her.”
“That’s terrible,” Jared said softly.
“I think so, too,” I told him. “But she’s kind of leaned into it. She’s so confident now - not the little sister type I used to mess around with.”
“That must be strange,” he said.
“It is, and everyone thinks it’s so great,” I said softly. “But I miss the old Cori sometimes. I get it that she’s better off now. She has Reed, and she has control of her powers. But… but now it feels like I’m the only one who doesn’t have my shit together.”
“Most people probably feel that way,” he said after a moment. “Everyone looks confident from the outside.”
“I had a boyfriend,” I told him suddenly, shame eating me from the inside. “I was supposed to meet him the night the Order kidnapped me. He was a nice guy, a good listener. And I haven’t thought about him once since meeting you - not until just a minute ago. I’m not a nice person, Jared.”
He stopped at that and wrapped his hands around my shoulders.
“Kendall, you are a good person,” he said.
I shook my head, hot tears threatening to fall from my eyes.
“You just told me you were part of a group of popular girls, but that you chose to form a bond with a group of women who you respected,” he said. “You told me you helped to overcome the Order, when you could have easily ignored the call - you didn’t have a bonded mate relying on your help.”
I bit my lip and ventured a glance up at him.
His eyes were dead serious.
“And now, you’re telling me that you feel guilty about missing a friendship you had with someone who has lost her memory,” he went on. “And you feel bad that you’re going to dump a boyfriend because you found your soul mate?”
I nodded.
“None of that sounds bad, Kendall,” he said. “You’re a human being, and you’re learning and growing. You’re trying to be a better person. That’s not an easy thing, and I think you’re incredibly brave.”
I smiled through my tears, but then I remembered.
“I haven’t told you the worst thing yet,” I said.
“Go on,” he said. “I’m right here.”
“The day before yesterday, in Combat class, I used a forbidden spell,” I said, miserably. “I didn’t know it was forbidden. I didn’t even mean to do it, but it was awful.”
“What kind of spell?” he asked.
“I was up against Bella,” I said. “She doesn’t really trust me yet. And I controlled the flow of her blood to stop her from taking me out.”
I didn’t tell him the rest, though holding it back was painful. That information was Bella’s, and hers alone. I would share it with no one but her.
“That’s terrible,” he said softly. “Was she hurt?”
I shook my head. “I got very lucky.”
He nodded. “You won’t do it again, will you?”
“Of course not,” I said quickly, trying not to think about how I had instinctively considered it during our escape.
The world was a cruel, ugly place, and I was cruel and ugly too.
“Then it’s just one more lesson,” he said. “One more trial, one more thing making you stronger.”
I sobbed then, and he pulled me into his chest. I hadn’t realized how badly I craved absolution. I wasn’t sure how he had wound up with that power, but the relief I felt at his acceptance was overwhelming.
“Don’t cry,” he murmured into my hair. “Or do, if you want. But don’t be sad. I’m so proud of you, so proud to be your mate.”
My sobs were slowing now, but I still clung to him.
Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention and I gasped with wonder.
“Jared,” I whispered. “Look.”
He let go of me to look at where I was pointing.
We were on a rough sort of path leading up to the ridge ahead. But off to the side there was a stand of trees.
And I could just see between two of them to a field covered in lavender.
Jared loosened his hold on me and took my hand instead. Together, we moved oh so slowly toward the trees and the field beyond.
As we drew closer, the breeze changed, carrying the clean, sweet fragrance of the flowers to us.
In the center of the field, a mother deer and her fawn were grazing, their slender necks bent to nose through the flowers to find the tender shoots of grass.
I clung to Jared’s hand, soaking in the magical beauty of the scene before us.
It was as if he had created this incredible vista out of nothingness, to show me that there was happiness in the world and gentle beauty.
We stood, hand in hand, at the edge of the lavender field for a long time, watching the innocent animals in that peaceful setting.
And for that brief moment, it was enough to make me forget about all the bad stuff that was going on around us.
23
Jared
I followed Kendall back onto the path as if we were in a dream. As she looked out over the meadow and the deer, I had woven her a coronet of lavender flowers that now adorned her golden hair, and she truly looked like a fae princess.
We weren’t out of the woods yet, in any sense. I knew the Order had to be following us, and until we reached the station, our friends wouldn’t even know where we were.
But I could see the roofline up on the hillside, the air was cold and sweet, and my mate had a spring in her step that told me she knew she was safe in my company.
I allowed hope to bloom in my chest for the first time in two years. The big goofy grin I couldn’t keep off my face felt good. Even before my imprisonment, I hadn’t felt my freedom the way I did now.
This is happiness.
And it lasted until Kendall stopped suddenly ahead of me and turned back, her face a mask of horror.
I stepped forward to take in what she had seen.
The skeleton from the bridge was back, only now it rode on the back of a monstrous boar. The mount’s eyes were bloodshot, and its skin glistened crimson in the late day sun, as if it had been half-flayed before accepting its ghostly rider.
It let out loud wet snorts and snuffles as it searched the path just above us.
It must have been tracking us by scent. If we hadn’t detoured off the path, they would have found us.
It had been a brief diversion, and it wasn’t going to do us any good anyway, since the beast was seconds away from picking up our trail once more.
When it turned to snuffle closer, I could see its razor-sharp tusks, and the moon white bone of its jaw exposed under the torn skin of its hellish face.
I grabbed Kendall, who was still frozen in place, dragging her off the trail and into the scrub that lined our way.
She clung to me, wide-eyed for a moment, then she bit her lip and tossed her head as if shaking off her fear, and began to act.
Lifting her palms skyward, she narrowed her eyes and focused, as I watched her in silence.
I expected a glowing ball of magic to appear before her - something to blast the beast and
its rider. But instead, the air grew hazy above her hands, and suddenly she was holding a few teaspoons of water.
“My crown,” she mouthed to me.
I lifted it from her head and held it out to her, watching as she crushed it in her hands along with the water she had collected straight out of the air around us.
She must have used magic, because when she opened her hands again, there were no flowers - she was holding a ball of light-purple, lavender-scented water.
She took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes and blew the water from her hand.
Instead of splashing to the ground, the lavender water aerosolized, covering us in a protective cloud of sweet, masking scent, and floating up to the path ahead of us and right into the face of the terrible boar.
We hugged the ground and listened.
The boar snuffled and sneezed, and there was a clattering sound, as if the skeleton had nearly been unseated.
Then the snuffling moved further up the path until we couldn’t hear it anymore.
24
Jared
We waited in the bushes, holding each other, for a long time. I didn’t dare to so much as breathe her name.
But I wanted to sing it.
What a clever piece of magic she had done. My mate was not only powerful, she was also inventive and quick on her feet.
And her small form was pressed to my chest, her heart pounding against mine, heat pouring from her body.
I resisted the impulse to kiss her, knowing it was better for both of us to cool down and remain alert.
But, oh, how I longed for her.
“Do you think it’s safe to keep moving?” she whispered into my neck.
“Stay down,” I whispered back.
I rose with as much grace as I still had without my panther, managing to stay quiet as I scoured the hillside. The skeleton warrior and his hideous mount were nowhere to be seen.
I lowered myself again to join Kendall, who was observing me, her jaw tight with tension.
“I can’t see them,” I told her. “But if they know we were on this path, they’ll loop back as soon as they realize they got ahead of us.”
“Then we have to get there a different way,” she said.
There was another way. But it wouldn’t be easy. I studied her for a moment, wondering if she could pull it off. She was strong, and our journey so far told me she had good stamina.
“What?” she asked.
“How do you feel about climbing trees?” I asked.
“I’m pro-tree climbing,” she said with a huge grin.
“Look over there,” I directed her. “See the big sycamore?”
She looked and nodded slowly.
“That was my favorite short cut in panther form when I had to patrol way out here,” I told her. “You just go straight up the tree, hop across to that ledge on the cliff face, and then climb the last few feet to the top.”
“Listen, I don’t mean to offend you,” she said. “But where I come from, we would call that a little more than tree climbing.”
I nodded and waited as she studied the tree, the cliff face, and the station above.
“I think I can do it,” she said at last, cracking her knuckles.
“I know you can,” I told her. “I’ve done it a million times. And I’ll be right there with you.”
She led the way through the scrub toward the tree, leaving me to scramble behind her.
I liked this side of Kendall. She was decisive and ready for a challenge. I had no doubt that she would be an incredible mother to our cubs.
I bit my lip, remembering that my panther might not come back. Which would mean no cubs for us. As unsettling as the thought was, it didn’t make me want to be with her any less.
“Wow,” she said softly, looking up at the tree.
It was an ancient sycamore with ghostly branches reaching out in all directions. The mottled bark of the pale, knotty trunk was strangely beautiful in the late afternoon light.
“The knots make it easier to get a foothold,” I told her.
“Do you want to lead the way?” she offered.
“I could do that,” I told her. “But if you go first, I’ll follow right behind you. That way I’ll be able to help if your foot slips.”
She shuddered, and turned and grabbed onto the first branch.
Watching her swing herself up into the canopy left me with my heart in my mouth. But she handled herself like a pro, using her momentum to pull up to the next branch without ever looking down. She had clearly climbed a few trees in her day.
Following after her, I was surprised at how much effort I had to put into climbing. The panther had scaled the tree at the trunk without even using the limbs. Now I had to scan for knots and branches for hand and footholds. My human form was relying on strategy to do what the cat could do with only instinct.
I found myself fighting the urge to look down, and fearful every time my hold slipped slightly.
But with Kendall’s golden hair disappearing into the leaves above I knew I had to follow. Hell, if she could be that brave, I had to be too.
On and on we climbed. Every time I tried to push forward to catch up, one foot or hand would begin to lose its grip and I would have to slow down. Frustration set in, and I clenched my jaw until it ached.
Suddenly, the branches above me shivered and I heard Kendall cry out.
My hands and feet moved quickly and efficiently at last, as I scaled the next branch and snagged my mate by the arm before she could fall.
“Jared,” she gasped. “That was too close.”
I held her as tightly as I could without letting go of my hold on the tree, and let the sound of her heartbeat calm me.
“Do you want to climb down?” I asked her after a moment.
“We’ve come this far,” she said adamantly. “We have to keep going. We’re almost there.”
Pride blossomed in my chest, and I pressed my lips to her forehead.
She took a deep breath and I had to let go of her so that she could climb away from me again.
I tried to stay closer this time. She was right, we weren’t far from the top. I could see flashes of the ledge just above us between the branches as I swung up higher.
“Holy cow,” I heard her say.
“What’s up?” I asked, willing myself to remain calm.
“How did you not mention the waterfall?” she asked.
“It’s hardly a waterfall,” I chuckled, pulling myself up to join her.
But when I reached the branch beside hers, I had to admit the water coming down the ledge was more disturbing than I’d noticed in cat form.
While it was basically a trickle of water, the whole ledge glistened with moisture, and so did the few feet of rock leading up to the grassy field above.
“You’ve done this before, right?” she asked.
“As a panther,” I allowed. “I didn’t even notice the water.”
We both gazed out at the ledge in thoughtful silence.
“Well, no time like the present,” Kendall said.
“When you land, try to grab onto the little tree that’s growing on the side of the cliff,” I recommended.
“Noted,” she said, nodding.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Kendall’s body coiled like a snake and then she released herself from the branch.
Her hair floated behind her like a golden veil, preventing me from forgetting for one instant that this wasn’t one of my shifter brothers in arms doing something daring. It was my mate.
My heart constricted as if a fist had tightened around it.
She landed in a crouch on the glistening ledge, grabbing the slender trunk of the cliff tree in her right hand.
My shoulders sagged in relief.
She turned to me, a triumphant smile lighting up her face, and let go of the tree to give me two thumbs up.
I barely resisted the impulse to cheer and holler. The Order was somewhere nearby, and I didn’t want to alert them
.
Kendall backed up to the cliff wall and beckoned for me to join her.
I closed my eyes and called to the panther one last time. Even if he couldn’t come out, maybe he could lend me some of his grace.
But the panther didn’t respond. I was alone on the old sycamore, and the only thing to do was rely on the muscles I’d tried to maintain in my prison cell.
Moving out slightly from the trunk, I gathered myself and sprung out with all the force I could muster.
The sudden brightness of the fading sun nearly blinded me as I flew. I hit the cliff wall hard enough to almost knock the wind out of my lungs.
“Wow,” Kendall said. “You don’t know your own strength.”
“Better to overshoot,” I said, pretending I had done it on purpose.
She laughed and elbowed me, and somehow, on a shallow ledge at the edge of a tree-height drop we were both grinning.
“Ready to go find some real food?” I asked her.
“Very ready,” she said, nodding.
“Ladies first,” I told her. “Want a boost?”
She observed the rock wall between us and the grass above. “I think I’m good.”
I slid to the side, giving her room to figure it out.
She grabbed a rock that jutted out and found a foothold in the tree we’d planned to use to hold ourselves on the ledge.
Slowly, slowly, she scaled the rocks.
I moved below her, hoping that if she slipped, I could catch her and keep both of us on the ledge.
When she was nearly at the top, she paused.
I studied the terrain and realized there wasn’t another good foothold.
Before I could speak, Kendall reached for the grass, one foot dangling over the cliff. Arms shaking, she pulled herself slowly up as her other foot dangled too.
I held my breath, cursing fate for allowing the Order to take my panther from me.
Please don’t let her fall.
But a moment later she had pulled up to her elbows. When she swung her legs up to the grass and rolled inward to safely, I knew there was nothing this woman couldn’t accomplish.