by Chloe Jacobs
So why was she terrified?
She turned to find Wyatt watching her. “We have to get out of here before the blood draws any more of them,” he said, glancing down at Jack’s body. There was a catch in his throat, but his voice was stern with command.
Everyone protested. Wyatt was right, but Greta couldn’t move her feet, couldn’t look away from that young face covered in blood, sightless eyes staring up at her. Jack had trusted her. All these boys trusted her, and she was failing. People were dying. And she couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be more deaths before this was over.
“Greta.” Wyatt grabbed her arm and shook her. “Snap out of it. We need you.”
She forced her gaze away, and nodded at Wyatt, taking a deep breath. Nobody wanted to leave Jack, but the noises were escalating, getting closer. More creatures were approaching. There was no choice in the matter. “Hurry,” she said, finally pushing ahead. Ray fell in behind her and Wyatt took the rear.
Before the group reached the boundary of Luke’s property, Greta fought two more gnomes—neither of which were particularly chatty—and they were attacked by a trio of bear-like creatures. She and Wyatt stood side by side against them while Ray and Carter kept their arrows at the ready.
Luckily, they suffered no other major injuries—or losses. By the time they approached the cottage, everyone was quiet, tired, and shell-shocked.
Greta was the first up the porch steps so she could go in and make sure nothing had taken up residence since she’d been gone. She opened the door and stopped, peering inside but seeing nothing.
Wyatt met her there, his hand landing firmly on her arm, expressing both support and a gentle urgency.
She looked up at his strained expression, aware that her own face showed him each raw, painful memory she’d been trying to ignore for the last week, but she couldn’t keep it in anymore.
A week. God, had it been that long already? Had it only been that long?
“I don’t think I can go in there. The last time I was here…” She shook her head. “All the blood, Wyatt. It’s all still there,” she whispered.
He lifted his hand to her cheek and leaned forward. Shying away, she glanced meaningfully over her shoulder at the boys.
“Do you want me to go inside first?”
Greta shook her head. “No, it’s okay. We don’t have time for me to be a wimp.” She looked back into the house. “If nothing has been here to ransack the place since…well, there should be a store of non-perishables and some salted boar in the cupboards, and you can grab as many blankets and whatever else you’ll need to stay as comfortable as possible while I’m gone,” she said.
As they walked inside, she forced herself to keep her eyes open and see everything.
The house was as it had always been. Sparse, but neat and…clean.
“What the…?” When she’d last walked out this door with Isaac, thinking it would be for the last time, it had been a disaster. Now it was as if the violence that took place here had all been her imagination.
The broken furniture had been removed, the floor had been cleaned up. Greta rushed through the cottage to the door of Luke’s bedroom. It was gone. All of it. All the blood had been washed away and no matter how closely she looked, she couldn’t see a stain in the newly refinished floor.
“Isaac,” she whispered. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pressed her hand to her chest. He had to have arranged this.
“Is everything okay?”
She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak so she just nodded and took a step back. Wyatt looked as if he wanted to ask, but didn’t. Only his eyes spoke, expressing concern and understanding, and something darker…like resignation.
“I’m all right,” she said, finally. “I’m just going to grab a few things. The trap door to the shelter is beneath the big table in front of the stove. Go ahead and open it up. I’ll be right there.”
Wyatt’s mouth tightened before he turned and left her alone in Luke’s room. Greta tried not to think of that as she hurried to get the blankets the boys would need, and she tried not to look at the wall where Luke’s blood had splattered. Although the stain had been washed away completely, in her mind she could still see the pattern it had made.
Ten minutes later, they were ready—as ready as they would ever be, anyway.
She fingered the handle on the trap door. “You can keep this locked from the inside,” she said.
“We’ll be fine,” Wyatt reassured her, obviously reading the strain in her face. “All of us have been in worse places than this. The eclipse is full this afternoon, so it’s only two days, three at most—if we assume it’ll take as long for everything to settle down again as it did to get started.”
“I’m sorry.” Greta shivered. “You know…that it isn’t more—”
“If it keeps us safe, then that’s all we can ask.” He looked stoic and had already told Greta not to worry; the dark wouldn’t bother him or the boys in the least. She had a feeling it was the memories of the one who didn’t make it that would torture them all.
She marvelled at his strength. Even if he was lying to her, she’d never know it. No matter what his real feelings about being shut in an underground tomb with no light for two days, he projected nothing but calm competence in front of the others, and she admired that about him so much.
“Greta.”
She jerked her head up. “Sorry.”
“Go.”
Yes. She should go. She’d already loaded up with more weapons, changed her clothes, and tended her wounds. Her leg and chest burned from the cuts left by Lazarus’s claws, but once the blood was cleaned away, she’d been relieved to see they weren’t as deep as she first thought.
There was nothing more she could do here and she needed to make good time while there was still light.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed back her coat and shoved her hand in her pocket.
“What are you doing?”
Her fingers closed around the walnut. She pulled it out and gave it to Wyatt, and then reached up and unclasped the chain from her neck, handing him the locket as well.
“What is this?” he asked, lifting a brow and rolling the walnut around in his hand. Greta couldn’t see it, but she’d memorized every smooth contour of the nut and knew the feel of its raised grooves by heart. It had been in her pocket when she went through the portal. Drew had found it and given it to her that day before running off toward the witch’s cave.
“Nothing, really.” She shrugged.
He caught the chain with his finger and lifted it high before clasping the locket in his hand and opening it up to look at the picture inside.
“Why are you giving these to me?”
“If I don’t make it…”
“Don’t talk like that,” he snapped, dropping the locket into his fist and holding it out to her.
Greta shook her head, refusing to take it. “These are the two things I have from home. I want you to keep them safe for me.”
Wyatt glared at her, as if he was seeing what she herself would not admit. “Ray, get the boys down into the shelter,” he ordered. “I need a minute with Greta before she leaves.”
Carter had his arms around Niall. They were both crying softly. In fact, all the boys looked like they had reached the limit of their tolerance for pain, death, and heartache.
She hated to leave them.
Jacob ran to her and threw his arms around her legs. “Don’t go,” he cried.
“I’m sorry, magpie. I have to. But you’ll be safe here with Wyatt, and I’ll come back as soon as I can,” she promised, leaning down to return his hug.
“Sloane said Jack isn’t coming back,” he whispered with a choked gulp, his face pressed hard into her belly. “What if they get you like they got him?”
She swallowed, seeing Jack’s bloodied body in her mind, hearing the screams. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”
He turned tear-filled eyes up. “I’ll miss you. Will you forget about me
?”
“How could I ever forget about you?”
His fingers clutched at the folds of her coat like he was afraid to let go. “There are lots of things I can’t remember since I came here, and if you don’t come back I’m afraid I’ll forget you, too.”
Her heart tightened painfully and she glanced up at Wyatt, whose eyes were still stormy and dark. He’d clenched his fists at his sides.
Looking back at Jacob, she said, “I won’t be gone long enough for you to forget me.” God, she hoped it was true. “And in the meantime, I need you to be strong and brave, okay?”
He nodded and hiccupped, hugging her again.
Ray took Jacob’s hand and tugged him away gently. His voice was hoarse and thick with emotion, but she was impressed by how well he was holding it together. “Come on, big guy. Get your butt down there. Sloane is going to need your help organizing the supplies.”
Jacob’s teary smile made her heart melt. “Come back soon, okay?”
Greta stood and looked at all of them. Sloane nodded. Charlie stood a little closer to Niall and Carter. All of them looked terrified.
Finally, Wyatt took her arm and walked with her to the doorway. “This isn’t goodbye,” he growled. “So don’t you dare tell them goodbye.”
She stiffened. “Wyatt, be realistic—”
“I should be going with you. Or you should be staying here.”
“I have to go. Ray’s right. Those kids in Agramon’s fortress deserve a fighting chance.” She sighed and pointed back inside. “And someone has to protect them. I can’t bring everyone with me and keep them alive at the same time. They’ll be safe here, but they need you.”
“Just make sure you come back, because they need you, too.” He paused, his gaze somber and penetrating. “I need you.”
Her mouth fell open in shock.
He nervously shoved his hands in the pockets of his chinos. “I know it’s complicated, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Only because I’m the first girl you’ve seen in years,” she insisted, drawing back.
He took her hand. “It’s more than that. And I think you feel it, too.”
“Wyatt, I don’t think now is—”
He pulled her closer and leaned in. She knew what was coming and drew in a sharp breath. His lips touched the corner of her mouth, warm and soft.
And real.
He was tentative at first, and she could almost convince herself it was just a platonic, come-back-safe-and-sound sort of kiss. But then he shifted, covering her mouth completely, and there was no longer any doubt what he meant.
Her hand shook until she finally rested her fingers on his arm. She tried not to compare him with Isaac, but it was so hard not to.
Isaac had been pushy, infuriating, and confident. Real or not, his explosive kiss had churned up the already turbulent feelings raging between them, whereas Wyatt was sweet and gentle and a little awkward. He made her want to burrow into him and let him take her away from everything.
She knew if she stopped him right now, that would be the end of it. He would respect her boundaries and never make another move unless she took the first step. But she didn’t stop him, and he gripped her waist, his kiss deepening as he gained confidence. He pressed his body and his lips to hers as if he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t forget he was going to be waiting for her to return.
The kiss was a promise Greta wasn’t sure she could ever accept, even if they both made it to the other side of this eclipse alive.
She twisted away with a gasp, pressing her fingers to her lips. He watched her for a long minute before nodding and moving back to lean against the doorframe of the cottage.
She gathered herself together. “I should go.”
“Before you do, I need to ask,” he said slowly. “Who was that goblin…to you?”
“What?” she stammered, fingers fluttering at her throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The goblin,” he repeated. “He showed up in our camp out of nowhere, looking for blood. He was ready to take mine. I thought I was dead—until he heard you scream. And then he dropped me like a bad habit to get to you. You want to tell me why?”
She flinched as her gaze flicked to the thin red marks tearing across his face. “No. Actually, I don’t.”
“What’s between the two of you?”
She glanced away. Her mouth opened and closed but nothing came out.
“I saw the way he looked at you, Greta. It went beyond the eclipse. He looked at you as if he would defy the law, the moons, and the Great Mother herself to—”
“That’s ridiculous,” she cut him off. “How could you have possibly seen all that? It was pitch dark, for one thing, and—”
“I saw it because I feel the same way. And because I knew even before he showed up that there was something you weren’t telling me.”
Her chest squeezed. “You’re right, I haven’t told you everything about me. But where does it say I’m required to open a vein for someone I just met?”
He glared down at her. “That’s not fair.”
“Probably not,” she agreed, “but a lot of things aren’t. I don’t have time for this now, Wyatt.”
“No, I suppose you don’t. Just tell me he isn’t still following you, and I’ll try to believe it.”
“He’s not coming for me, not after that fight.” Greta glanced down, swallowing hard. “And even if he is…he’s Lost now. Which means if he crosses my path, I deal with him like I deal with all the rest.”
He swore. “Come back, do you hear me?”
“Sure. What could happen?” She pasted a cocky smile on her face, but it wasn’t fooling anyone.
His expression turned so dismal, she immediately felt guilty for her glib response. “Listen, you were right about one thing. I have something to lose now, so I’ll be back,” she whispered. “You’re going to see my face again…whether you like it or not.”
“Good.”
She made it a dozen paces before she had to turn back again. He was still standing there watching her and she waved, committing his face to memory.
With each step that took her further away, she was more certain she should have said goodbye.
Chapter Nineteen
Greta was still near the edge of Luke’s lands when she stopped and turned around.
“Ray, show yourself or I swear I’m going to kick your morbidly stupid ass all the way back to the damn cottage.”
He stepped out, not an ounce of regret showing on his face, but a heck of a lot of attitude.
“Why aren’t you back there helping Wyatt protect the others?”
He shrugged. “Wyatt doesn’t need me. But you do.”
Greta laughed. “Like hell.”
“I’m only a year younger than you,” he pointed out.
She lifted a brow. “True enough, but I still don’t want you with me.”
“Well, I’m not going back, so you either take me along or you bear the burden of being responsible for my death at the hands of fairytale creatures gone wild.”
“That’s not fair to Wyatt. He’s going to have kittens when he realizes you’re gone.”
“Just what kind of irresponsible jerk do you take me for? I wouldn’t leave without telling him, and I wouldn’t leave without being certain he could handle himself. He knows where I’m going…and he also knows he can’t make me stay.”
She shook her head. “He has more tolerance for idiots than I do.”
“That goes without saying.” The way he looked her up and down let her know she could easily be lumped in with that group.
Without another word, she turned away and continued walking.
“So I can come with you?” Behind her, he rushed to keep up.
She spun back around and pointed a finger in his face as he slid to a halt in front of her. “So long as you understand that you are not my priority. I know what’s going through your head, Ray, but I’m not going to feed your insanity. You’re lucky our u
ltimate goals happen to mesh for the moment, but know this, if your agenda and mine diverge at any point in time, you’re on your own.”
Greta hated the wounded look he tried to hide behind righteous anger, but she refused to coddle him. She reminded herself that he was not a child, and she would leave him if he got in her way or jeopardized their lives with his irresponsible behavior.
“Fine. At least I know where I stand,” he snapped, tightlipped.
“Good, I’m glad we got that straight,” she muttered. “So why don’t you lead the way?” She held her arm out for him to precede her.
At first, they traveled slowly, carefully. But soon she ramped up the pace and they were slipping through the forest at a steady running clip. She had to stop once to check the bandage on her leg again, but it seemed to be holding up.
For the next few hours, she and Ray managed a relatively cooperative coexistence, and if neither of them were particularly talkative, that was so much the better.
Greta had to give him credit, he was more than capable with a bow when the situation called for it—which it did every so often—and even better at the stealthy stuff than she was.
They came close to running right through a pack of ogres that had devolved into little more than giants snarling at each other over the bloody carcass of a large male goblin. Ray veered silently around them but Greta halted in her tracks like a deer trapped in a pair of headlights, unable to move until she’d convinced herself it wasn’t Isaac’s body being torn to pieces.
By the time she snapped out of it and moved to follow Ray, he’d vanished. She looked up and down the path they’d been travelling, but found no sign of him. When he suddenly showed up at her side a few meters away, she jumped.
“I told you I could take care of myself,” he said with a grin.
She punched him in the shoulder, but from that moment forward, she didn’t say anything about him slowing her down again.
It was mid-morning when they approached the mountain pass. Ray knelt in the snow behind a tall rock formation, waiting for her. “This is where things are going to get really difficult.”