I glanced away as he faced me again. “We lucked out last night when I stumbled across this deserted cabin. By the looks of it, no one has set foot inside for years. Maybe decades.” He tugged on his boots and coat, making for the door. “I’ll be right back. Might want to get dressed.”
I did. As soon as I heard the crunch of his boots fade away, I scrambled for my backpack that he had thankfully brought with him. How had he carried a wet me and two heavy packs? Note to self: don’t engage in a wrestling match with Ryker. I whipped on a fresh set of clothes while my body started to shiver without the extra heat. Stars, had I really slept with him all night?
“I need a shower,” I muttered. “A really hot one. Or cold. Maybe both.” An itch formed beneath my skin that I couldn’t scratch—a craving to pummel a certain tattoo-riddled jerk—so I began picking up my discarded clothing. Wait. I froze as last night became a crystal clear memory. “Ryker undressed me.”
I was going to kill him. And somehow I’d resurrect him just so I could kill him all over again.
Embarrassment was the mildest emotion raging through me when he stomped inside a few minutes later with a bundle of wood in his arms. What, were we playing house now? I couldn’t directly look at him without picturing the way I’d woken—with our skin pressed together and my leg between his as I inhaled his scent.
Crap. This was so messing with my brain.
“We can’t stay here,” I rushed to say as he dumped the logs near the fireplace. Feeling fidgety again, my fingers dug into my hair, seeking knots to untangle. There were plenty to keep them busy and I briefly wondered how awful I must look. Probably like an electrocuted squirrel. “We’re never going to catch up with Bren at this rate and—”
“I’ve lost his trail.”
The admission didn’t sink in at first. But when it did . . . double crap. Was he giving up? “We’ll just follow that road we were on. I mean, he has to stop eventually, right? Otherwise Renold would have—”
“I don’t think he’s on that road anymore.”
“If you’d just let me finish—”
“Aren’t you hearing me?” he snarled, facing me fully. “I can’t sense him anymore. We’ve failed our mission.”
My fingers stilled, then slid to the bear tooth necklace and gripped it tightly. Not because of his attitude problem, but because of that word. Failed. Failure wasn’t an option. “Are you a quitter, Ryker? Because you know what they say about quitters. They never win. Makes sense, actually. I did beat you in the Rasa Rowe Trial.”
“I let you win.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he said, taking a menacing step my way. He wanted to fight? Fine. So did I. “My charger could have plowed yours over, but I held him back.”
“Oh, how chivalrous of you.” My feet moved, narrowing the gap between us. I casually dropped my hands, but they were ready to strike. “Remind me to thank you. When I’m dead.”
His face twisted with disdain. “You think you’re so clever, but you’re not. Do you see me laughing? You’re. Not. Funny.”
I crossed into his personal space, straightening my spine so he couldn’t look down his nose at me. My voice lowered, gearing up for the grand finale. “You can’t laugh because you have a stick shoved up your—”
Knock knock knock.
We froze. My eyes widened while Ryker’s narrowed.
I looked at the door, then back at him, silently asking if it was locked. He nodded.
“We know you’re in there. Your lover’s spat can be heard for miles. We just want a short reprieve from the cold, then we’ll be on our way. Mind letting us in?”
I shook my head. Ryker was already on the move, not toward the door but away, making for the cabin’s only window which surprisingly still had glass. I collected our packs and slipped on my coat, eyeing the unrolled sleeping bag we’d slept in. I hadn’t wanted to touch the stupid thing and now regretted that childish decision since I wouldn’t have time to grab it.
Ryker motioned me toward the window he’d managed to open without a sound.
The door rattled as a fist pounded on it. “Okay, time’s up! I know it’s you, girl. I scented you all the way here and I’m tired of chasing you.”
Air stalled in my lungs. No. Please, not him. Ryker lowered my pack out the window, and I grimaced when I realized that all my weapons were in there. It dropped into a snow drift with a light thump. He cupped his hands next and nodded at my feet. I almost ignored his offer of help, but now wasn’t the time to indulge in bruised pride. I placed my boot in his palms and grabbed the windowsill.
“If you don’t let us in, you’re going to make me mad. There’s no telling what I’ll do then.” The man’s cackle sent a shiver down my spine. “Skerv dog wants in. I’m giving you five seconds. Five . . .”
“Skervvy?” Ryker hissed as he boosted me up. I perched on the sill and swung a leg over. “That’s who you ran into?”
“Four!”
Ryker swore and ripped open his pack, pulling out a gun. “Get out of here, Lune.”
“What about you?” My heart was galloping against my ribs now, trying to break free.
“Three.”
He switched the safety off. “I’m not leaving until he’s dead. Now go. He can’t get ahold of you.”
“But—”
Bang.
A gun roared, splintering wood. The door slammed open.
“Sorry for the early arrival, but that was boring,” Skervvy drawled, then waved a gun in the air with his body safely tucked around the corner. “Don’t make me use this. I’m coming in.”
As his lanky frame filled the doorway, I caught my first glimpse of his face. Not only did he laugh like Lars, but he kind of looked like him too with his messy brown hair and dark eyes. Ryker lifted his gun and, at the same time, pushed me out the window. I was too shocked to scream as I fell, landing in the snow with an oof!
Scrambling for my backpack, I waited for shots to be fired. Instead, I heard Skervvy swear loudly, then, “Ryker Jones? The Ryker Jones? I thought you were dead, man!”
“Tom Skervlong. The man who inspired others to name him after a disease. Still not taking your vitamin C?”
What? They knew each other?
Skervvy chortled, and I belatedly realized that Ryker had cracked a joke. Had I hit my head? I was about to make my escape when Skervvy said, “Look, I’d love to reminisce and all that crap, but I’m looking for someone. Smells like apple blossoms as I’m sure you know. Where is she?”
“You can’t have her, Skervlong.”
There was a pause. I stopped breathing. “Oh?” The casual tone of his voice flipped my warning switch. As my stomach twisted, I slowly backed away from the window. “And why’s that?”
“Because she’s mine.”
I sucked in air too sharply. The men fell silent. Then that vile man started cackling again.
“Looks like we’ve got a runner,” Skervvy singsonged. “She’s fair game now.”
“Lune, go!” Ryker shouted a second before gunfire went off.
For a moment, I couldn’t decide what to do. Run or fight? Ryker needed help. No, he’s one of them. Run!
I bolted.
Time slowed as I dashed for a thick stand of trees behind the cabin. My legs churned but weren’t going fast enough. A volley of shots sent my heart into my throat. Faster. Faster. I had no idea where I was going. Judging by the brightness, it was late morning, but I couldn’t see the sun. Couldn’t get my bearings. Snow was falling again, slipping past the trees and smacking my face.
I jumped over a fallen log. My feet were still off the ground when something rammed me from behind, and I plowed into the snow face first. I immediately put up a fight, blindly throwing both elbows back at my assailant. Hands clamped onto my arms and jacked them up high. My muscles shrieked in protest and I cried out.
“Now this feels familiar, don’t it, missy?”
Thane.
I growled my frustration. Of c
ourse Skervvy had backup. He had said we. And I’d lingered outside the cabin like an idiot! The world spun as he flipped me over, then pressed me and my pack into the snow with his much larger body. Pinned me down like inferior prey. Helplessness was a boulder on my chest as light brown eyes set in a darker brown face peered victoriously into mine.
“Be a good girl and I won’t hurt you,” he crooned. His short beard scratched my face as he leaned close and breathed me in. He sighed and I recoiled at the sweet yet sour stench of his breath.
His hand reached up and I forced myself to hold still. To wait. He trailed a finger down my cheek and I let him. Made him think I was cowed. The finger veered toward my mouth. I made my move, sinking my teeth deep into his flesh. I fought my gag reflex as the taste of warm iron coated my tongue. He reared back and yelled several swears, but before I could wiggle free, his fist pounded my jaw.
Agony ripped through me.
“You’re a nasty little thing, aren’t ya?” His words sounded garbled to my ears, as if I was underwater. I blinked to clear my vision, but the black spots wouldn’t go away. Thane’s blurred face was still hovering over mine, though his attention had shifted elsewhere. I felt it then. Cold metal against my wrists.
Click.
“No,” I groaned, jerking my arms away. But it was too late. My hands were cuffed. Again. Why did this keep happening to me?
“I tried to play nice, but I’ve lost my patience with you. See this?” He pointed at his wide nose. “The last time we met, you broke it. I had to reset it myself because there’s no way I’d let Skervvy anywhere near my face, even if he is my partner.”
He yanked me to my feet by the cuffs and I bit back a curse as pain streaked up my arms. It felt like he’d just ripped my hands off. At the mention of Skervvy, dread twisted my insides. The thought of that crazy man anywhere near me while I was incapacitated sent determination rushing through my veins.
I jerked against my restraints, and the sharp action tipped Thane off balance. As he stumbled toward me, I aimed for a familiar target. Air whooshed from his lungs as my knee rammed into his groin. I tore free, only for him to retaliate by grabbing my hair. Instead of pulling, he shoved. And bashed my forehead against a tree.
Too many things happened next. I groaned as blood dripped into my eye. Grunted as Thane threw me to the ground again. Wheezed as his boot pressed down on my windpipe. Then he was gone. Where did he—? There. He was on the ground now too, wrestling with a tan and black beast. My heart pounded with fear, louder than the yelling and growling. A knife flashed. Fangs glinted.
I rolled, forcing my body to cooperate, to carry me upright and forward. I didn’t dare turn to see if I was being pursued, to see if teeth or a blade were about to sink into my flesh. The only thing I could do was run, counting each new step a victory because I was still alive. Blood continued to blind me as it streamed down my forehead but I couldn’t worry about that now.
Although, if the cut needed stitches . . . I brushed my panic aside and looked down at my hands. Crap. I couldn’t survive out here with these cuffs on. The gunshots had stopped. Was Skervvy dead? Ryker? Panic simmered again.
Think. Think! Before you get yourself killed too!
I needed distance from this place so I could form a plan. Guilt poked at me for leaving Ryker to his fate, but I couldn’t help him anyway. Without the use of my arms, I was simply that: useless. And if he’d lost Bren’s trail, did I really need him?
Besides, I didn’t trust his motives. He knew far too much about me, almost to obsessive levels, and his “because she’s mine” line had been all sorts of creepy. I could tell Renold that one of his Recruiter Clan lackeys had killed him. Maybe he’d take out his anger on Skervvy instead of me when I returned without completing my mission.
My legs slowed as that realization finally settled into my bones. Giving up wasn’t something I did. Ever. Hope was an incessant gnat in my ear and wouldn’t allow me peace until I’d done everything in my power to achieve what I’d set out to do. Hope for a better future—it’s what pushed me out of bed in the morning. And if I admitted defeat, what would happen to Iris? What if Renold took out his disappointment on her?
No, I couldn’t give up. I had to find Bren. Find Bren. A fresh wave of adrenaline doused me and I picked up speed, not questioning my body when it silently urged me to change course. After several minutes of jogging, I became aware that I was going up again. My calves burned as the incline refused to level out. At this point, I was fairly certain Bren had driven his ATV contraption all the way to the mountain’s peak and down the other side. Maybe I’d never catch up with him, but there was only one thing for me to do.
Follow.
Hunger tore at my insides. Fatigue warped my vision.
But after hours of travel, I didn’t stop or rest.
I avoided roads so that I’d be harder to track, hauling my body over fallen trees, endless roots, and boulders taller than me. All with my hands cuffed and a heavy pack threatening to send me down the mountain at the first misstep.
Because, yes, I was officially climbing an entire mountain. And why not? Ever since I’d left Tatum City, there’d been nothing but obstacles between me and Bren. Ironically, that seemed to summarize the entirety of our relationship. Insurmountable odds, as if the universe were trying to keep us apart. Maybe the smart thing would be to head back, to admit that I wasn’t cut out for the outside world.
The sky was already darkening and I didn’t have the faintest clue where to set up camp. Without Ryker’s keen senses, a beast was probably going to eat me in my sleep. I pressed on anyway. No stopping. No turning around. Find Bren before you die of hunger or exhaustion or frostbite or . . .
The list of possible ways to die out here was long and depressing. I thought of home instead. No, not home. Tatum City would never be my home, even if my sister and best friend were still there. Every day spent in that prison, I’d felt like a trapped animal. Like a part of me was meant to be wild and untamed, and no matter how many times they tried to break my spirit, that would never change.
I wasn’t meant for walls. I was meant for endless possibilities.
But I could see now that life was simpler on the inside. There were still gruesome ways to die, but the environment was carefully controlled, as Ryker had said. Predictable, for the most part. Simple wasn’t me, though. I hated being controlled as much as I hated losing control. Hated that I was so often afraid, and yet, sometimes I craved danger. The thrill of willingly drowning.
Did that make me crazy? Bren had said that I was important though. Different. Even Renold had. And Ryker had mentioned unique abilities.
I wasn’t blind. Envisioning things before they happened probably wasn’t normal. But was anything normal these days? Bren could see in the dark. Skervvy could track people’s scent. Ryker could carry more weight than should be possible.
My mum had told me a story about aliens once. What if we were . . . ? I snorted. Nah.
Snow continued to pelt my head as I balanced on top of another felled tree. Halfway across, my foot slipped. With a cry, I tumbled off the side and into a gully. A shallow stream of water broke my fall. Sort of. I’d landed wrong on my left leg. I gritted my teeth against the pain, choking back a sob as I slowly sat up and peered through the growing gloom at my boot, which had punched through a gnarled mess of tree roots.
I lay there, panting, not sure what to do. Maybe this was the perfect time to rest, eat some rations, and cry my eyes out.
Maybe this was a sign to give up.
“No,” I hissed, carefully bending forward to free my foot. The pain was terrible, but I’d felt worse. A couple years ago, I’d fallen out of a tree in the Arcus Point training cage and broken my leg. Needless to say, Elite Trainer Drake had unmercifully chewed me out, reminding me how weak and pathetic I was.
If he were here now, he’d shout in my ear, “If you don’t get up and walk it off in two seconds, trainee, you’re going to stand against the wall until sundo
wn. Yes, that’s right, you’ll miss dinner. Suck it up. Strength, speed, precision!”
Thank the stars, no one in Tatum City could see me like this, sunken so low that I wasn’t even recognizable. Tied, injured, muddied, bloodied, frozen, stuck. Ladies and gentlemen, here lies the Elite Guardian of Tatum City. She will protect you, keep you safe . . .
Lies. I was a lie. Over the last eleven years, even during the Trials, fear had paralyzed me time and again. How could I protect others when I couldn’t protect myself? If not for Bren, a saber cat would have torn out my throat minutes into our final Trial.
If not for him, none of this would have happened. You would be safe and sound with Mum.
But would I really? How far did Renold’s influence reach? How many Recruiter Clan members were out here right this moment kidnapping children and forcing them behind walls? A new thought slapped me across the face, and I inhaled shakily. Was that why Bren was out here? To kidnap more naive girls like me? Another thought punched me. Had he kidnapped Iris?
If he deviates from it, I want you to kill him.
I hadn’t let myself dwell too long on that final command from Renold, but I did now as a surge of horror and anger rose at what Bren’s mission might entail. This wasn’t the first time I’d wondered how much Renold knew of Bren’s past. Maybe he knew of the guilt Bren still carried for kidnapping me all those years ago. Maybe he’d given Bren an ultimatum too.
But I couldn’t envision Bren as anyone’s puppet. He had an uncanny ability to soothe a skeptical person into trusting him. Renold had even bent the rules for him, something I’d never seen him do before. Brendan Bearon was an enigma. If given the opportunity, I’d pry open his brain to see if magical powers oozed out. Maybe those golden eyes of his could hypnotize, like in the fairytales when the Sultan’s Royal Vizier would use his snake staff to manipulate people’s thoughts and actions, unraveling their strongest beliefs. It may only be a story my mum had told me as a child, but stories came from somewhere. Maybe they all held some form of truth.
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