I rake a hand through my hair. “I, uh, should be going.”
“What?” Bryn spins to face me, her voice a half octave higher than usual. “You can’t just… go. The elders gave you until the full moon. What are they going to do if you return early and empty-handed?” She looks to Taj and Calder for help, but neither of them speak. “Maybe… maybe we could scare up a lead on Mona? Then at least you could…”
I shake my head. “This is how it has to be.”
Bryn sucks in a breath, her chin quivering. When she looks at me, her eyes glisten. “Okay then.” She sticks out her hand, and I could almost laugh at the formal gesture. But I’m glad she didn’t try to hug me because I’m not sure I’d have the willpower to let her go.
“May we meet again,” she murmurs when I clasp her hand.
I try to repeat the words, but they stick in my throat.
She holds on longer than necessary, and when she releases my hand, she rushes toward the cabin.
Taj clasps my shoulder. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, mate.”
Silas says a quick goodbye, and Calder surprises me by gripping my hand with a fierce intensity I wouldn’t have given him credit to possess. “If you ever need anything, we’ve got your back.”
I’m so struck I can’t think of a response. He doesn’t release my hand until I nod.
I’m sure there’s something I should say in this moment, but the words don’t come. Instead, after one final glance toward the cabin, I strike out into the woods in the direction of the elders’ mansion.
It’s time for me to go home.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Bryn
I poke at the salad on my plate, losing myself in the low chatter of the diner’s lunchtime patrons and the gentle clink of silverware on plates.
It’s been hours since Poe left, and I still can’t believe he’s gone.
Although Elowen said the cabin would remain in place until nightfall, Calder, Taj, and Silas opt for heading into town over holing up in the secluded forest. After turning in our rental car, the four of us wander through the streets of downtown Twin Rivers. I try to feign interest in some of the shops they pointed out, but not even the spell supply store can shake me out of the funk I’m in.
After our conversation in the car last night, I held out hope Poe would change his mind. Now that all hope is gone, I’m not sure how to feel.
I suppose all I can do is take comfort in what I still have.
“Of course the final call should be Bryn’s,” Taj says from beside me, drawing my attention. “But she can’t very well make a decision without all the facts.”
I set my fork down on the table. “A decision about what?”
Taj exchanges glances with Calder, who sits across from me. Silas doesn’t quite suppress a smirk.
“You’ll recall when we first escaped Mona’s compound, my plan was to take you to the Liberation Front,” Taj says. “They’ve established an identity for you and lined up somewhere off the grid for you to live. But things didn’t exactly go to plan.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Silas says with a wink.
I can’t help smiling back.
“But they set up that new life for you before… everything,” Calder says. “I think our first stop should be back to headquarters so you can hear all the details before making any decisions about whether you want to go along with their setup or try something different.”
“Like maybe join the Front yourself,” Taj says, elbowing me in the ribs. “You’ve proven yourself to be quite capable in a tight situation.”
I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to process what they’re saying. For the first time in my life, I get a choice about what I want to do. The world is before me. Even since my escape from Mona, nothing has been this open. I’ve been so focused on breaking the curse that I haven’t given too much thought about what I would do afterward.
“Yeah, I guess we should go check out the arrangements the Front made,” I say. “But I’m not sure I want to settle down somewhere secluded and cut off from people. I’ve spent too much of my life that way.”
“Well, not all people,” Taj says, squeezing my knee under the table.
“I’ll need to put in a call about Silas,” Calder says.
At his name, Silas’ back straightens. “What about me?”
Calder lifts a shoulder. “I’m just not sure what protocol they’ll want to use with you. I mean, we trust you, but you’re an unknown quantity to the Front. They may want to take precautions before just letting you show up at camp. I’m sure you understand.”
Silas’ eyebrows hike up his forehead. “No, I don’t understand.” His eyes dart to mine for a split second before flashing back to Calder. “I’m not sure when it is you think I signed up to join in with your merry band of do-gooders.”
Calder’s face pinches. “I just assumed…”
“What?” Silas asks. “That I’d want to be a fourth wheel to whatever threesome you’ve all got going on? No thanks.”
My heart twists in my chest. “Silas.”
He shakes his head. “Look. I’m glad we found the staff and Elowen broke our curse. And I know it’s not exactly my fault, but I’m sorry we all ended up cursed in the first place. But now that death isn’t breathing down my neck, I’m going to get on with my life. You know, until…”
He doesn’t say the rest, but I feel his words echoing in my soul. Until he’s bound again. Until his will is bent to that of another master. I may be free, but Silas never will be because of what he is.
Taj sighs. “Come on, mate. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
Silas wipes the corners of his mouth with the paper napkin by his plate before standing up. “Yeah. It does.”
Everything in me wants to follow him. To convince him that his life can be different and that we can figure out how together. But I know my words would only be empty promises. No matter how much I want him to stay with us—no matter how much he wants it—that future simply isn’t open to him.
But before he makes it more than a few steps, a female figure dressed in mud-splattered sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt two sizes too big slams into his shoulder.
“Excuse you,” Silas snarls.
The figure takes a step backward, bowing slightly. “I beg your pardon.”
The words send a flash of ice down my back. I’d know that voice anywhere. Even though the athleisure-wear clad person in front of me in no way lines up with the curve-hugging boss-lady dresses I’ve seen her in for years, there’s no mistaking who spoke.
Magic flares to life in my core and I’m already reaching out for nearby plant life to spring to my aid when the woman continues on her path to my table. She lifts her face, and although she doesn’t push back the hood to reveal her burgundy hair, several stray strands stick to the side of her face.
Taj slides along the bench, shoving me into the booth’s back wall. “Mona.”
Calder grabs a butter knife from the table, holding it like he plans to plunge it into the chest of the woman standing before him. “You’re not taking Bryn, you monster.” He keeps his voice low, and the continued murmur of voices surrounding us is enough to tell me that the diner’s other patrons have no idea that a dangerous crime lord just walked into their midst.
Silas hovers a few feet away, his eyes glued to the situation as it unfolds.
“I’m not here for Bryn,” Mona says, her gaze dropped to the table. “At least not in the way you think.” She raises her head until she’s staring straight at me. “I know I’m in no position to make a request like this, but things have changed since the raid on my compound. I need your help.”
I wish I was as well-armed as Calder with his butter knife, but the only thing near my grasp is a spoon. Rage courses through my veins, the likes of which rattles my insides that I’m capable of this much anger. That my body can contain it and not combust on sight. The flush of fury worries me, because I know it means she can affect me—even if it’s jus
t on an emotional level. I was certain those days were behind me. I need them to be behind me. Yet here she is, staring at me like… like…
Like she’s scared? Like she’s spent too many nights looking over her shoulder in the same way I’ve been looking over mine?
It makes no sense.
I worry I’m naïve when intrigue mingles with compassion, reminding me that perhaps some humane part of me has survived her cruelty after all. She hasn’t been able to strip that away from me, so I cling to it, knowing that Mona exists in my terror, not in my compassion.
I brush a hand down Calder’s back, willing my voice to remain steady. “All right, Mona. Tell me what’s got you so scared.”
Tears form in her eyes, shocking me into silence. “If you won’t help me, so much more than you can imagine will be destroyed. I need your help.”
Of course she asks for the one thing I can’t give her.
***
The Twin Rivers Captive trilogy continues with Rebel Witch.
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