by J. Kearston
Just like the Gauntlet; you have to pass through one obstacle before you can move on the other. My family is the finish line and now it’s up to me to survive long enough to get there. And if there’s one thing that’s a damn fact? It’s that Ezra Veles doesn’t fucking lose.
“You’re the one that wants to mate me, so what’s that say about you?”
I see his lips curl into a smile in the mirror, feeling a little better. We drive as far away from the feuding cities as possible as we all remain lost in thought. I can only imagine how the guys are struggling, escaping a war torn country just to be thrown back into a similar situation. It must feel suffocating, like they’ll never be free no matter how far they run.
I slap my hand on the back of Soren’s seat rapidly. “Pull over!”
Cai doesn’t question me, just immediately slams on the breaks as we narrowly avoid getting rear ended. When the car comes to a stop, I unbuckle, leaning forward between the seats.
“We’re blocked in.” I raise a finger to point at one of the cars parked near the sign marking the city limits. “Ren, look familiar?”
He curses as he recognizes Vince’s car. The guy may be dead, but someone obviously felt fine repossessing a dead man’s car days after his death. It doesn’t take a genius to assume it’s someone we don’t want to cross paths with.
“The forest, come on.” Yri practically shoves me out of the car and we each sling our backpacks on before breaking into a sprint.
I hear car doors slam, but don’t waste time confirming how many people are chasing us. I’ve only briefly explored the woods surrounding the city, not nearly familiar enough with them to be confident. When I hear the first gunshot, I put on an extra burst of speed, weaving between the trunks.
“Do you trust me?” Yri huffs, voice hard.
“More than the guys behind us, for sure,” I reply flippantly, barely winded yet.
He makes a series of hand signals to the others and I have a brief stab of being left out, but it’s not the time for that. Something tells me that it won’t take long for me to catch on at this rate.
Soren pulls ahead and spins as he comes to a stop, bending his knees and locking his fingers together in a familiar pose. I don’t hesitate, taking a running leap and putting my foot in his hands. He gives me an extra boost and I grab the first branch I can reach, pulling my legs up. There’s a massive flash of light and a bang before I can even pivot.
When I look down to try and get a sign for what he wants me to do next, Soren and Cai are pressed flat on the ground face down. Vyrian is a blur of motion, his bow drawn and firing off five shots in rapid succession without a single moment of hesitation.
By the time Cai and Soren are getting to their feet, Vyrian is already swinging it back over his shoulder, headed over towards me. “How’s the view up there, angel?”
I drop, landing in a crouch. “And you guys call me a savage. Your aim is something else.”
He preens. “And I haven’t even shown you all it can do yet,” he winks.
He finally got the custom commissioned bow he ordered, but we hadn’t had a chance yet with everything going on to test it out. His skill is certainly there, but I’m not sure what makes this bow any different from another, and he refuses to tell me.
“So Yri’s some type of forest demon; good to know.”
We start walking at a brisk pace, weaving through the forest that seems to go on forever. I’ve never left Hadeon, and the guys aren’t from around here, so I only have the map Kinsley tucked in my bag to guide us. Surprise, surprise, the forest is marked with some trees. The only landmark around us? More trees. I’m not even sure if we’re going in the right direction.
“They couldn’t even draw an ‘x’ to mark the spot,” I snort, looking at the scribble that points out the sanctuary, a hastily scrawled dick with wings and a face I’m assuming is supposed to be a dragon. Kinsley is many things, but serious sure isn’t one of them.
“All we can do is keep going until we get out and then search for landmarks,” Cai shrugs.
We press on, eventually finding ourselves about ten miles away from where we thought we were. Choosing to stay just inside the tree line to conceal us a bit, we walk until we’re back on track. Between here and the next city is a massive expanse of farmland, the crops in the fields growing tall enough to hide even Soren.
“How far until the sanctuary?” I ask again, hoping that it’s changed since the last three times I asked.
Yri rolls his shoulders as we look down the small hill to the first field. “A little over a hundred miles from here if no detours so if we hustle, we still have two or three days of walking ahead of us.”
“No time to waste then,” I sigh.
I don’t mind exercise, obviously. But there’s a difference between trekking day and night and sprinting an obstacle course or training with adrenaline flooding your system.
Despite the fact that we could take a bus for part of it, everyone agreed better trying to stay as off the grid as possible. The people out here don’t owe me any loyalty and will likely try to challenge the guys’ claim since we haven’t actually completed the ritual. Add in my impending heat like a ticking time bomb, and it just sounds like a recipe for disaster.
For now, we stay at the edge of the fields on the opposite side of the road, as far away from the houses as possible. It’s not foolproof, but if we were to try and fight our way through the crops the entire way, we’d never get anywhere. We only see a few stray men and are able to avoid them without incident, ducking into the fields for a bit until they move on.
“So, you know nearly everything about me, but I only know bits and pieces about you guys. Might as well use this as an excuse to share all our dark, dirty secrets since we don’t have anything better to do for a while,” I offer, trying to fill the silence.
“What do you want to know, angel?” Yri asks, eyes constantly assessing the surrounding area despite his easy demeanor.
I contemplate, figuring we may as well start out with something lighthearted. “Favorite color?”
“Red,” he responds instantly, making me snort.
“You’re such a suck up.”
He shrugs, unapologetic. “Sounds like you already know me then,” he teases.
I smile. It’s always so easy with Vyrian, and I adore that, but I know it won’t be that way forever. So I decide to press a little more and that’s when he caves and tells me about his family, the circumstances surrounding his arrival to this country. My heart absolutely breaks for the man, but especially for his little sister who felt death was a better fate than whatever lied waiting for her. I have a new appreciation for the triplets overbearing nature and doomsday prepping now, but I stuff those feelings into the ‘tomorrow Ezra’s problem’ box before they can choke me up.
Soren mostly spent his time on his own seeing as he had no siblings and his fathers took the death of his mother so hard. He ended up friends with Vyrian and Caius in school and just never left their side since. When shit hit the fan, he didn’t have any regrets leaving his home behind to stay with them.
Cai stayed quiet the entire time, and when Soren tapers off, the silence is more noticeable. I don’t ask, knowing he’ll talk if he wants, and that if he doesn’t, there’s a good reason. We walk on another ten minutes before he cracks.
“You tell anyone, I’ll deny it,” he snaps, sounding agitated. I just raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to collect himself. “The others didn’t mention it, but mine and Vyrian’s fathers made us fight in the original counter attack after the human uprising when we were teenagers. It’s where we learned to fight and then we taught Soren when we came back. It was...it was a bloodbath.”
He takes a breath to steady himself, keeping his eyes straight ahead, looking at something only he can see. “When it was all over, only two of my fathers and I were left from our family. They were hurt, pissed, and took it out on me. They weren’t good men before it happened, but they were monsters afterward
.”
He finally turns to look at me and I see a pain in his bright blue eyes that I wish I could take away. “They spent most of my life beating the shit out of me, so when we were cutting our way out of Omisha, it was the perfect excuse to kill them too.”
His voice is so raw, all hard edges and pain. He just stares at me as if waiting for me to damn him for it, bracing himself for another blow to come his way when he’s already dealt with so many in his life.
“Cool, less in-laws to meet in the future then.”
I skip on, letting him see how absolutely unfazed I am at his words. Sure, I want to burn the shit out of the men that hurt him, but he doesn’t need me to protect him. He needs someone to show him it’s okay to forgive himself and be there for him until he can get to that point. He needs people to lean on and love him, because he hasn’t had nearly enough in his life.
“How can you just skip off like it's fine? Like you didn’t just hear you’re tying yourself to someone that’s fucked up?” he spits, and I’m glad.
I’m glad he’s getting it all out. Let his anger burn away every last bit of pain so it can be replaced by something better.
“As you so frequently point out, I’m a bit of a psycho myself. You killed people that hurt you, that deserved it. Me? I’ve let people die so I could win a race.” I shrug. “Really, you’re the one that should be running away screaming. I use corpses like step stools, so forgive me if I don’t care that some abusive assholes died.”
I stop walking after a minute when I get the sense that they aren’t following me. I look over my shoulder; Cai’s wearing an inscrutable expression, Soren has a soft smile, and Yri has a broad grin that reaches all the way to his dark, red eyes.
“Called it; pay up.” Yri holds his palm out and Soren drops a ten dollar bill in it.
“Called what?” I fully turn to face them now, confused.
Soren elaborates, “When Cai started talking, Yri and I made bets over how you’d react. I bet that you’d accept it easily, but end up kissing him.”
Yri chimes in, “And I bet that you’d throw your own body count back in his face.” He tucks the money in his pocket, adjusts his bag, and approaches me with an extra pep in his step, kissing me quickly. “I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were perfect for us, angel.”
Cai is still staring like he can’t make heads or tails of me. “Coming or what, newblood?” I taunt, winking at him. “Or just going to stare at my ass all day?”
He shakes his head, an amused breath slipping out as he shakes off his confusion and gets back to walking. “I’m going to go for both; I’m a why choose kind of man.”
I snicker, falling into step with Yri, Soren and Cai at my back. “I’m a why choose kind of gal, myself. Looks like we’ll get along famously.”
***
Holy fuck I’m dying.
“Holy fates, why do I feel like I’m in Hell?”
As soon as the words are out, I realize with horror that I’m hot. Hot. Heat doesn’t bother me; never has. But whatever that asshole injected me with still hasn’t worn off and now, surrounded by a pile of bodies, my skin feels like it’s going to melt off.
I clamber out from the dragon pile, unzipping the tiny tent and get blasted with fresh air. I take several deep breaths, feeling immensely better physically, but emotionally? I’m terrified.
What if Soren’s theory is wrong and I never get my abilities back? What if it prevents me from shifting? What if I can, but I have no fire? Wouldn’t that be some shit.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Yri jokes, climbing out of the tent to stand beside me. “Everything okay?”
I almost say fine, just pretend that everything’s okay for simplicity’s sake. I know that voicing my worries won’t do a lick of good and that they aren’t anything the others haven’t already thought of. But I don’t, figuring maybe if I voice them out into the world, prove they’re real, they’ll become a living entity I can slay and move on.
Vyrian sits down in the grass, leaning back on his hands and gazing up at the evening sky, dawn still too far on the horizon to illuminate much. “And if so, then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
I love that for once, someone’s acknowledging the possibility instead of just pretending everything will work out. I sit down beside him, adopting an identical pose.
“What if it sabotaged however the ritual works and none of us shift, even you guys?”
“Can’t really miss what you’ve never had, angel,” he states so easily. “Would it be awesome if it happened? Heck yeah. Will it ruin our lives if it doesn’t?” He turns to face me, his eyes bleeding sincerity. “Absolutely not. We never expected to find a mate in our lives, Ezra. And we’re here for you, not for the power boost.”
I flop onto my back, folding my arms beneath my head and looking up at the sky that’s spent twenty-three years taunting me. “Still.”
He chuckles, lying down beside me. “Still.”
We stay out there the rest of the night, dozing and waiting for the others to wake up. It’s only a few hours, but I get better sleep than before; less weighted down with concerns. Absolutely nothing changed and nothing was resolved, but I’m able to breathe easier.
“It really just doesn’t make any sense,” Cai argues as we curve around the outskirts of the next town. “Dragons are drawn to heat.”
“At least it makes sense why you’re all drawn to me then,” I tease. “But honestly, if I don’t get my heat resistance back soon, I’m going to go nuts. How do you guys deal with it?”
Yri taps a finger on his lips, contemplating. “Your blood is obviously made of lava.”
I choke on my own spit laughing. “You’re right, it’s the only logical explanation.”
I can practically hear Soren’s eyes rolling in his head. “I swear, no one paid attention in biology and health science. Fire dragons are warm blooded, they don’t have the same hang ups as the other three types. She’s not any hotter than usual, she’s just not used to sleeping with other people.”
I gasp, hand fluttering to my chest in indignation. “You calling me a whiner?”
Ren shrugs a single shoulder, smirking. “Just stating facts; interpret them however you like.”
Something catches out of the corner of my eye and I have my gun drawn in two seconds flat. I don’t immediately fire, because not everyone in existence is my enemy. Self-defense is one thing, but murder sprees should be saved for when I can fly away; jail is still definitely a thing, even if I’m a girl.
The man raises his hands in alarm. “Fuck, just take my wallet, no need to shoot!”
I hesitate and Soren shakes his head, releasing an amused breath and putting a hand on top of my gun to force me to drop my stance. “You wear your thoughts more blatantly than Yri.”
I tuck the gun back into my ankle holster, not disputing. “I’m working on it, to be fair.”
Cai shoos the man away and he bolts, not looking a gift horse in the mouth. “Were you seriously going to rob that poor bastard?”
I adjust the strap on my backpack as we walk faster, assuming the guy is going to report us to someone. “What do I look like, a monster?”
“That’s not an answer,” Vyrian helpfully points out and I flip him off.
Cai snorts. “It’s official; you may be Yri’s angel, but you’re my psycho.”
I don’t think he actually knows how to give an insult.
“No need to make me swoon, damn. Trying to flee for my life here.”
He rolls his eyes as we carry on for a few more hours, forcing ourselves to arrive on the outskirts of the next town before slowing just in case the man I probably wouldn’t have actually robbed made a report to the police. By now, we’ve burned through the food we’ve brought with us and are all starving.
“I’ll go,” Cai offers, passing us his backpack. “You three stay out of sight and I’ll bring stuff back.”
I don’t bother contradicting, because I know it’s the
smartest move. Despite the fact that I hate sitting around and hiding, relying on others to do things for me, it would put all of us in more danger if I insisted on going with. We were already having issues with my pheromone problem, and supposedly now it’s only going to get worse. I don’t know anyone in this town or what kind of motives they might have.
Ignorance really is bliss and I took it for granted.
We agree that the three of us will wait in the dilapidated barn at the edge of the field, since even staying on the outskirts of the city means people can see us from their windows if they’re looking. We split up, even though I hate it, and make our way through the abandoned field.
The land here is withered and dead, making it clear that no one lives on or tends the property currently. Still, we avoid the house out of an abundance of caution. This isn’t some apocalyptic movie where you can kill anything that moves with no repercussions; not yet anyway. Sure, plenty of violence is overlooked, otherwise the police would never be able to sleep, but there are still limits. We already have enough to worry about without adding another group to the mix if we can avoid it.
The wood is a pale grey mottled with green from all of the rot and it’s riddled with gaps where chunks have fallen down. We make our way in, and despite wanting to sit, I’m leery of whatever might be hiding in the hay bales. We end up using our feet to sweep a space clear in the middle and shake out a tarp before sitting down.
“No way we won’t get tetanus or rabies from this place,” Soren states in distaste, eyes roving the area as he waits for something to pounce.
A laugh bubbles up in my throat, acknowledging how ridiculous we must look huddled together on the floor like this. “Cai’s definitely going to get attacked bringing food in here,” I agree.
By the time Cai comes back, the three of us have relaxed enough that we’re lying on our stomachs, the side pocket of my backpack dumped out in the center as we organize and separate.
“You forget you’re being hunted?” I look up to see Cai rolling his eyes as he walks into the barn.