The Wanted

by Rory Miles

  “Dawn will want to see you. Please don’t go.”

  Thank fuck the door opened as soon as the plea left my mouth. Her sister rushed to the window, placing her palms on the ledge.

  “Amree!” Dawn whisper-shouted. “Come here.”

  “No.”

  It took a second, but confusion rippled over Dawn’s face, her smile falling when she realized what Amree had said.

  “No?” she parroted. “Amree, come here.”

  Her sister shook her head. “I’m tired of being told what to do. First Ube, then Maligna and now you. Everyone wants something from me. No one ever cares what I want.”

  Goddess above, this girl. Did she not realize we had risked everything to rescue her? What the hell was she thinking, going on about her woes at a time like this? I mean, yeah, she’d been physically abused—which sucks ass, don’t get me wrong—but we fucking saved her from the sadistic, cruel Maligna.

  She should be happy.

  Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose. “Amree. I don’t want anything from you. I just want you to be safe.”

  I held my breath, waiting for the fallout, because the way the girl inched back ever so slightly meant Amree planned to run.

  “Don’t,” Dawn pleaded, her voice breaking. “Please. You’re safe. No one will make you do anything you don’t want ever again.”

  Amree shook her head. “Maligna said the same thing.”

  Did she really just compare her sister to that bitch? Was her mind that warped?

  “I’m not her,” Dawn said, lifting her leg up to begin climbing out of the window.

  Her sister stumbled back, eyes widening. “Leave me alone. Just go.”

  “No, Amree. You’re confused. Come rest and we will talk about this later.”

  Amree’s spine stiffened. “I’m not confused,” she hissed the words. “You killed her, didn’t you?”

  Dawn blinked at her sister, her brow furrowing. Amree sounded upset about that.

  “If you come after me, I’ll tell everyone I see that you did it.” She pointed at Dawn, taking another step back. “You can’t come after me. They’ll suspect you instead. Promise me you won’t follow.”

  I understood what Amree wanted. She meant to take the fall for Maligna’s death, ending any investigations and manhunts that could lead the authorities back to Dawn.

  My eyes stung with unshed tears. After all she’d been through, Amree was the one who wanted to protect Dawn. To take the fall and let her sister go free.

  Dawn’s shoulders rocked with the sobs she held in. Her voice was thick with emotion when she spoke. “Amree. You don’t have to do this. We can keep you safe.”

  Amree smiled, a sad, unconvincing smile. “They’re in my mind,” she said, tapping the side of her forehead. “You can’t keep me safe from threats you can’t see.”

  I knew enough about deep magic to know that she’d be affected by the same sickness that plagued Daman. In time, Dawn would be haunted by that thing as well.

  Dawn let out one anguished cry when Amree turned and ran, blond hair blowing in the wind. She pulled away from the window, collapsing to her knees on the old wooden floor before lying down and curling into a ball.

  I sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder because I wasn’t good with tears, especially tears that were so sad and wet. Like the loss made the tears heavier.

  My heart ached for Dawn and Amree. The girl had been through hell. She never even had a chance to recover, never had a chance at a normal life. When the authorities caught her, which they would because she had no supplies, she’d be taken and executed within a few days.

  Aside from Mrs. Draper, I hadn’t experienced true loss. Losing my family to their pride wasn’t the same as watching them walk away and sacrifice themselves for me after they’d been utterly destroyed by deranged people.

  I let Dawn cry for a while, planning the trip back to the step-portal the second she pulled herself together because we still needed to leave. Better to get out of the sector before they closed the borders.

  Curse it all, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. We were supposed to save Amree, go back to the men and live happily ever after—well, ever after Daman’s impending attack. Provided we survived. My gut told me he was coming for the gate at some point, probably sooner rather than later. Even though Dawn felt like things couldn’t possibly be worse, I knew they were about to get much more devastating. Especially if we lost people in the fight.

  Fuck this year.

  A few days later, we arrived at the cave. Kace and Orval stood sentry at the entrance, leaning against the stone wall. They straightened when they saw us, greeting us with identical looks of surprise. Orval’s eyebrows drew down, glancing behind and around us, searching for someone who wouldn’t be there. His gaze snapped to Dawn’s. She rushed to him, lurching into his waiting arms and nestling her face against his neck.

  Kace stared at them for a moment, not understanding one bit. He jutted his chin in their direction when I sidled up to him.

  “What’s that about?”

  I placed a left hand on my hip, blowing a wisp of black hair out of my eyes.

  “Things didn’t go as planned.”

  Orval carried Dawn off, seeking privacy. She clung to the beast of a man, as though desperate for whatever comforts he could bring.

  Kace gave me a look. “The sister?”

  “She wasn’t up for being rescued.”

  He scoffed.

  I shrugged. “Things may have gotten a little bloody.”

  He spun, narrowing his eyes at me. “What happened.” The words were a demand, not a question.

  “We were right in the middle of convincing Amree to come with us, which wasn’t working at all, when Maligna just happened to pop in the room. A slight complication but we took care of it.”

  “Took care of it?” His eyebrows hit his hairline. “Tell me you didn’t kill a fucking monarch.”

  My lips pressed into a thin line.

  Air hissed between his teeth. “Winter, what the hell?”

  “I know, okay! Trust me, I know. But I didn’t have a choice.” I threw my hands up, pacing in front of him. “Amree was just so resistant. She wouldn’t listen. Maligna could control her with the deep magic, just like Daman.”

  He grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Where is the girl?”

  “She—” For a second I let the memories get the better of me, then I shook it off, looking in his eyes. “She went back. To take the blame or because she couldn’t fathom living a life without it consistently screwing her over—I don’t know. Either way, she’ll be caught and the rest you can guess.”

  “Winter?”

  I turned, smiling at Sloan. “Hey.”

  He smirked, pulling me into a big hug. “How did it go? Where’s Dawn? Is her sister all right?”

  The amount of faith the man had in me made my heart warm.

  Kace answered him. “It’s a long story. We should probably get the rest of the group.” He went in to retrieve the men, leaving me with Sloan.

  “I’m glad you’re back.” He brushed a kiss over my lips.

  “Me too,” I said, resting my head against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, his fingers tracing comforting circles over my back. For a moment I let myself relax into him, hiding in his warmth before having to retell the story for the rest of them. If only I could use magic to transfer the memories. If only things could be that easy. If only, if only. When did I become such an escapist?

  One thing I knew for certain? I couldn’t wait for all this bullshit to be over.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  After everyone was filled in, Sloan made an early dinner. Orval had returned with Dawn, the latter looking refreshed, or perhaps ravished. The pain from Amree’s sacrifice was still written all over her face, but with Orval next to her, she seemed okay given the circumstances. I didn’t see any madness in her eyes, so the deep magic hadn’t taken over her mind yet.

  Bron and Noah were on the
entrance guard shift. There hadn’t been time for any sort of reunion with them yet. Grabbing two plates, I headed out to see them. I wished there was time and space to spend with each of my men alone.

  Noah took the plate I offered, patting the boulder he sat on. Bron gripped the plate but didn’t take it from me, his gaze sweeping over my body in a deliberate, infuriating way that left me wanting privacy so I could show him how much I’d missed him. He smirked, eyes darkening with the same desires and promises of pleasure. Noah coughed, breaking the strange tension-building standoff the two of us were having.

  “When will you return to Forest City?” Noah asked when I sat next to him. His hazel-green eyes searched my face.

  “Tomorrow. Red’s probably ready for me to return.”

  He nodded, mouth pulling down.

  “We made some changes to the cottage.” Bron rested a leg against the side of the boulder I sat on.

  “What kind of changes?” I asked, worrying they’d painted the kitchen a horrid red color or something equally unappealing. I’d only been gone a week. They really should have waited for me before making any decor changes.

  Noah nudged me. “I promise it’s nothing bad, but we wanted it to be a surprise.” He gave Bron a look that said he wasn’t happy he’d spoiled the news.

  “She doesn’t know what changed. Just that there were changes.”

  Noah made a face. “But now it isn’t a surprise. Now she’s just worried we painted the kitchen puke green.”

  I laughed, nodding my agreement. “My first thought was red.”

  Bron’s annoyed look worried me.

  “I’m sure I’ll still be surprised by whatever you did,” I offered.

  He huffed out a breath, mumbling something about secrets being a waste of time.

  Noah finished his food, set the plate on ground and pulled me into an embrace. He kissed the top of my head, a tender gesture that made my heart swell. “I swear I’d never let them paint the house ugly colors.”

  Well, that eased some of my worry at least. Bron had been right: knowing there were changes didn’t ruin the surprise. If anything, I wanted to leave so I could go see what they’d gotten up to while I was gone.

  “Who did the work?”

  “Some friends of ours. They worked the whole time you were gone. They were supposed to finish today. I guess you will know if they got it done when you get home.”

  Having them refer to the cottage as my home still felt strange, but it didn’t make it any less true. I longed for the familiar comforts of the house almost as much as I’d missed them.

  Before we went to bed, Sloan and Shawn switched with Bron and Noah. My bedroll lay between Corban and Erik, a dangerous arrangement giving how handsy Corban was known to get, but I wasn’t going to complain. I kind of liked his hands. Both the men scooted their bedrolls closer to mine, so when I lay down I ended up sandwiched between them. Erik and I lay face to face, while Corban spooned me. He behaved himself for the most part, only letting his hands explore dangerous areas a few times before sighing and nestling close to me. Their breathing evened out, and I fell asleep smiling. It was good to be loved.

  Not long after drifting off, a startled shout woke me.

  Something was wrong.

  A soft cry of pain echoed down the tunnel and into the cave.

  Something was very, very wrong.

  Bron, awake as usual, beat me getting up. No one else stirred. There wasn’t time to wake them and explain so we rushed outside together, me following a step behind him.

  We burst out of the tunnel. Bron stopped abruptly. I ran into him, grunting but recovering my balance before I fell. When I straightened, I saw why he’d stopped. Shawn fought off two large men, both with vibrant purple eyes. Daman’s creations. A quick scan of the area revealed they were alone; he maintained control over these two from afar. Out of harm’s way.

  Prick.

  His minions, two overly buff men, were quickly overpowering Shawn, his regular magic no match for the vicious spells they weaved with deep magic. Sloan lay on the ground, blood pooling around him.

  A lot of blood.

  I shoved Bron, screaming at him to help Sloan while I ran to help Shawn. Lumi was the only way we stood a chance. A blast of purple power rushed at me. My beloved sapphire absorbed the power, and within seconds I countered their attacks, hitting them with all I had. They easily thwarted my efforts.

  “Grab some darts!”

  Shawn stopped weaving defensive spells, ducking under blasts of magic and ripping two darts from my thigh holster. The more their spells hit me the faster I worked, distracting both of them so Shawn could stab them with the darts. Daman, too thirsty for my pain, didn’t realize what was happening until too late.

  His control wavered when the darts started to take effect, his precious creations slowing as the venom worked into their bloodstreams. The one on the right screamed in frustration before collapsing to the ground, the glow in his eyes receding.

  “This isn’t over,” the other said before dropping to the ground.

  Shawn jammed a dagger into both of their hearts before I could reach them, his chest heaving with angry breaths. He tossed the bloodied weapon aside and ran to his brother.

  Bron’s healing power covered most of Sloan’s body. A multitude of wounds covered his torso and legs, probably the reason for the amount of blood I’d seen earlier. I let out a sigh of relief. Bron would fix him up.

  “It’s not working,” Bron growled, redoubling his efforts.

  Shawn ran a hand through his hair. “What do you mean it isn’t working?”

  “The wounds won’t close.” Bron glanced up at Shawn.

  “You aren’t doing it right!”

  “These wounds are different.”

  Shawn made a frustrated sound. “They’re wounds, for goddess sake. Fix the damn things.”

  “Shawn, he’s trying.”

  He glowered at me. “This is your fault.”

  What?

  I took a step back when he stood and walked over to me, pointing an accusatory finger.

  “You and your damaged past. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you.”

  My throat constricted. I knew it wasn’t true; regardless of meeting me, the men would still have been there, guarding the cave from people like Daman. Him blaming me hurt though, and before I could stop myself, I apologized.

  “It isn’t her fault.” Bron said, glancing at us before focusing on Sloan again.

  “Nothing ever is,” Shawn said, shaking his head in disgust. He turned, leaving me speechless and staring after him. He fell to the ground by Sloan, checking his pulse. Color faded from his face.

  “I can’t feel anything.”

  Bron paused, checking Sloan’s pulse. “No. I just felt it, he was here.”

  My heart fell to the pit of my stomach. It couldn’t be. I rushed over, kneeling next to Shawn. The wounds were made with deep magic, so maybe the same power could heal them.

  Shawn smacked Sloan’s face. “Wake up.” Sloan’s slackened face wrenched to the side when Shawn smacked him again. “Wake up, you bastard. Wake up!” Gripping his shoulders next, he shook his brother.

  Bron reeled, scooting back with his hands and feet before collapsing to the ground, covering his face with his hands.

  “Move!” I shouted at Shawn, shoving him away from his twin. “I need space.”

  Bron grabbed Shawn before he could push me back, locking him in a hold. Shawn panted like a wild man. He bared his teeth at me as he struggled against Bron.

  “LET ME GO,” Shawn roared.

  “Hurry,” Bron’s voice was strained. “I can’t hold him for long.”

  “Okay, I can do this.” My left hand shook, hovering over Sloan’s chest while my right clasped Lumi.

  Focusing on the connection, breathing in once and releasing the air, the sinister power tingled up my arm. Grimacing, I fought to control it, feeling the deep magic’s desire for destruction. Instead, I thre
aded healing intentions into the power. Ninety percent of magic’s power came from intentions. Not knowing how much I’d be able to impress upon the magic, I shoved every bit of hope and love I had into it.

  The violet power spiraled from my hand and over the largest wound on his stomach, knitting the skin and muscle back together.

  “I only have enough to heal the major wounds.”

  “That’s all that matters. We can worry about the rest later,” Bron said.

  The spell wavered on the last stich of the second injury. Taking a deep breath, I added an extra dose of intention, remembering how Sloan had taught me to cook. The way a smile transformed his face. Using remnants of the power, I centered my hand over his heart and shot a jolt of magic at his chest. We waited with bated breaths. Shawn had stopped struggling against Bron, eyes riveted on his twin.

  When Sloan’s chest rose, I choked on my tears and a cry of joy sprang from my mouth.

  Bron let Shawn go and he ran to his brother, pressing his ear to his chest. “He’s alive!”

  “Goddess, what the fuck happened?” Corban asked.

  I glanced over at him and the others who had joined us at some point after the fight. How much had they seen?

  “He’s alive!” Shawn said again, disbelieving eyes meeting mine. “She did it. She saved him.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Bron was checking over Sloan’s other injuries, which still didn’t respond to his magic. I’d fixed Sloan’s life-threatening wounds, but he’d lost a lot of blood. He’d need to see a real doctor. Shawn wouldn’t move out of Bron’s way, insisting he sit nearly on top of Sloan. We’d nearly lost him and I could tell his brother was going to have a hard time letting him out of his sight for a while.

  Where the hell was the goddess? Had she planned on letting him die? After making him one of her guardians? Anger bubbled beneath my skin. She could have saved him. Her magic would have been powerful enough. What the fuck did we owe her if she wouldn’t come to help one of her guardians?

  Fuck the gate. She could save her precious world without our help. Surely the men would agree with me. They’d almost lost a brother.