“I didn’t tell them anything,” he coughed. “I didn’t betray you. I swear. They took her. They took Selma. I didn’t have a choice.”
My throat closed.
“You had a choice,” Will said. “And you made it.”
Aran snapped his gaze toward me. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing for her!”
Will turned too, eyes locking on mine.
I looked between them—Will with blood still dripping from his knuckles, Aran broken in the dirt, and me standing in the middle, flames still flickering across my skin.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” I blurted. “Or how. Or why.”
The fire dimmed, curling back into me, my palms burning from the inside.
“You want forgiveness, Aran? Then earn it,” I said. ”I can’t go back. So, if you two could try not to kill each other, because I need your help.”
Aran spat blood into the dirt, then gave a faint nod.
“We’ll sleep in shifts,” I told them. “No more inns. Not after this. We stay in the woods.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, soft but firm. “But I do.”
He stared at me for a second too long. “What about the horses?”
I shook my head. “I’ll walk.” My throat burned. “I’m not hurting anyone else.”
Aran groaned behind us, clutching his ribs as he tried to sit up straighter. “Can you heal me first?” he asked through gritted teeth. “This really fucking hurts.”
“No.” I didn’t even look at him. He could live with it, and part of me still thought he deserved it.
Will spat onto the dirt, jaw tight. “Serves you right,” he said. Then he turned toward me, and his eyes found mine.
“Why did you run?”
I held his gaze, even though it hurt. “I saw the way you looked at me.”
“It’s a fucking lot to process,” he muttered. The words barely landed before the world tilted under me. My knees buckled, the ground giving way beneath me. I reached out without thinking, fingers grasping for anything to hold on to. My hand caught Will’s arm, and he steadied me before I collapsed. His other hand came up, hovering at my elbow like he wasn’t sure if I’d pull away.
I’d burned too hot. Too fast. The fire had taken everything and left me burnt out.
And gods, I was tired.
So tired.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Aran quickly found a hunting trail in the woods and told us we should stick to it, to avoid robbers or vultures on the main road. I never knew much about his life—really, or about him—but it seemed so obvious by the way he moved through the forest. He’d spent a lot of time out there, probably with his father and brothers. He seemed like the kind of man who’d enjoy hunting. The quiet. The control. The chase.
“There’s a lot of these tracks around Novil too. These look really similar. If I’m right, there should be some huts along this trail. Hopefully some water too. I’m almost out,” he said, holding up his waterskin and taking a sip.
Between the two of us, Aran and I probably had enough survival skills to get by.Just stay warm,my father used to say.Stay warm and fed, and you’ll be fine.
Staying warm shouldn’t be a problem anymore.
“Huts?” Will asked. “You mean those nasty old sheds?”
I could see on his face how badly he’d rather sleep at an inn again.
