Everyone leaned a little closer as they watched more intently. Ryker rested his hand on Tucker’s arm; his gaze remained riveted on his friend.
The moons had risen, night had descended, and the woods were alive with the creatures hunting in them, but no one had given up their vigil for Tucker. When his other hand started twitching, an excited murmur ran through the crowd.
Ianto pointed a finger at Tucker’s feet when one of them jerked. It had taken him almost a day to break free of the paralyzing poison, but now that he was, it was fading fast from his body as his arms spasmed on the ground.
Tucker’s mouth parted, and he inhaled a sharp breath before releasing a groaned, “Fuck.”
The beautiful smile that lit Ryker’s face warmed my heart, and I threw my arms around him. He hugged me as Tucker’s arms shot up before hitting the ground.
Releasing Ryker, I sat back as the different parts of Tucker continued to awaken. After another ten minutes, and with some help, Tucker could sit up.
Ryker kept his hand firmly on Tucker’s upper back as his hands jittered across the ground and sweat beaded his forehead. Tucker inhaled deeply as his heels thrashed.
He grimaced and glared at them but had no control of the spastic movements as his body kept jerking in different directions. Someone brought him some water, and Ryker held it while he drank and wiped away what spilled down Tucker’s front.
After nearly another hour, Tucker gained control of the twitches and leaned forward until his head almost touched his knees. “Holy shit. That sucked.”
“We’re glad to have you back,” Ryker said.
Tucker squeezed his arm as a woman came forth with a cup of ale and a plate of bread and cheese. She set them on the ground near Tucker; he dove eagerly into the offering.
After another hour, the amsirah started dispersing, as exhaustion finally outweighed their joy. Ryker, Ianto, and I sat with Tucker for another hour as Farley bobbed in and out of the woods, coming and going at different intervals. Eventually, he wandered out and didn’t return.
I had no idea what time it was when Tucker rose, but the animals had settled in for the remainder of the night.
“It’s time for some rest,” Tucker said. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“Always,” Ryker said as he stood.
He and Tucker clasped hands before Tucker walked away with Ianto toward his treehouse. Ryker held his hand out to me. When I took it, he pulled me to my feet.
“Do you want to stay here tonight or return to your manor?” he asked.
I thought of Gaius in my house, most likely touching my things, and squashed a shudder. “Here.”
He kissed my forehead. “Okay. I have to gather some clothes and wash up first.”
Oh, how badly I wanted to go to that treehouse, crawl into bed, and sleep. Nothing had ever sounded better.
As we headed toward the treehouse, I told myself I could fill him in on Gaius tomorrow. He’d been through enough today; Tucker was awake, but the strain of what happened still etched the corners of Ryker’s mouth and eyes.
It would be better in the morning, but I wouldn’t sleep with this knowledge weighing on me. And that would be fine as long as Ryker did.
However, I knew the morning would bring more doubt. I had to tell him; there was no avoiding it, but if I waited… well, if I waited, it would become easier to keep doing so.
I didn’t try to lie to myself by denying it. If I convinced myself it was okay to wait until tomorrow morning, then it would be easy to tell myself I could wait until tomorrow afternoon or the following day.
I could convince myself of anything if it meant not having this conversation, but we’d vowed no more secrets. While I could say this wasn’t something Rykerneededto know, he did.
Gaius was now the head of Ivan’s guard. Yes, Ryker would eventually learn that from someone else, but it was a dangerous detail to omit, and I couldn’t put him in jeopardy.
No matter how hard I tried to think of a reason why I shouldn’t tell him, the only one I had was my fear he’d go after Gaius before I could stop him. While it was possible, I could make him promise not to do anything rash before telling him anything.
I dreaded every second of what was to come, but I couldn’t put it off, and I couldn’t keep it a secret when I’d promised not to hide things from him again. He was going to be irate, but if he found out I’d lied, it would be over between us. I couldn’t risk it.
When we arrived at the treehouse, he gestured for me to go up first. “No, I’ll go with you to the river,” I said.
He frowned before climbing the ladder to his residence. Though the night remained warm, I rubbed at the goose bumps forming on my arms as I surveyed the encampment.
