I didn’t know what this bond was I shared with Ellery or why we were so connected, but I sensed her out there. She was alive, and Iwouldget to her.
Tucker looked to the trees again. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, if I don’t return, you must lead the rebellion.”
“If you don’t come back, thereisno rebellion.”
“Yes, there is. They respect and follow you. You’ll lose our lightning, but you’ll keep the fires of their vengeance alive.”
Tucker bit his bottom lip as he glanced from me to the forest and back again. “Wealwaysstick together.”
“Not this time. This time, I have to go alone.”
“No,” Ianto said. “I’m coming with you.”
“No,” Callan said as he pushed past the giant. “Everyone here looks up to you too and will follow you. I’m a nobody here. I’ll go with you.”
“What? No!” Luna cried.
Callan ignored her as he stared at me, his chin raised and determination etched onto his features. Maybe, at one time, Callan had feelings for Ellery or, at the very least, would have slept with her if given the chance, but he knew he’d never have that chance now.
He wasn’t doing this to get laid; he had offered himself because he considered Ellery a friend and someone worth fighting for. She’d managed to earn a lot of loyalty in a little amount of time.
I studied the young minstrel before shaking my head. “There’s no reason to risk you too. They’ll need every fighter they can get if Ellery and I don’t return.”
Callan opened his mouth to protest further, but Luna stepped forward and grasped his arm. When he looked down at her pleading face, some of his stubbornness faded and his shoulders slumped.
“Are you going to walk out there and let them eat you too?” Ianto asked me.
“That’s the plan.”
It was a worse plan than trying to rescue the rebels, but it was the only one I had. Because, no matter what, I would get her back.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Ryker
“I’ve seen these trees before.”A man from the back pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He was one of the new additions Farley had helped us find. “I’ve walked through them before without anything happening.”
“Are you sure?” I inquired.
“Yes. I’ve been through here many times before.” He pointed at the clump of rocks. “I recognize them, and these trees, even in the Revenant Woods, are unusual. Are you sure the poltergeist isn’t playing a joke on us? We all know how they are.”
Farley puffed up as much as a poltergeist could and zipped over to hover in front of the man. “And justhoware we?”
“You’re a bunch of assholes who like to fuck with anyone who enters these woods.”
I couldn’t argue with the man’s assessment of them.
Farley waved a transparent finger at the man. “This asshole saved your life by showing them to your encampment. And I wouldn’t lie about something like this when it comes to Lery. She’s my friend.”
“Poltergeists don’t have friends.”
“That’s enough,” I interrupted. “They’ve been helping us build an army, and Farley led you to us. They may like to fuck with immortals, but they’re on our side in this, and I believe him.”
Ineverwould have believed I’d ever side with a poltergeist or defend them over anything, but I’d learned there were many things I’d never see coming in this realm or others. Defending Farley was one of those things.
Glancing back at the trees, I pondered the man’s words. “Has anyone else walked beneath these trees without anything happening?”
