Tucker tore off a piece of his shirt and wiped away the blood sliding down my cheek.“It’s already healing,” he assured me.“Keep my shirt against it until the bleeding stops.”
I did as he said while, nearly on his hands and knees, Ryker returned to the front.He pulled me into his arms and, once again, turned me away from the storm.
This time, it was a lot harder to ignore the enticing scent of the buxon as my cramped stomach begged for something to fill it.My mouth watered to the point where I feared I’d start drooling.
Closing my eyes, I willed myself to go to sleep and eventually did.When I woke again, it was to silence.
I opened my eyes, but the darkness enshrouding me made it impossible to see.Twisting in Ryker’s arms, I turned away from the back of the cave and looked out at the night.
No stars or moons speckled the sky, meaning clouds still obscured it, but wind no longer lashed the land, and lightning had ceased streaking the sky.
“It’s over,” I whispered.
Ryker squeezed me.“We’ll go home in the morning.”
I burrowed closer to him.“I’m already home.”
He kissed the top of my head before I fell back asleep.
CHAPTEREIGHTY-TWO
Ellery
The next morning,the descent down the hill was difficult for us as our legs were cramped from being crammed into the alcove for days on end.There were a few falls, and Ianto, Tucker, Callan, and Ryker carried some of the children down.It took time, but we made it to the bottom.
Once there, Tucker turned to the woman I’d come to know as Val.“If you intend to return to your village, it’s best if we say goodbye here.”
“My family is still there,” she said.“I have to return.”
“Then you can’t know the exact location of where we are.”
She bowed her head.“Understandable.”
“If others want to join us, bring them,” Ryker said.
“I will.And there will be others; it’s not safe for us anymore.Take care of yourselves and take care of them.”
She waved a hand at the women and children she’d brought to us.
“We will,” Ianto promised.
With that, Val opened a portal and left.
“I’ll take us home,” Tucker said.
He opened another portal, and we walked through it to the encampment.Once we stepped from the opening and into the clearing, my heart sank.
The storm had caused a fair amount of damage.Some of the tree houses had toppled after tree limbs were struck by lightning.The shattered remains lay scattered across the ground.
The chicken coop was gone; I had no idea where the chickens were, but I hoped we could find them again.We’d need them now more than ever with the children here.
The barn had sustained some damage, mostly on the roof.Most of the paddock fences had blown over, but the animals remained securely locked inside the structure, as evidenced by the cries coming from within.
It would take a lot of work to rebuild, and I was too hungry and damp to think about it now.It would get done.
Ryker walked away and returned with a pouch full of jerky; he handed it to me.“Eat something.”
“You’re not eating,” I pointed out.
