Her thoughts turned sticky with exhaustion and the pains she suffered bled into me thanks to the bond.
I did my best to lock down my own sufferings, not willing to make her suffer with me, but the longer we shuffled in silence, the harder I raged at the unfairness.
We’d won.
The dreams I’d nursed while I was imprisoned in Cinderkeep had finally been realised. Every single man and woman who’d betrayed my family, enslaved me, and tortured untold numbers of people were dead.
Yet all I felt was fury because...I was running out of time.
Time that I’d cursed and wished to end while I’d been trapped, yet now I wanted to get on my knees and beg for it to give me just a few more years with her.
I didn’t want to lose her.
Icouldn’t.
My ears rang.
Tapping my temple, I tried to shake the sound out.
If my hearing was starting to fail...what then?
Would my eyesight be next? Would my senses slowly dissolve until my skin broke apart just like Rook’s on the mountain?
“It’s not just you,” Rook said with a brave smile. “Mine areringing too.”
“That doesn’t give me any relief, you know.” I frowned and rubbed my ear. “If we’re both breaking down, then—”
A loud mechanical growl cut me off as multiple vehicles shot around the bend up ahead. Black paint and headlights cut through the dappled sun from the thick oak trees, aiming right for us like hunting hounds.
“Shit.” Grabbing Rook around the waist, I leapt off the narrow road and landed on the tiny verge just as the convoy zoomed past, narrowly missing us.
I gave them the finger as their red taillights arrowed down the road, only for the lead vehicle to slam on its brakes. One by one, the rest of the cars all screeched to a halt, the snarling engines loud in the hazy morning.
A man launched himself from the front 4WD. With a curse, he sprinted straight for Rook.
I stepped in front of her, shielding her, but he just shoved me aside, grabbed my reason for living, and hauled her into his arms. “Rook.”
Crushing her to his black-vested chest, he shuddered with a hoarse sigh. “Fuck’s sake, Elara Snowflake. I’m getting far too old for this shit.” He rocked her as if she was a runaway child. “This is the last time, do you hear me? You leave me again, and I’m chaining you to me for life.”
Rook shot me a look in the embrace of another man’s arms.
The bond hissed with possessiveness.
Wrong. Not permitted. A killable offence.
But I did my best to behumanand didn’t move.
Rook was right. Dillon had come. Shot and hurt...he’d come for us.
The least I could do was not murder him.
Thank you. Rook’s soft voice echoed in my mind just before she slung her arms around her bodyguard and squished him back. “Hi, Dil.”
“Don’t you dare ‘Hi Dil’ me.” Dillon pulled away, wrapping his big hands around her shoulders. Turning her left and right, he inspected the filthy nightgown she hadn’t replaced since we’d left Ashfall Cliff. “Are you in one piece? What happened? What are you doing out here? I envisioned arriving and shooting a bunch of bastards.” His eyes tightened. “I really,reallywant to shoot some bastards. Tell me you left me some to make an example of.”
Rook chuckled and pushed him away. “Lucien ensured they’renothing more than a pile of ash, I’m afraid.”
Dillon’s bright blue eyes met mine. He studied me for a long moment, and a silent war of testosterone ensued before he bowed his chin in respect. “Thank you for keeping her safe. Thank you for protecting her when I couldn’t.”
