Page 47 of Ravaged Devotion

“Let him stay,” Ellery suggested, clearly annoyed by the delay.

“He saw something,” Rue latched onto the help, deciding it was best to make it sound like he was doing them all a favor by not following. “Maybe we can get some answers.”

“If you go out there again,” Ryker pointed at Lenore, “she dies. You understand, Rue?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Despite his instant agreement, the Black Hart still seemed unmoved.

“Ryk,” Ellery firmed his tone. “Seriously, man.”

With another curse, Ryker turned on his heels and stormed out, leaving the three of them behind.

“Should we stay here?” Lenore asked, glancing at the door where something had just been banging. “What if it comes back and gets in?”

“Ryker wouldn’t have left me if he thought there was a chance of that,” Rue replied confidently, making his way over to Bowie.

“How can you be so sure?” Lenore frowned. “He left you in the middle of the woods just yesterday. And are you forgetting about how he’s been treating you these years? Whatever friendship you two shared in the past, it ended a long time ago.”

“You got him and he immediately went out looking for me, didn’t he? He hates me,” Rue confirmed, “but he doesn’t want me dead.”

Maybe it was arrogance that made him think that, but there was no part of Rue that didn’t.

The Black Hart was angry.

Up until last week, that hurt had stemmed from a belief that Rue had abandoned him in his greatest time of need. Ryker had a lot of friends, but his relationship with Rue and Ryder were always the strongest. In his mind, he’d lost them both on the same day. And he’d lost them because they’d both chosen to leave.

The game developers had insisted from the beginning that Ryder’s mind had fused with the game because he wanted to stay in it. Uriel had merely confirmed as much when he’d woken.

“He thinks I left because I never cared about him,” Rue divulged quietly, kneeling down next to Bowie’s side. “He’s hurt and lashing out.” But he’d never blame Ryker for it. “If anything, that’s an even bigger sign that he doesn’t want me dead.”

The Black Hart had scolded him for going out there in search of Bowie, but hadn’t seemed to realize how hypocritical he’d sounded.

The only reason Ryker had been out there was because he’d been looking for Rue.

That time they’d spent together in the dark, tangled up with one another, gazing at the stars or kissing between thorny rose bushes…that might not have been real, and Rue had had three years to come to terms with that. To accept the fact that he’d been with the wrong brother, and therefore hadn’t known them as well as he’d believed.

Being cocky had gotten him in trouble in the past, and yet here he was, banking it all on a feeling that he understood where the Black Hart was coming from.

“I know you think I’m crazy,” he said to Lenore, giving her a soft smile. “Maybe I am. Maybe a part of me has to believe he still cares deep down in order to function. Or maybe I’m right, and his fear of losing me, like he lost his brother, will keep him from doing something too rash.”

Lenore’s brow furrowed, but she seemed to drop it.

“Bowie,” Rue called out to him gently.

Their friend lifted his head at the sound of his name, eyes shifting between the two of them before landing on Rue. He was pale, still trembling slightly, and it took him more than a few tries before he could speak.

“There’s something out there,” Bowie whispered, voice raspy. “It’s not…normal.”

“What did you see?” Lenore turned to Rue when Bowie didn’t reply. “Ryker said there was a bear.”

“Not a bear.” Bowie shook his head vehemently. “Bears don’t…It was hissing. And its face…It wasn’t there.”

Rue had admittedly been spooked as well, and while he hadn’t gotten a good look at the things pursuing him, it was true that bears didn’t glow in the dark. “The eyes were glowing.”

“Yes!” Bowie nodded. “And its skin…it was falling off in patches.”

Lenore gasped and looked to Rue.