Page 105 of Ravenrose

Ayer’s jaw tightens.

“If you think you were the better choice, I think you may have taken one too many hits to the head, Captain.”

He’s silent for a beat, considering me. “And so then what? Say you survived your brazen water escape, only to find yourself alone in the Wyldewood? How did you plan to defend yourself against all the monsters that go bump in the night?”

I open my mouth only to shut it quickly. My lips press into a thin line. It was a split-second decision. I didn’t exactly think everything through. In truth, I just planned on drowning.

Ayer’s words remind me of the threat the woods hold, and I break our gaze to glance warily at the dark tree line up ahead.

As if reading my mind, Ayer just shakes his head, turning away from me to climb up the embankment toward the forest.

I’m frozen—uncertain whether I’m supposed to follow.

A howl cuts through the night, somewhere far in the distance, but it’s enough to send me scurrying after him.

As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not getting very far without him.

“Hurry up!” he calls out, without sparing a glance back to check if I’m even following.

His gruff tone and air of authority grate against my already bruised ego as I trudge out of the thick muddy bank of the river, wincing as my sore muscles and battered body protests every step.

Ayer disappears into the trees.

I stop at the tree line, gritting my teeth before following in after him.

Should’ve let him drown.

Chapter 46

ROWAN

The full moon above gives the forest an eerie, silvery glow that I admit might be worse than darkness.

At least in the dark, the shadows don’t move. The shadows tonight refuse to stay still, shifting with every breeze until I can’t tell what’s real and what’s my fear or exhaustion.

I’m hypervigilant. I can’t stop imagining some monster watching—lurking just out of sight.

Ayer doesn’t bind me, but I stay close to him anyway.

I hate it with every fiber of my being, but the last thing I need is more ropes on my wrists, and that’s exactly what I’ll get if I stray.

The forever grumpy captain remains as stoic and unreadable as ever, confidently moving through the forest along a game trail we stumbled across a bit ago as if he knows exactly where it leads.

And me… Here I am just blindly following him through the woods.

What would Riven and Fel think?

Light.

My jaw tightens, and my cheeks heat with shame. All that time spent training, wasted. I can’t even touch him.

He hasn’t said a word since we left the river, and neither have I, both of us moving forward in a tense silence that grows louder with every hour that passes.

I’ve got my eyes on my feet, carefully picking around the loose rocks and exposed roots, when I notice the forest has gone quiet.

Too quiet.

I lift my chin, staring at the empty trail up ahead. My brow furrows, and I glance over my shoulder.