Page 59 of Fated to Her

We run for a while more before Eli slows and taps my shoulder, his fingers then moving to the back of my neck as he scrapes his claws through my hair, making me shudder at the sensation.

“We are here. You can open your eyes now,” he whispers, pressing his nose to my cheek near my lips.

I sit up in his arms, but he doesn’t place me on my feet. Peering around, flamed torches light a path, bonfires between houses light up a small village in the middle of fields, and the entire forest circles the village. The forest looks never-ending as it wraps around the village in the middle of nowhere.

“Home sweet home,” Maverick says, coming up beside us and gazing at his village.

He walks ahead of us, and people are coming out of their little stone houses to greet him. Eli walks between them before stopping in an open area that seems to be a gathering place. There’s a podium in the middle and gallows, something I never thought I would see in real life. So medieval-looking… Sitting in the center, a man is strung upside by his ankles, his back bleeding and dripping onto the wooden floor below him. I tear my eyes away from him. There’s some sort of ring off the side and some small carts that remind me of old-fashioned stalls with fruit and vegetables piled onto it.

“You grew up here?” I whisper.

This place is terrifying, like stepping into a medieval movie of a time long before mine and plunging us back into the Dark Ages.

“Yes, Addie. It isn’t all bad here, just different,” Eli tells me.

People stare at us, watching as Eli follows his father, who gets stopped a few times by different men before continuing to the largest of the stone houses. Eli stiffens, and Emery comes over, dropping her hand on my shoulder.

“Home,” is all she says before stepping through the red-painted door.

Eli follows her before stopping at the same door Emery has just walked through. He takes a deep breath before stepping over the threshold. I try to stand, but he hoists me up higher, hanging onto me. His body trembles with a mixture of emotions: fear, sadness, anger.

“Just let me hold you,” he whispers.

I peer around, the lights flickering on, to find a very dated house. But it has power, as Emery has told him. It’s cozy, and we step right into the living room. It has two armchairs and a futon. I can see a few doors leading off it, and next to the living room is a counter and sink basin on one wall.

I try to picture Eli and Emery living here but can’t. I can’t imagine anyone living here. Inside looks more like a shack; a stone fireplace sits in the center of the wall between the two armchairs. A bearskin rug lies on the floor. Cyrus comes in with the bag before dumping it on the futon. Emery walks off and a moment later returns out of the room down the hall with a loose nightdress on.

“You guys can take the bedroom. I’ll have the futon,” she says, looking at it. She pats it, ash and soot coming off it, dust going in her face, and she coughs.

“Floor might be cleaner,” she mutters.

Eli doesn’t move, though; he appears frozen, just staring at his sister.

Maverick comes in with some shorts on behind Eli and pats his shoulder, making him jump.

“Everything alright, son?” he asks him.

Eli nods and walks into the small hallway, turning into the first room next to the living room.

I try to get down, my legs aching from being around his waist. But once again, he pulls me up closer, refusing to put me down.

“Eli, can I stand?” I ask him, wanting to stretch my legs.

“No, you stay with me,” he says, peering around the room.

“I won’t go anywhere.”

“You stay with me,” he growls, making me jump.

“Addie, just give him a sec. I know you’re uncomfortable,” Cyrus says, brushing my cheek with his hand.

I nod, resting my chin on his shoulder, waiting for Eli to calm. He sits on the double bed, and the springs groan, the bed dipping more than it should.

“Eli, you should shift back. Let me take, Addie,” Cyrus tells him, but Eli shakes his head, pulling me closer.

“She’s safe with me, Eli. No one will harm her. I won’t let anyone harm you,” Cyrus tells him when Eli’s head whips to the side to look at him.

He growls low and deep in the back of his throat, making my hair stand on end. “I would kill them if they tried.”