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EMBER
If I don’t get out of this tent, I’m going to lose my mind much earlier than I should. Sitting, staring at the wall across from me while I can hear laughter just outside—it’s torture. “Rafferty?”
He looks up from the book he’s reading in the corner. “Yes?”
“Please get me out of this tent.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Rafferty.”
“Ember,” he says my name, and the flat tone he uses agitates me.
“Do you want me to go crazy before I die? Because locking me in here is a sure-fire way to ensure that.”
With a sigh, Rafferty closes the book. “With the tears in the Veil and the damned souls lurking about, it’s really not safe.”
“What do I have to lose?”
A muscle in his jaw ticks. For the most part, he maintains his distance from me. A frustrating action, though it does make keeping mine easier. And, so far, since I came back from the Veil a little more than a week ago, he hasn’t lost his shit again.
Bonus points.
“You may not have much, but I do,” he replies.
“Please. Rafferty. Just outside. I want to sit by a spring, a river, something with fresh water.”
“Do you need a bath?”
I groan. “No. I want to feel free.” Leaning back against the pillows, I close my eyes. This is exactly why I chose to leave the hospital. And ironically, here I am, confined to a bed. Only Rafferty doesn’t give two shits about my rights. Not if it means keeping me safe.
If it wasn’t so agitating, I might appreciate it.
“One hour.” He stands, and I grin at him.
“Really?” Other than being weak and still unable to walk unassisted, I feel—for lack of a better word—normal. “You’ll take me out?”
He regards me with the barest amusement and nods. “But I choose where we go, and when I say it’s time to leave—”
“I’ll listen to you. I promise.”
“Give me a few minutes.” He heads out the front of the tent, so I swing my legs over and grab my walking stick. Slipping my feet into the leather shoes by the bed, I wait for Rafferty to show up again. Giddy with excitement, it’s all I can do to stay where I am.
With Taranus back at the castle—at least, according to Rafferty’s scouts—things have been a bit calmer around here while Rafferty has been recruiting. Apparently, Taranus has new guards—though Rafferty won’t elaborate on why they’re so dangerous.
Rafferty steps into the tent, a woman right behind him. She smiles at me, her golden eyes shining bright, but my heart falls. “Ember, my name is Paulina,” she greets. Armor covers her breasts while she wears a leather skirt around her trim waist.
She’sgorgeous.Make a supermodel jealous type of gorgeous. Instantly, my own self-consciousness sneaks into my mind. Forcing a smile, I let her lift me, feeling like complete and utter garbage.
I’d thought—I shake it off. It doesn’t matter what I’d thought. Given the weightless, skeletal creature that I am, Paulina has no trouble carrying me over to Rafferty, nor supporting me with one arm as she touches his shoulder.
As my stomach plummets, I shut my eyes tightly to keep from crying. As soon as the bright sun shines on my face and my body feels normal again, I open them. Paulina sets me on the ground near a slow-moving river before turning to Rafferty.
“Is this okay?” he questions.
“Fine.” I force a smile, folding my legs up to my chest, and rest my chin on top of my knees. The water moves slowly, the faint trickling sound mixing in perfect melody with the birds chirping happily overhead.
He can’t even bring himself to touch me. I would love to know how this is a better outcome for me than dying back home. Being with Rafferty—when I can’tbe withhim—has been far more torturous than losing my fight in that hospital bed.
