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I ran after Blue,scared he'd follow Byriel into the trees. Thankfully the swift omega didn't. Instead flung his arms around Lex, scenting his neck. Lex patted Blue's back and whispered that he was okay, but I wasn't so sure. I saw the look in Lex's eyes. Byriel bested him.
I had never seen anyone gain the upper hand over Lex. I didn't think it was possible. And to see Byriel be the one to put the siren down was shocking. While I wouldn't say Byriel's presence was calming, he was slow to anger.
Lex rubbed his throat and swallowed several times, letting Blue check him over.
"Where is Byriel going?" I asked Joon, looking into the trees but seeing no trace of the alpha.
"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. He looked a little shocked at what just happened. "He didn't say. Maybe home?"
My eyes widened as I took in his words. Disbelieving, I whispered, "He's leaving us?"
Joon circled an arm around me, kissing the top of my head.
Confusion, anger, and sadness pounded in my chest. Byriel might not have been a friend—our alliances were firmly on very different sides—but we had been through so much together. We fought our way through Vaesen and across mountains, he helped keep Joon safe when I had no idea what to do, and he got us help and medicine.
We were tied together in battle and survival.
That meant something.
I always knew we'd part in Ossory, but this felt personal.
He abandoned us.
Pushing myself into Joon's side, I couldn't help feeling a little lost. I didn't know how we'd find Yasha without Byriel, but I needed to see this through. Too many had died. Too much blood was owed.
"I knew he was full of shit." Joon's words were harsh, but there was no real fight in them. His arm tightened around me, and I leaned into him, needing my mate's comfort. "His people are desperate, so he's running away. Fucking coward."
"Wait. Byriel is leaving us?" Blue said, turning away from Lex. His face was pale and eyes wide as he stood, looking frantically into the woods.
"Byriel is a good leader," a scarred alpha sighed, stepping forward to introduce himself and the she-alpha, Jonelle. "I knew it would be hard for him to hear, and he wouldn't be easy to convince to abandon everything he was raised to believe. But I had hoped he'd stand with us. There's nothing we can do except hope he changes his mind. The plan still moves forward."
Jonelle nodded fiercely in agreement.
"No!" Blue yelled into the trees, his fist clenched. His eyes met mine, and his skin flashed a brilliant white. I flinched, moving to shield my eyes. When I finally lowered my hands, I caught the brief flash of Blue's shiny, dark hair as he disappeared into the trees.
I immediately jerked to run after him, but Joon grabbed my arm, pulling me to him.
"He's not ours," he said softly, his dark eyes filled with so much sadness. "I'm so sorry, Tzidal, but Blue gets to decide which path he wants to take. We'll still find our way, but not with Byriel."
All the fight in me whooshed out in one quick breath. I was so exhausted.
"I'll go make sure Blue finds Byriel safely," Lex said, smoothing a hand over my hair. "If he doesn't go with By', I'll bring him back."
"If you end up eating Byriel, be careful not to hurt Blue," Joon said, giving Lex a small smile.
Lex grinned, but his expression wasn't nearly as animated as he usually was.
I kept my eyes on Lex, watching him disappear into the trees. I didn't want Blue to go with Byriel, but Joon was right. The omega was an adult. He was allowed to make his own decisions. It just felt wrong to let him go.
Everything that was happening felt wrong.
"Do you really want to help us?" Dane looked between Joon and me.
"Yes," Joon answered immediately, his posture tight and eyes alert.
"How do we know we can trust them?" Jonelle asked Dane. Her lips curled up as she spoke, displaying the tips of her pointed teeth. "We don't know them, and there are a lot of sides to this war."
