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He drops his gaze to his feet. "I can't take you back there. I told them I'd keep you away. That I'd keep you safe. I gave them my word."
“Then, I’ll go without you.” I nod as if to tell myself that that's exactly what I'll do, even if it feels like by leaving Rayne, I'm leaving part of my heart behind.
I turn and push away the brush, trying to hurry away so he doesn’t stop me, so that I don't stop. I have to do this although I have no idea where I’m going or how to get back to the spot where I’d left Dusk and Onyx and Phantom because I didn’t pay attention when he hauled me through the woods like a sack of grain over his shoulder. But it doesn’t matter. I should be able to find my way through the feeling in my heart as we fled the battle I left them fighting. Too strong to be a flutter, it pounds now at the thought of getting back to them.
I’m angry at Rayne for not listening to me and at Phantom, Onyx, and Dusk for deciding for me whether or not I should be there with them when they meet the king. These days have been so long, so exhausting, but I push forward, because I know they need me. Even if they think they don't. I might not entirely know how to control my light, but my new powers haven't abandoned me thus far, so why would they do so now when we need them the most?
Finally, Rayne calls out from behind me, “You’re going the wrong way.” So, apparently, he'd been following me. I want to be upset about it, but having him with me just feels right.
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
He sighs loudly. "I guess you don't."
Well, that's not helpful.I truly don’t know if I can trust him to tell me the right direction to go. Iwantto be able to trust him and I want that with a desperation unrivaled before in my life, but he’s also the one who pulled me away from them in the first place. Who, against my will, forced me to leave them there fighting, maybe even dying. And I don’t know if I can forgive him.
I keep going, picking another direction.
"Wrong again."
Damn it.“Which way?”
"This way." He turns to what I think is the south and starts walking, without waiting for me to follow. Although we both know I’m going to. The further into the forest he takes me, the heavier the air, the stronger the pull to the men who occupy the bulk of the real estate inside my soul. I hope that means we're going in the right direction, but the truth is that I'm not sure.
When we get close to a small clearing and I hear voices, Rayne pulls me down behind a fallen tree that’s almost taller than I am when I’m standing. “Listen to me, Ann. You can’t just go running in there.” He closes his eyes and breathes out his nose. “I have an idea. It’s great in theory, but…” He shakes his head and sighs.
"What theory?"
He avoids my gaze.
"Rayne?"
His pale blue eyes meet mine. "Ask for help. Ask for the light to work."
I frown. "Like, out loud?"And ask? Ask who?
"Out loud, in your head, I'm not sure it matters, but ask for it. I have a theory that it'll work."
I don't completely understand it, but Rayne knows things that most people don't, so I nod, hoping that this might be the missing puzzle piece when it comes to my powers.
He takes my hands in his, brings them to his mouth, and presses a soft kiss against my knuckles. “I'm sure the guys will hate me for this, maybe I'll even hate myself, but I’m also ready to defend you."
"Thank you," I whisper, then kiss him softly before pulling away from him and standing up taller to look toward the Void.
The swirling mass looks different than the last time I saw it. Instead of it just being a dark cloud, it's like it's infecting the sky. All around it, dark storm clouds have gathered, stretching out in all directions from the Void, but not very far. Storms don't work this way. They aren't isolated the way this is. This is magic. Bad magic.
There are a few shadows beasts left standing guard, and I curl my hands into knuckles, not knowing how I'll take them down, but knowing I have to. The muscles in my legs tense. I bounce on them a little in anxiety, in preparation for what I'm about to do.
Then, three more shadow beasts come out of the woods and join the others.
“Shit,” I whisper, kneeling back down, trying to keep an eye on them without being seen.
The men gather together, hug one another, speak in low voices, and then they look at the Void. I don’t know why, but the whole scene is heartbreaking. It feels like they’re saying goodbye. Like they’re preparing themselves to step off a cliff. I feel sorry for them, even though I’m angry about the betrayal.
And then, they step into the Void and disappear, and it’s just me, Rayne, and the sense of impending doom.
As if to drive the point home, lightning splits the sky and thunder booms around us. The circling mass of clouds seems to swell, to expand, and I get the terrible sense that whatever the king is planning, it’s about to be unleashed.
I stand up to my full height. Rayne is suddenly beside me. He links his hand with mine. "Can you do this? Seriously. Can you use the light again, or are we just heading to our deaths?"
