“Kara—” My heavy steps crash down on the tangle of thorns and branches and I don’t look back at him once as I search for the two men I need most in this world.
***
Something similar to compatible silence settles over us. It’s more like thrashing silence, really. Once more I stomp through another thorn thicket, the sharp points clawing at my clothes.
Then he’s right in front of me, his features flickering slightly before becoming solid.
“You know, there’s a faster way of traveling.”
A puff of annoyance slips over my lips as I fight with a thin limb that’s tangled around my boot. His arms fold across his chest as he waits patiently for me. A veil of messy blonde hair sticks to my face when I finally straighten and look at him.
“If we teleport everywhere, we’ll miss them.”
Gods, Imissthem.
My stomach twists around itself as I swallow down the lump in my throat.
“It’s called shuddering, and we’ll find them, I promise.”
He promises.
No one’s promised me anything in years. Oddly I believe him when he says it. It’s the sincere tone in his voice. The soft, knowing look in his eyes. The confidence held in his posture.
But the anxiety of not finding Darrio and Dax is making me irritable.
“You shouldn’t make promises so easily.” I look past him, my leg angling high to step around him and the snarled vines.
In a quick movement, his hand clasps around my upper arm, our eyes lock and I know what he’s about to do before he does it. My breath catches as the world crumbles in on us.
A painful feeling tears through me. It’s almost like my veins are trying to pull from my body, unsure of their place within my existence. Pressure pushes down on my chest, making it impossible to breathe within the dense darkness.
When the sunlight bursts through my vision once more, I fall hard to my knees choking down air in heaping gasps. Ryder kneels, his warm palm pushing back and forth against my spine.
“Just breathe. You’re okay, just breathe,” he says in a steady voice.
My eyes close as I try to accomplish the simple task of taking in oxygen. How dare he shudder me when I directly told him not to.
His tone annoys me. His presence annoys me. That stunt he just pulled definitely annoys me.
Without warning, my palms meet his pecs and I shove him, letting his ass hit the muddy ground. My shoulders square and I stand with stiff posture.
“Don’t ever do again that without asking.”
“What is your problem? Not to be a dick, but your sweet and then sour attitude is starting to give me whiplash.” The sound of his boots storming heavily against the damp grass is all I hear as I begin assessing our surroundings.
My steps stumble and I slip before righting my footing, my gaze peering down.
It isn’t mud.
Hesitantly, I push my hand down my wet, black jeans. The damp residue that coats our clothes isn’t mud.
It’s an abundance of blood.
Chapter Eight
An Attack
“Where are we, Ryder?” I spin toward him, his chest bumping into my arm as I hold up my crimson colored palm.
