With the horses settled and nibbling on dried pieces of grass, I grabbed a canteen and a small piece of bread from a folded satchel on the side of Storm’s horse as he moved to help Raya down.
Jax propped up a sack from his own horse and helped Storm lean her against it. He brushed the damp braids from her neck, just as Ian would’ve done for me. Jax’s loyalty to his friend shone through with every action.
Hurrying, I twisted off the top and handed him the canteen. He tilted it to her lips. Most of it spurted out of her mouth when another cough racked her body.
“Come on, Raya, you need to do this,” he murmured.
She refused to look at him but drank a few sips.
My mind reeled at how broken she must be feeling, the anguish of her friends seeing her so vulnerable. I’d seen those looks on my friends too many times throughout the years.
Jax stood and stepped to the side, Storm following his lead.
“We have to get somewhere where she can lie down,” Jax croaked. “She needs rest. Somewhere she isn't being jostled around constantly.”
I hadn’t known Jax for long, but the lack of playfulness in his gaze, in his tone, threatened to snap the minor amount of sanity I clung to.
Everything was going to shit.
“It’s not much farther, we can let her rest for a few minutes,” Storm conceded.
I kneeled in front of Raya, examining how much water was left in the canteen. “Do you want anything else? More water?”
She turned her head away from me.
“Raya?” I asked, reaching out toward her, but she tensed, jerking away from me like I was going to hurt her.
I swallowed, leaning back on my heels. “You need to get your strength back, we can’t do this without you,” I said. “We have to get in touch with Ian?—”
At his name, Raya hissed, a pained sound that, based on her widening eyes, she didn’t mean to make.
I reached for her arm, but she pulled away again, toppling over with the movement.
Jax ran over, lifting her from the ground. “I said after she had time to rest, Lana.”
“I was trying to help, I wasn’t pushing,” I argued.
He pulled her body closer, and Raya’s expression looked so hurt, my heart broke. What was she going through? What tormented her so much that she couldn’t stand looking at us?
“I’m sorry.” I stepped back.
Jax scowled, storming off back toward the horses.
Yeah,everythingwas shit.
The bond between Kade and I tightened, so much so I glanced behind me, swearing I’d see his shadows beckoning for me, desperate for my touch.
But there was nothing there.
“Run, Little Rebel. Please don’t let me catch you.”
We left him.Ileft him.
I stared out across the reddish terrain, glowing in the setting sun. I took one step, then another, fully facing the direction we’d come from, my resolve to leave him wavering. Turning back like this lessened the pain. It had to be the right thing to do. Besides, turning back meant I could be with him, and those shadows that I longed to feel again just to reassure me he was safe.
Storm shouted my name, but I ignored him. Everything would be all right if I could just get to Kade. My light could help him, and he’d be free.
“Lana, you can’t,” Storm yelled, and in my trance-like confusion, he had moved and somehow stood in front of me.
