I gave him a grateful smile. “Just this girl you know?”
He nodded. “Just this girl I know that worships coffee and can play a pretty damn good keyboard.”
It was pretty amazing how Ryder could take this horrific situation and turn this moment into something beautiful. I had been headed down a one way path to an epic pity party, but with a few honest words and sweetness that defied everything we’d been through, he had managed to flip my attitude around and make me feel infinitely special.
“It’s a lovely night for a stroll,” he quipped after we had walked for a while.
“It is, isn’t it?” We passed Hermes estate to our left without saying a single word about it.
We didn’t exactly know where we were going, but we didn’t talk about it. Instinct pushed us both to keep moving and a silent agreement passed between us.
We followed the road as it wound down the backside of the mountain and trusted intuition to lead us. We held hands the entire way, clinging to each other for support.
The houses grew less prestigious the further along we traveled. The sprawling estates of the gods turned to ramshackle hovels that leaned on each other. The road suffered too. The smooth, glittering limestone became chipped and rough. We had to pay closer attention to every step our feet took.
The moon hid behind thick cloud cover. The only light that seemed to penetrate this side of the mountain was the stray lightning streak that bolted across the sky. We were submerged in a sinister darkness. The shadows moved; the air was heavy and aggressive.
I couldn’t say for sure, but it definitely felt like we were on the right path to find the Fates.
Unfortunately it was also the wrong path to safety.
The housing stopped when the mountain jutted upwards abruptly. The road split the towering rock in two, creating two sharp points on either side of us. The mountain walls blocked out the little remaining light and hollowed out into a tunnel that would submerge us in darkness completely.
All of a sudden, this became a very bad idea.
I tried to swallow down my fear. “Do you think we should keep going?”
Ryder rubbed his thumb over mine. “Seems like a good place for evil to hide.”
“We didn’t even bring weapons,” I reminded him.
He turned to face me. He grabbed my other hand and held it firmly with his reassuring grip. “Ivy, you are the weapon.”
“All they have to do is cut a piece of thread, Ryder. That’s it. They could kill us both in less than a second.” My shoulders started shaking. The closer we got, the more right this felt. But also, the more dangerous it became. I couldn’t think beyond the fear and sense of dread poisoning my thoughts.
“So what do you want to do? What are our other options?” His solemn gaze met mine and I felt the point he gently made.
We didn’t have any other options.
“Okay,” I told him. “You’re right.”
“They’re probably expecting us anyway,” he reminded me. “I mean, what kind of future-telling witches would they be if they didn’t already know we were on our way?”
“That issonot helping.” Panic flared in my chest.
He pulled me close until we were nose to nose. His lips brushed over mine, giving me the slightest taste of him. I automatically leaned forward. I wanted more.
I needed more.
He didn’t hesitate to give it to me. His mouth met mine at the same time his hands dropped mine to grip my waist. His tongue slipped between my lips and I opened for him, deepening the kiss with a hungry sigh.
I poured everything that was inside of me into that kiss. I let it be therapy and confession, hope and healing. I let Ryder’s touch, his intentions and his heart sweep away my fears and doubts and replace them with the promise that he would not leave me like I left him.
He would not let me go through this on my own.
He was with me.
He would stay with me.
