I narrowed my eyes playfully, leaning slightly into the ice pack. “You deserved it. And I think I’ll be the one to leave... I assume this is your lodging?”
He nodded slowly, his tone low and measured. “It was closer than yours. Didn’t want to risk running into your lovely sister on the walk over.”
I swallowed. “And the shirt...”
His face paled. “I didn’t think you’d want a stranger to undress you, but your leathers were covered in… I’m sorry. I swear, I only got you changed. I didn’t peek, and I used a washcloth to wipe the visible grime off after—”
“Thank you.”
He froze mid-sentence, his mouth still half-open.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting,” I whispered, my voice barely steady. “It’s not fair to you. I just... I don’t know what in the elements is happening. It’s like everything I thought I knew about my life has crashed and burned around me, and—” My throat closed up, the words strangled before I could finish.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Rhodes murmured, his voice low and calming as he moved onto the bed. He tossed the ice pack aside and slid an arm beneath my neck, pulling me gently into his embrace. His warmth and steady heartbeat pressed against me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, his lips brushing the crown of my head.
I wanted to say something, anything, but the lump in my throat made it impossible. So instead... I let myself melt into him. I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his comforting scent. He stayedquiet as my trembling breaths evened out, holding me close as if his arms could shield me from the darkness inside threatening to consume me.
“She has my scar,” I whispered.
Rhodes let out a long breath, and I could feel his heartbeat quicken.
“Even though you didn’t know themarekemexisted between you,” he said quietly, “it was still there—buried, but alive. The pain you carried must have run deep enough to travel through the bond... and leave its mark on her too.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
That pain had marked Lakota too. Somehow, his bond with my birth mother had transferred to me—and even though it was faint, it was enough. He could feel the connection tugging at him, urging him to find me. He searched the skies for years, chasing the pull. But the bond hadn’t been strong enough... not until that moment in the shed, when I had finally given up.
“How did everything go to shit?” I asked, my words muffled against the firm warmth of his chest.
Rhodes let out a deep, weighted breath. “I don’t think everything went to shit,” he said, his voice calm but resolute. “I think a lot of shit came to light, and now it’s time to take action. There’s been a war brewing in the north that none of us are prepared for... but thanks to Shayde, we finally have a first step to take.”
I pulled back slightly, just enough to tilt my head and meet his gaze.
“Shayde?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
Rhodes cleared his throat, his gaze flickering with hesitation before settling back on me. “Shayde unblocked ourmarekemthe dayhe took you to that mountain peak. He sent me a signal that he needed help. That’s how I found you. I don’t know the full story of how my brother became a part of Cora’s—” Rhodes paused as I flinched at the name, his tone softening before he continued, “the Grim’s plan, but he tried to stop it.”
He sat back slightly, his jaw tightening. “Shayde’s actions gave us a first step to understanding what we’re really up against,” he said, his voice steady. “And how we’re going to stop it.”
I stared at him, trying to process the conflicting emotions that stormed through me. The weight of it all was too much, and I sank back into the mattress, silent.
It didn’t take long to realize that both of the Wylder boys would become incredibly important to me, albeit in very different ways.
Shayde, with his steady presence and easygoing demeanor, had been my simple solution to the chaos in my life. He had a way of making everything feel okay, like the storm in my chest could settle just by being near him. But deep down, I knew I was only pretending.
Pretending that his comfort could erase the pain of my past. Pretending that his charm could undo the damage. Pretending that if I willed my eyes to see what I yearned for, it would become my reality.
But life is never that easy—or at least, nothing that simple is ever worth fighting for. I think I realized the truth during the Burn Trials. That was when I knew which Wylder I wanted to risk giving my heart and soul to.
Shayde stayed behind while Rhodes ran to fight with me.
Rhodes wasn’t the calm in my storm. He was made of sharp, broken edges that matched my own. Where Shayde made me feellike I could escape my problems, Rhodes made me want to face them head-on.
Rhodes didn’t offer me an escape—he showed me that my life was one worth staying for.
And Shayde? He proved that people who look bright and shiny on the surface can be dark and broken underneath. He taught me the harshest lesson of all—it’s the ones you least expect who leave the deepest scars.
