“You should have been there,” he said after a long moment when it became clear she wasn’t going to answer. His voice changed from deliberately antagonizing to that of a man who had witnessed divinity and was trying to relate the experience to another. “It was more than we ever expected. Terrifying and beautiful at the same time. I found my calling there, more than was ever offered to me here.”
“What are you talking about?” Shea said. She hurried to catch up, almost bypassing Trenton.
“It was good seeing you again. I was afraid I’d falter once we met. It’s why I tried to prevent your arrival, but I have held fast in my beliefs and my goals remain unchanged.” Griffin’s voice sounded dreamy. “The heart has many things in store for you. It knows about you now. You can’t escape it. Not when it’s been waiting for so long.”
Shea’s frown became troubled. Griffin had always liked the sound of his voice, but now he sounded almost possessed, like a zealot caught up in a religious fervor.
“Struggle as much as you like,” Griffin said. “In the end, I’ll come out on top. Just like I did in the Badlands when you betrayed me and everything we’d worked for. The heart saved me then, made me stronger. You chose the wrong man, Shea. Now you’ll watch your world burn.”
Shea understood then why Griffin had kept up a running conversation even when no one had participated, why he’d poked and prodded at Shea, trying to get a reaction out of her. It was a cover, meaningless noise meant to disguise his real aim.
She rushed forward, her arm outstretched. Griffin slipped free of the rope. He side-stepped Trenton’s grab, backing away slowly as he gave the rest of them a sinister smile.
Shea couldn’t let him escape. A belief filled her—if he escaped now, the next time she saw him, he would destroy everything she cared about.
Her hand left the rope as she darted forward, her arm outstretched. His smile never wavered as he spread his arms as if in an embrace. Shea’s fingers brushed cloth, seconds from grabbing him.
Trenton caught her arm, yanking her back just as a scaled tentacle rose out of the mist to wrap around Griffin’s waist. It jerked him up and back, leaving them staring at empty fog.
“See you soon, lover.” Griffin’s words echoed all around her.
Reece circled back, his gaze taking in Shea as she glared at the mist as if it had personally insulted her, Trenton’s hand still on her arm as he held the rope in an iron grip.
“Don’t tell me he got away,” Reece said in frustration.
Shea propped her hands on her hips and resisted the urge to throw a fit as Trenton shifted his grip to her shoulder. Her silence was all the confirmation Reece needed.
Braden moved his way down the rope, hand over hand as the rest of the students peered at them in curiosity and no little amount of fear. The others had seen most of the confrontation but had missed a few bits due to the low visibility.
Braden took stock of the situation with a single glance. “He planned this well.”
Shea was very much afraid he was right. “We need to get moving. Now. If he planned this, chances are he has other things in store for us. I don’t want us to be out here any longer than we have to be.”
If Griffin was the one responsible for all their current issues with beasts, then it stood to reason he would have had a backup plan should his first attack fail.
“We still have his beast call,” Reece said, pointing to the horn where it hung from Braden’s belt.
Yes, they did. It was one bright spot in this otherwise disaster of a day.
Still, there was something about his confidence and the way he’d timed his escape.
Shea’s breath caught as she remembered what he’d said. She’d watch her world burn. The best way to do that was to take the thing she cared about most from her—Fallon.
“We need to get back to the Keep now,” she said, her voice urgent.
“Why?” Reece asked.
“Because he had pathfinders with him,” she told him. And because pathfinders had almost killed Shea once. She had no doubt he had more on his side in the Keep. Fallon was supposed to go ‘hunting’ with her father. If she knew her father at all, he would take Fallon to the Reaches, a perfect spot to stage an ambush.
“You think there’s going to be a second attack,” Braden said, catching onto her thought process very quickly.
“I don’t think. I know,” Shea said, grabbing the rope. “Everything he’s done until now has been to wear down the Trateri. This has always been about Fallon.”
Reece seemed to believe her. He turned to the students. “Alright, we’re picking up the pace. Don’t fall and whatever you do, don’t let go of the rope.”
“I thought you said we needed to be careful,” one of the students argued. The same one who’d complained about stopping before.
Delia snapped, “Quit your whining. They’re trying to keep your sorry asses alive.”
