Isla shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. Hehasn’tvisited all of you yet. He got to Kai on the ship, Aidan at the Snapdragon, and you and Celesine just now.” She ticked each incident off on her fingers. “But Rynn has never said anything about meeting him.”
A thought blistered her mind, so quick and painful she winced. What if the dark godhadgotten to Rynn, right before Jade and Celesine saw him? Orafter? What if the reason Rynn hadn’t come home yet was because he was helpless and alone, incapacitated, or—or on a rampage, storming through a village at the dark god’s command?
The others came to the same conclusion on their own. “We have to find him,” Aidan said.
The four of them quickly threw on more layers of clothing and gathered weapons. Isla hated the idea of hunting down the man she cared for, of having to hurt him if the need arose, but if he was under mind manipulation, he was more of a danger to those around him than she was to him with a bow and arrow.
They began the short trip down the side of the mountain to the closest town. Once they reached Krill, they decided to split off into three directions—Jade and Aidan going separately, and Isla accompanying Kai. Isla tried to insist she could go on her own, but the others wouldn’t entertain the idea.
“Can you imagine what he’d do to us if we let you go off by yourself and he or someone else accidentally hurt you? Trust me, this is purely selfish.” Aidan threw her a tight smile and strode off to the east side of town.
“Meet back here in two hours,” Jade called, heading in her chosen direction.
Kai handed Isla her bow and nodded toward the center of the village. “Ready to go try and catch the wind?”
Over the hours they spent searching the villages, Isla’s mind was riddled with the possibilities of what could’ve happened. Of course, there was the likelihood that Rynn was simply off brooding and would come back when he had calmed down. But the sensible, rational part of her brain was overruled by the erratic, screaming part that kept blaring at her thatsomething was wrong. The dark god had shown up out of nowhere to threaten Celesine and Jade; what was stopping him from finding Rynn and taking advantage of his emotions? He could be terrorizing other Evonlean towns or even hurting himself.
But there was no sign of him.
After two hours, the four of them met back at the base of the mountain. Darkness surrounded them, only the moon and the occasional street lantern lighting their path. Isla knew deep down that their mission was pointless; they would’ve heard if something or someone was causing chaos and destruction, even in the dead of night. But Isla’s stomach still clenched with worry.
As they traveled back up the mountains, the adrenaline from the past few hours finally seeped out of Isla. The icy wind was painful against her skin, and the night seemed to take on a life of its own. The starlit sky she once found comforting now stared back at her, empty and endless. Rustling in the forest trees mimicked the howls of stray animals, raising the hair on the back of her neck. The air was no longer a playful sort of cold that nipped at her nose, but a foreboding bite that seared her skin.
When they neared the caves, a faint, sweet smell tickled Isla’s nose.
An alarm blared in her head. She whirled around, frenetically looking for the pale face that always followed that scent, but saw nothing except the confused looks of her companions, who had stopped in their tracks.
“It’s…nothing. Sorry, I must be tired,” she mumbled as they continued on.
The combination of her exhaustion, the cold, and dread frayed the edges of her mind. Every shadow looked alive, moving and rising toward her like a predator ready to devour. Even the trees along their path appeared sinister, their branches scratching against the stone mountain, limbs mangling and morphing as if they yearned to tear into her skin.
Isla quickened her pace. She whipped around the corners of the path, landing among the rocks and hard grass several times as she lost her footing.
Finally, the entrance to the familiar cave appeared ahead, dark and foreboding with no fire to illuminate its opening. She flew to it, ignoring the sounds of Kai, Jade, and Aidan trying to catch up with her.
When she reached the opening, her body slammed into something solid.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Isla
Stronghandsgraspedherhips, keeping her from falling over. She looked up to find stormy gray eyes filled with concern staring back at her.
She blinked, stunned for a split second. Then she snapped.
“Where—were—you?” she screamed, balling her fists and punching his hard chest with each word. Tears blurred her vision, but she didn’t stop, as if each blow could take away the fear coating her heart.
“I thought you were gone! I thought he took you. He came after Jade, and we couldn’t find you, and…you left me.” She fell against him with an angry whimper, her energy spent.
One arm wrapped around her while the other made its way to her hair, bringing her closer to his body. He kissed the top of her head, his warm breath cascading down her cheeks as he whispered words she couldn’t understand over the buzzing in her ears.
Forgetting her previous anger, her fingers wound tightly at the back of Rynn’s shirt. Sobs shook through her like tremors, relief clouding her every thought.
She was so tired. Tired of worrying, tired of not knowing, tired of being angry. And being with Rynn felt so good. She didn’t know what he was saying, only that his fingers were wrapped in her hair, and his soft murmurs dulled her fears. And he washere, whole and uninjured and holding her like she was the only thing that mattered.
She eventually stopped trembling but stayed tucked against his body, breathing him in. She became keenly aware of his lips on her forehead, his hands gently stroking away the tears that still lined her face. Her body heated as tension crackled in the air, pulling at her core like a magnet. He bent his head so his brow rested against hers.
“Isla,” he breathed, his nose lightly tracing hers, his lips close enough to share the same breath.
