But if she refused?—
Dani. Think of Dani.
“Give me time to consider,” she said. “A few days to?—”
“No.” Gerhard’s hand shot out, catching her wrist in a bruising grip. “I’m done waiting. Done playing games. You’ll come with me now, or?—”
Jessa didn’t think. She moved on pure instinct, driving her knee up into her uncle’s groin with all the strength she possessed.
He doubled over with a strangled cry, his grip on her wrist loosening.
She ran.
The streets of the village blurred around her as she sprinted towards the tree line. Behind her, she heard shouting—Gerhard’s voice, others joining in. They’d chase her. They’d catch her. They’d?—
Don’t think. Just run.
The forest swallowed her.
She didn’t slow down. Didn’t look back. She crashed through underbrush, leaped over fallen logs, pushed herself until her lungs burned and her legs screamed for mercy. The sounds of pursuit faded behind her—they wouldn’t follow far into Vultor territory, not with the stories that circulated about the beast on the mountain—but she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t stop.
Because if she stopped, she’d have to think. She’d have to face the reality of what had just happened. What she’d failed to do.
No medicine. No hope. No way to save her sister.
The tears started somewhere on the upper slopes of the mountain. By the time the den came into view, they’d become full-bodied sobs—ugly, wrenching sounds that tore from her chest like living things.
She stumbled through the entrance and collapsed.
Tarek was there in an instant, catching her before she hit the ground, pulling her against his chest. She heard his voice, rough with concern, asking what happened, what was wrong, whether she was hurt.
She couldn’t answer. Could only cling to him and weep, the weight of her failure crushing her.
“He wouldn’t—” The words came in fragments, broken by sobs. “The medicine—I couldn’t—Dani?—”
“Shh.” His arms tightened around her. “Just breathe. Just breathe for now.”
“I failed her.” The admission ripped something open inside her. “She’s going to die because I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t smart enough, couldn’t figure out a way to?—”
“Stop.” Tarek’s voice cut through her spiral, firm but gentle. “You didn’t fail anyone. You walked into enemy territory and came back alive. That’s not failure.”
“But the medicine?—”
“We’ll find another way.” He pulled back just enough to look at her face, his green eyes fierce with determination. “Whatever it takes, however long it takes—we’ll find another way. Together.”
Together.
The word wrapped around her like a lifeline. She was still crying, still shaking, still terrified for her sister’s life. But she wasn’t alone.
That had to count for something.
“She’s sleeping,” Tarek said softly, as if reading her thoughts. “The fever is high, but stable. She asked for you when she woke earlier—I told her you’d gone to gather herbs and would be back soon.”
“You lied to her.”
“I told her what she needed to hear.” His thumb brushed tears from her cheek. “Just like you’re going to dry your eyes and go sit with her now. She doesn’t need to see you falling apart. She needs to see you fighting.”
