We turn around a bend to discover that one of the giant trees fell on the road a while ago. The trunk is as thick as a house. Someone built a long wooden ramp to allow cars to pass over the obstacle. Alastair’s truck does the climb effortlessly.
My mothers didn’t answer the radio in the last two days. We usually have regular weekly hours for getting in touch, but I couldn’t wait. Perri needs me. I really hope Jude and Oliver are still with them.
I check the map again. I marked the trail a few weeks ago, following Jess’ directions. The trail leading to their new camp should be around the next bend…
“There,” I point towards the visible dirt road going through the giant trees.
Alastair swerves smoothly, and we leave the beaten path. I wonder briefly how they drove the RVs over the rocks to get to the location of their new settlement, but I trust Margaret to find a way.
Dread pools in my gut now that we’re getting closer. My desire to find Perri overshadowed everything, and I didn’t stop long enough to wonder what would happen when the King finally faces Jude after all this time. He hunted them down only a year ago after we hid them on the Traveling Market. I stillremember his rage that day. I’d been terrified we might suffer the consequences for helping Jude and get thrown out of our home, but Alastair had accepted our apology during a private audience the next day, and that was it.
I dare a glance towards Alastair. He looks calm, eyes on the dirt road. But I have a feeling it’s the quiet before the storm, when all the animals go to ground and the birds stop singing.
Before I can voice my worries, my mothers’ new settlement appears on top of a hill surrounded by the enormous trees. They have placed the RVs near the river to connect to the water, and it looks like they have already started building a log cabin.
Unsurprisingly, they brought their big sign that says in washed out pink lettersGears and Giggles, and in smaller onesMechanics. I don’t know if they’ll get any customers so far into the forest, but at least they can become a pit stop for traveling merchants. And in time, they’re planning on building a community. Thanks to the altitude, the giant trees and the forest are resisting the advancing desert. Perri told me the sequoias’ spongy bark is quite resistant to fire, and their leaves grow so high the flames don’t reach them easily.
Alastair parks the truck at a safe distance away.
I take a deep breath. “You should stay here.”
“Not a chance,” he says, before opening the door and getting out.
“Fuck…” I scramble to follow.
A shirtless man is chopping wood behind the RVs, muscles shiny with sweat. Black veins snake around his arms and chest. His raven-black hair is longer than before, and he has tied it in a short ponytail, loose strands framing his face. Oliver watches us get out of the truck, axe in hand. Even from afar, we can see the blue of his eyes—a rare color for someone of asian descent.
I hesitate to grab my shotgun in case things get out of hand, but I think better of it. Who would I even shoot? Oliver, a friendand Jude’s lover, or my king? I curse myself for being a fool and putting us in this situation.
Jude comes running from the forest. His ginger hair is longer than the last time I saw him, too, but he has a neat haircut. He’s holding a gun.
I raise my hands slowly, as if to appease a beast. “We’re here to ask for your help!”
But the two men aren’t listening to me. They’re focused on Alastair. Electricity rises over Oliver’s skin, and the axe has turned red from the high voltage. If we were standing in water, we would be cooked alive already.
“You should put your dogs on a leash,” Alastair says calmly. But his focus betrays his tension.
I’ve never seen the King fight, but I’ve heard the tales. He’s a ruthless mutant with inhuman speed and incredible resilience. Oliver’s electricity might barely slow him down. We can’t have a fight of epic proportions here, at my mothers’ new settlement. I won’t risk their lives and happiness for petty mutant squabbles.
I trust Jude and turn my back on them as I face Alastair. He’s still not looking at me, so for once, I let my fear and vulnerability to the surface. He’s my King. His focus has always been on protecting the Traveling Market and his subjects.
“Please,” I whisper. “We don’t have time for this. We need to find Perri.”
My plea hits him like a whip, and his gray eyes fall on me. I swear I almost hear a soft growl rising from his chest, like a vibration, but it must be my imagination.
“You should say ‘please’ more often,” he says. “You’d always get your way.” A smile pulls at the corners of his mouth.
I frown, confused, then say, “Let me talk to them, please. And try to look less aggressive while I do.”
He chuckles. “Very well. But I make no promises.”
For some reason, he trails his fingers along my arm as I step away. But when I turn back to look at him, he sits on the hood of his truck, relaxed.
Jude has a hand on Oliver’s shoulder as I walk towards them, which means he’s reigned in his deadly electricity.
“Stellan, can you tell me why the fuck you brought a murderous king on our doorstep?” Jude says.
I scowl. “Last time I checked, this place was my mothers’ new home, not your doorstep, asshole.”
