“Can you follow me?” Sebastian asks, turning his eyes on me. “Will you be able to keep up?”
“Why did you come?” I ask him. I still can’t believe he’s here.
“I heard about your capture, and rescuing you was the right thing to do.”
“Funny that.” Those were my words exactly. “Does this mean that you trust me now?” I ask.
“It means that we are now well and truly even,” he tells me. “We need to go, Isla.”
My heart sinks. He still doesn’t trust me. I’m not sure why I care so much, only that I do.
“Will you be able to ride hard, or do you need to sit with me?” He looks down at the space just in front of him. “I’ll lead your horse.”
The thought of being in the saddle with him flusters me. I lift my chin. “I will keep up. I can ride by myself.”
“Good.”
“Why are you still here, Sebastian? Why didn’t you leave?” I ask.
“Now is not the time. We need to go before we are recaptured.”
He’s right.
I nod once.
Sebastian spurs his horse into a fast lope, and I follow, holding tightly to the saddle horn. I feel like I am slowly getting the hang of riding. We cut through the trees, avoiding the main roads. The forest finally thins. The land opens up. The shimmer of the dome appears ahead of us, and beyond it, the gray expanse of the deadlands stretches toward the horizon.
As we reach the edge of the court, Sebastian reins in his horse. Jack stops without my having to ask.
Sebastian looks at me, his face unreadable. The cut above his eye has stopped bleeding, but dried blood streaks down his temple and cheek. His dark hair is disheveled, falling across his forehead. His pointed ears poke out through the strands.
He looks savage and beautiful. I’m so busy staring at him that it takes me several seconds to register what he says next.
“You need to leave this court,” he says. “Ride hard, and you should make it to a settlement okay. Thank you for your help before, but this is where we part ways.”
I stare at him.
I heard him, but the words don’t make sense.
“What?” I finally choke out.
“Ride through the barrier. Head south and don’t look back. Go now.” His voice is flat.
“Does this mean that youaren’tleaving the court? Or that you are leaving but are still refusing to travel with me?” I suspect that he isn’t leaving. It’s worrying to say the least.
“It doesn’t matter,” he says, his voice deep with urgency. “Both have the same outcome. Go already!”
“No,” I tell him. “I’m not leaving.” I shake my head. “We tried it your way, and it didn’t work.”
22
Isla
He regards me for a few moments; his jaw is tight. “There is no ‘my way’ or ‘your way.’ Trust me when I tell you that this is the safest option for you, Isla. You need to go before it’s too late,” he insists, scrubbing a hand over his face, the stubble catching.
“What are you planning?” I ask. I don’t like this one bit.
His expression doesn’t change. His eyes give nothing away either. “The plan is simple…I need to take back the realm.”
