“This would be a good place to start.” Thorin points to a spot on the map. The foothills near the ridge between Maia and Big Bear where the river joins another along the southeast base of the second largest peak. “This is the best spot for catching trout. The water is calmer there, and I’ve taken Aurelia a few times. She’ll know the area. If she’s alive and she’s trying to get back to us—”
“She’s alive,” I say.
Thorin doesn’t miss a beat. “Then this is where she’ll go,” he says, tracing the route that he always takes back home.
“Cool.” Trusting his judgment without a fucking doubt, I grab the map and fold it, but I stop short of stuffing it inside my pocket that’s soaked through.
I consider stopping long enough to change clothes, but one look through the window at the rain and the deluge outside, and I nix the idea. And there’s no fucking way I’m waiting until the rain stops to get my baby back either.
“I’m coming with you,” Thorin says, and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes.
“You’re injured and useless,” I point out as I shove away from the table to gather the supplies I’ll need. “You’ll only slow me down.”
Thorin snorts but doesn’t argue since he knows I’m right. “I love you too, man.”
I locate my pack and start shoving things inside, including a fresh first aid kit. I have no idea the state I’ll find either of them in, but I’m praying I don’t need it. Speaking of which, Iignore the need to run out into the storm after my girl and best friend and I help stitch Thorin back together and then ignore his grumbling as I help him into bed before shoving a bottle of painkillers and a radio in his hand.
“Call me if you need me,” I order as I turn for the door.
“I won’t,” Thorin says with a grunt. “Don’t come back without them.”
Glad that we’re on the same page, I nod at that as I leave the room, grab my pack, and throw myself back out into the storm.
BANE
The river exacts a heavy toll.
Ezekiel’s body is no match for the fury of the mountain and the deluge it sent to keep me from her. This is Thanatos’s doing, but Death can’t have her. Zeke is safe with her. He wasn’t safe with Tatum.
For that reason, she is mine.
Each time I reach for her though, she cries out and flinches away as much as the current will allow her.
She’s afraid, and I am powerless in the face of that fear. No doubt the friends’ of Zeke’s doing. Someday soon, I’ll succeed in killing them. I’m more determined now than ever since they have what’s ours, and by ours, I mean the horde.
Even Seth, who I thought was smarter than to believe they were his friends.
Aurelia and I continue to fight against the current that tries to take us under, but instead of growing calmer, the river seems to stretch wider and become more winding. I’m eyeing the shore, wondering how to get us both over when she won’t let me near her when we round another bend in the river and the water becomes choppy.
And at the center of these rougher waters is a large boulder parting the river like a force. Aurelia sees it a moment later, and her eyes widen as she screams again, knowing she’ll never get out of the way in time.
And I can do nothing to save her.
The whitecaps froth and spew like a rabid elemental as the water slaps against us and pushes us both toward our doom. Theboulder looms ever closer, but Aurelia doesn’t give up the fight. She reaches for the exposed broken branches of a downed tree, but her fingers barely graze the wood as she sails past it. I come much closer to it but ignore the offered salvation as I keep my focus locked on her progress down the river.
She’s got her eye on me too, tracking me and making sure I don’t get too close.
She forgets about the boulder, and there isn’t enough time to warn her. Aurelia is slammed against the hard surface of the rock, and her body immediately slumps in the water before she’s swept away again.
My turn is coming, but at the last minute, the current shifts and carries me just far enough to the side that I miss it. My gaze is already locked on an unconscious Aurelia again. Just as I think there’s no hope of catching up to her, Aurelia gets caught between some rocks, and I throw out my hand just in time to grip her shirt and pull her along.
We’re swept away again down the river.
I’m unable to determine at the moment what to do about the unconscious girl in my arms, who wants nothing to do with me, but one problem at a time.
I still have to get us both out of the river.
AURELIA
