That was when it sank in.
“I’m not leaving, Reece. You can yell at me, you can swear me to the Gods, and you can hate me if you want. But I will stand here. You aren’t running me off, you aren’t pushing me out. I’m right here.”
Tilting my head to the sky, I slowly began to laugh. For three years, I’d tortured myself wondering what went wrong. Wondering why he left, why he didn’t reach out, if he was okay, if he was safe. I cried into a pillow because he became… an assassin?
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my head, trying to understand what just happened. “You’re telling me that while the wholeGods-damned town thinks you are some golden child sent from the heavens, you’ve been a literal assassin for the past what? Three years?” I stepped back, holding my hand up to gesture for him to wait. “That’s why you left? To be an assassin?”
Oh, the world was definitely being ripped out from under my feet. Laken didn’t respond, which was answer enough. I closed what distance I’d put between us, pointing a finger to his chest. “We’re going to save this sanctuary. We’re going to pay the debt. And then you’re going to go on with your life and I will go on with mine.Separately.” I felt his chest rising and falling rapidly under my finger. “Are we clear?”
He stared down his nose at me, a muscle in his jaw feathering. “As you wish.”
I lowered my hand and my stare, not being able to bear looking at him any longer. Moving past him, I stalked to the door.
“Reece,” he called. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I shouted over my shoulder and shut the door behind me.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Days passed, chickens crowed, and Laken and I stayed a comfortable distance from one another.
After his fun teasing me about feeding the animals, he showed me the “right” way to do it; that is, if he wasn’t purposely teaching me wrong to ensure I failed. At this point, it wouldn’t have surprised me. If he could double as an assassin, I wouldn’t put it past him to want the sanctuary, too.
Most of them were simple. My biggest mistake had been sleeping in too late, so I reluctantly became an I-rise-before-the-sun type of person. That fixed my issues with the hellblazers. Butters used a combination of hand signals and gestures. Benedict really did like to play games; that aspect fell true. Finneas and Finnigan simply took time to feel comfortable. ThenPhoebe and Archie remained calm as long as the rest of them did the same.
So in all, I’d totally mastered the skill of feeding these creatures.
I wish.
Aside from protecting them and keeping them safe with wards put up by Maeve, the town witch, there was more than I could wrap my head around. Milking the goats in order to make our highly demanded lotion, collecting hellblazers’ eggs, learning how to store both, and wound care. Only Phoebe and Indo needed care at the moment. The porcupine’s quills were beginning to grow back in, but her skin remained raw and dry. We used the healing cream for her. Indo, on the other hand, continued to be a work in progress. Laken got the medicine to him two days ago.
That day, I crouched low to the ground, nearly lying on my stomach. Twigs poked my ribs and snagged my skirt. Dirt coated my hands, but I did as Laken instructed. He’d left me there just moments before, insisting he continue alone. Something about how I walked with a lead foot and snapped every branch I crossed.
Not minutes later he returned with an empty medicine bottle.
I raised my brows. “You did it?”
Laken nodded, offering a hand before lifting me to my feet. He helped pluck the sticks and strands of grass from my clothes as I straightened myself out.
“How’d you do it so fast? How did you get it in his mouth?Did he try to eat you?” My mind unraveled. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. His hair still appeared perfectly messy. His clothes were cleaner than mine.
Without answering me, he walked past. “There is a reason the Wraiths call me Ghost.” Not even a glance. “Let’s go, McCarthen.”
Now, sitting on the concrete under the porch, I waited for him again. The creatures woke in the enclosures and made the world their own. Benedict hid most of the time. A few chickens pecked the ground, most rested in their coop. Finneas and Finnigan jumped, ran, climbed, and enjoyed themselves in the morning sun.
The blisters on my hands had grown over the days, the soreness of my limp arms tripled. Caretaking wasn’t easy, not even close. In the first week or so, I’d lost clothes, shoes, socks, a few inches of hair, and every ounce of my pride. Blaze and Gordon were the only ones who tolerated me, and I thanked the Gods for that.
The side gate opened, and Laken strolled through, but he’d brought something along with him.
I tilted my head. “Is that a wheelbarrow?”
He dragged it in, locking the gate behind him. “Yes,” he said, pushing it closer. “I figured you could use some help carrying the bigger loads of food.”
I could’ve wrapped my arms around his neck. I could’ve kissed him. But I didn’t. “You’re a genius,” I cheered and jumped up from my sulking spot.
Laken stopped moving, gawking at me. “I’ll have towrite that down. The day Reece McCarthen complimented me.”
Funny.“I don’t see the need to feed your ego.”
