“Breathe, baby.”
I clamped my eyes shut at the memory andhisvoice, invading me.
“You’re strong, Ava. You can do this.”
Owen’s voice was drowned out by Grayson’s, so vivid, I looked up, sure I’ll see him standing behind Owen.“And you’re afiercefighter, little badger. I have the scars to prove it.”
I clutched at my burning chest, my gasps turning into raw sobs.
“Ava! Look at me.” Owen shook my shoulders.
“Stop! Look at me! I won’t touch you; I promise. I’m just trying to keep you alive.”
“Ava!” Owen tried to pull me back from the brink of madness. “Don’t make me slap you. I swear to God, I will.”
I huffed a breathless laugh. Then another and another. I doubled over in laughter as the memory of Grayson pinning me underneath him, then slapping me, took over my senses.“For the love of God, shut the fuck up!”
I laughed at the memory. At how I had been so completely feral that Grayson had to resort to slapping me.Twice.
I laughed at how I had thought it was the worst day of my life.
I laughed at the absurdity of it all. What the fuck had my life become?
“Ava…”
I looked up at Owen, who was staring worriedly at me.
I laughed at his expression too, before I wiped at my eyes. “I’m fine,” I tried to reassure him through my dying laughter. “I’m fine now. It’s fine.” I pushed off the seat. “Let’s go.”
I walked past George, Emerie and Liam who were all looking at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was.
We reached the cabin, and I stopped just before the edge of the clearing. I might be crazy, but I would’ve been a complete lunatic to set foot inside that cabin. Just the sight of it left me breathless again.
It was too soon. I couldn’t face the ghosts in there. Not yet.
Owen stopped by my side, staring up at it. “It’ll get better, you know?”
I could hear the worry in his voice, so I nodded my agreement. It was the sociable thing to do. But it just wasn’t true. Nothing would make me whole again.
Owen beckoned his team forward, cautiously making their way up the porch steps. They silently disappeared into the cabin. Not even the screen door squeaked or slammed as it always had. I leaned my head against a tree, blocking out the familiar sounds around me. It felt too much like coming home. But coming home to find a fire had destroyed it.
“I had watched the two of you run up to the cabin throughthatwindow.” The ranger’s voice made me jump. He stood a little behind me, pointing at the kitchen window. “When he threw you over his shoulder, you were laughing and... the two of you looked so in love it made me miss my wife.” He chuckled humourlessly. “I had no idea you were the girl that had been abducted.” He peered down at me from the corner of his eyes. “I should have known something was up by the way he refused to let go of you. I mistook it for young love.” He was quiet for a while. “I’m sorry for not recognising you.”
“That’s okay, George. I didn’t want you to recognise me. Iwasin love.” I gave him a small smile to hide my embarrassment at how stupid I had been, then cleared my throat. “Do you know where Rainbow Falls is?”
George nodded, his eyes a bit surprised. “I’ve never seen it, but I know it’s around here somewhere. The rangers all talk about it. But we’ve kept it from the public. You know about it?”
“That’s where we came from that day. It was utterly magical. I don’t know how, but it still looked like summer there, you know? Like winter respected it too much, to let it wither in the cold.” I chuckled at my own delusional thinking. “But please don’t tell them.” I nodded towards the cabin and the agents inside it. “I haven’t mentioned it. I don’t want them desecrating the place.”
George frowned. “Rainbow Falls is sacred. I won’t say anything.”
“Would you be able to find it from here?” I hoped. Maybe if I could get to that sacred place, somewhere closer to the gods, they would listen to me. Maybe I could convince them to bring my soul back to me.
The ranger shook his head, looking the way Grayson and I had immerged from the forest that day. “No, sorry, I don’t think so.”
I only nodded as Owen came down the porch steps. “Ava, will you show me the bunker?”
I sighed and walked around the cabin, Owen following on my heels. This was all futile. I kept my eyes down as I passed our bedroom window, sure that I would see him sitting on the windowsill, staring out over the forest. I walked into the trees and stopped at the hatch door. I flipped open the cover to the keypad, then hesitated. Would they have changed the password?
