Delphine, Cassia, and Castor’s gazes all shot to her. Bridget knew the tension between her and Cade was obvious to them. She’d avoided being alone with him since they’d discovered Nylah missing. If she hadn’t been so distracted by trying to solve the past and their bond, her sister would still be with her.
After a moment, Bridget admitted, “I tried to break up with him.”
Cassia practically almost fell off her horse. “What?” she stuttered.
“Why?” Delphine asked, brows furrowed. She trotted her horse closer to Bridget’s.
Bridget didn’t have to look up to know every head turned toward her. The tension between her and Cade had been impossible to miss.
Her stomach flopped. If she told them about the bond, Cade would know. And most likely, they wouldn’t understand why it was so imperative that it be broken. Without the past, she probably wouldn’t understand it herself.
“It’s not important right now,” she mumbled, shifting her gaze to where Cade and his father were locked in a tense conversation. Their voices started to rise, drawing uneasy glances from the soldiers in front of them. With a resigned sigh, Stellan spurred his horse forward, trotting up to join them. After a moment, Deckard snarled something unintelligible and yanked his reins to veer off the main path, turning east.
Relief coursed through Bridget. At least now they were on the right course and had a chance of finding Vega and Nylah before they reached Cavamyne. She patted the potion bottles in her saddle bag just to reassure herself they were still there.
Lowering her voice, Bridget turned to Delphine. “How strong are you feeling?”
Delphine’s throat bobbed. “Does it matter? I’m going to have to get over my fear whether I like it or not, if the past few hours are any indication.”
“Good.” Bridget cast a quick glance at the others, who were distracted adjusting their course behind Cade and his father. Her voice dropped even further. “If we get close to Cavamyne and we still haven’t found them, I want you to jump me there first.”
Delphine blinked, hesitation rippling across her face as her hands tightened around her reins. Guilt settled in Bridget's chest. It wasn’t fair to ask. But if they didn’t find Vega first, then it would be the only way to ensure no one else walked into a trap.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Delphine asked.
“It’s me that my sister wants.”
She’d revealed too much to Vega in her dreams. She’d let her see just how much Nylah meant to her. And if anything was Vega’s specialty, it was using the people you loved against you.
Delphine’s gaze moved past Bridget. Her mouth twitched slightly as she looked at Cade, who was already riding back toward them. “He asked me the same thing, you know,” she said softly.
Bridget’s chest tightened. Of course he had. Cade always had a plan. He always tried to stay one step ahead. But this wasn’t something he could control. Not this time.
Clearing her throat, she said, “It has to be me.”
The words hung in the air just long enough to feel like a vow before silence fell between them. Cade returned to her side, his expressionunreadable. Bridget gave him a half-hearted smile, then turned back toward the trail ahead.
As they moved closer to the valley, the trees thinned. Their bark silvered and cracked, as if the land had been drained of life. The path narrowed, turning rocky and uneven, forcing their horses to slow to a careful walk. Gray smoke clung low across the ground like mist, curling between jagged stones and skeletal trees. It didn’t smell like fire. It smelled like something older. Forgotten.
No birds sang here. No branches rustled. Even the wind seemed hesitant to enter the valley.
It was exactly as Bridget remembered.
Only worse.
It was completely lifeless. Drained of everything beautiful, but dangerous, about it since the Sanguis had infiltrated Cavamyne so many years ago.
They had just passed a marker she remembered, one that indicated the tavern was ahead, when Cade saddled up beside her. To her luck, the search party had fallen into silence as they traveled. For a long time, the only sound Bridget had heard was her own heartbeat, and the occasional barked order from Deckard.
All morning, she’d been able to ignore Cade’s imploring gaze. Until now. He was so close, his leg brushed against hers, stealing her breath. Lowering his voice, he said, “We never finished our conversation.”
Bridget tightened her grip on the reins. Her horse instinctively slowed, and Cade matched her pace as they drifted behind the others.
“Now’s not the time,” she said.
“I think it is.”
Bridget’s jaw clenched. “You don’t understand what she’s like, Cade. This isn’t going to end well, no matter what you think you have planned.”
