The day and night go by without another incident, giving us a reprieve to heal. Yri and Cai are acting different, more guarded and haunted now. That attack must have thrown them right back into their recurring nightmares. They were the same way when they came back ten years ago, withdrawn and subdued. Ezra notices it as well, but doesn’t comment on it, knowing it won’t do any good.
Not everything can be fixed.
We can live with the scars, but all that blood on their hands at a young age changed them irrevocably. They can push past the trauma, heal and make their peace with it, but the memories are still there and no one can take them away, just replace them with better ones.
“That asshole!” Cai growls, staring at the map and back in front of us.
After our detour, we finally arrived at the base of the dragon dick Kinsley drew on the map, but his lines covered some important topography we would have liked to prepare ourselves for.
“Well boys, ready to climb Mt. Dick?” Ezra mutters, eyes lighting up as she cranes her neck.
“At least we know which one’s too big for Goldilocks here,” Yri teases, setting Ezra on her feet.
She shakes her head, tightening the straps on her backpack. “Hey, I’ll try anything once. Can’t make any decisions until we try it out.”
I frown, noting how she’s favoring her good leg. My arm’s healed well enough over the last day, so I’m not concerned, but with as steep of an angle as this is? I could carry her for part of the journey, but even I couldn’t make it to the top like that.
“Maybe we should wait another day, give your leg more of a chance to heal.”
She turns to look at me, shock painted across her face and gesturing at the last obstacle on our journey. “Dragons, Soren.Wingsare waiting for us at the top of that mountain. If you’re getting cold feet about the mate thing, you can sit out on the celebratory gangbang, but I will chop off my own leg before sitting down here another day.”
She turns, heading straight for the base of the mountain, the base at enough of an angle that we can hike for quite some time. Yri jogs off to catch up with her, leaving Cai and I a few steps behind.
“Climbing. It’s always fucking climbing,” Cai mutters under his breath in annoyance. “Leading us around by our dicks, like any of us would willingly sit out.” He continues his grumbling and bitching, but he sure is walking quickly for a guy that claims to be upset.
My eyes lock onto Ezra, studying her to make sure she’s handling the hike well with her bad leg. She doesn’t falter in her steps, but the ones on her bad leg are quick compared to the other. Yri passes her a protein bar, knowing it isn’t a cure all, but wanting her to at least keep her strength up if she insists on not taking it slow.
We follow a narrow, winding dirt trail for hours and it feels like we’ve barely made any progress. Ezra hasn’t tried to use her abilities in the last two days, but she hasn’t been complaining about sleeping in the small tent with us anymore either. I’m not sure if she’s adjusting to the heat that comes from sleeping with other people in close quarters, or the effects of the drug are wearing off. But like her, I’m scared to know the answer.
If I was wrong, if they’re permanently gone or she won’t be able to shift now, it will wreck her.
“Angel, you’re dead on your feet,” Yri insists, grabbing her elbow gently to stop her from pushing on. “At this rate, you’ll fall off the side once the climbing begins and you’ll have to start all over.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but Cai interjects and cuts her off. “And none of us know what the ritual involves. What if it’s a blood sacrifice or another trial? Do you really want to come that close just to fail?”
She swipes a shaky hand down her face, defeated. “Fuck, you’re right. I’m just worried about my brothers and want to get home, find out if they’re alright. And we’re just so damn close.”
I kiss her forehead, lifting her to finally rest on a boulder beside the path. “But you know better than to let excitement overrule common sense. Take a nap at least, alright?”
We set up camp and the three of them crawl into the tent while I take first watch. I don’t distract myself organizing backpacks, playing solitaire; nothing. I remain ever vigilant because that last ambush scared the hell out of me, in all honesty. Beyond training, the only battle I’d been involved in was the one during our escape out of the country. I’d never killed a man before that day, but I did so to protect myself and my flight, so I don’t have the same regrets Yri and Cai do.
That attack I knew was coming though, expected it. I had no delusions we were going to get on that boat without a hell of a fight. But this? They just appeared out of fucking nowhere, and I don’t know how they managed it.
No, I do know, and it’s my own fault for losing my sense to lust. I can’t let that happen again, can’t risk my flight’s lives.
She could already be pregnant for all we know. How am I supposed to protect a baby? I’ve never even been around one, but I hear they cry a lot; it would give away our position. Shit, Ezra can’t run in any gauntlets after this unless we know for sure and I’ll be damned if she goes without me after the stunt she and Cai pulled.
There’s a glint of light that catches my eye and I’m on my feet in an instant, scanning the area for anything out of place. I see nothing, but I don’t relax, too high-strung and on edge. I carefully walk the perimeter we set up for camp, eyeing every stray leaf with distrust.
A half hour passes and I slowly start to relax, but I don’t drop my guard. I stay on my feet, not wanting to be a sitting duck if something is out there for a clean shot. When I see the light catch on something again, I instantly sidestep, assuming it’s the sun reflecting off of the barrel of a gun.
There’s a sharp stab in the back of my shoulder, and I reach back to wrench it out with a snarl. “Vyrian!” I don’t use his nickname, so that even in his sleep addled state he’ll understand something’s wrong. It’s not fight or flight, it’s fight for your flight. It pushes me to fight through the sluggishness starting to seep into my muscles, through the fog beginning to cloud my mind.
Stupid, so fucking stupid. Someone had to be out there drawing my eye on purpose, letting whoever was behind me fly under the radar.
I manage to get a bullet in the man that shot the tranquilizer dart into my back, not understanding why they wouldn't try to kill me. It's Ezra they want, we're just in the way. I see the three of them scrambling out of the tent and into action, but there's no one there to fight. My fingers are loosely curled around the handle of the ground and my head is swimming as I stumble back towards them. I pass Cai my weapon, knowing I'd do more harm than good right now.
"Shit, is this what you felt like?" I mumble towards Ezra, slumping against a tree.
