This war was too important to endanger it.
“The journey back will be hard,” he said. “I can send some of the warriors back with you–”
“No!” My hand grabbed his before I realized what I was doing. The moment our fingers touched, even through my gloves, energy sizzled, like something had come alive once more. “No. Nobody–absolutelynobody–needs to know I’m trapped.”
If I’d been a free target on Sanctua Sirena, I shuddered to think what kind of attacks being trapped would bring.
“The warriors are marching for war, they have better things to worry about than not seeing me. The only one who’ll notice is Geryll, and he won’t tell,” I said with absolute certainty.
Ryker’s fingers held on tightly to mine.
“We can pitch your tent next to ours every night,” he said, however reluctantly.
But we needed a solution and we were creating one on the spot together.
“Don’t forget to make some snide remarks about Dax and I needing peace and quiet to write our little journals, they won’t suspect a thing,” I went on.
“Sylvester’s been flying above you for most of the journey,” he said. “He can fly with us until nighttime, change positions every other hour, to mimic your spot.”
A nervous laugh escaped my tight throat. “He will probably hate that.”
“What about the people in the city?” Dax asked. “Or do you want to go full recluse in the frozen tundra until the war’s done?”
With the few provisions I had on me, I wouldn’t have been able to survive in this cold even if I wanted to.
I looked back at the vast expanse of snow and ice waiting for me. Ryker’s fingers tightened around mine, centering.
“We’ll tell Solkar’s Reach we had a change of strategy,” I said suddenly. “We decided The Huntress would stay back anddefend the city. Nobody apart from Ryker can come in or leave until the war has ended, they won’t beableto tell anyone.”
Ryker’s hand tensed. “And if word does get out before the troops realize…”
“Then we’ll know the traitor is still here,” I finished.
“Let’s hope the traitor–if one does exist–left with you,” Dax said. “And dies in the war.”
“No,” Ryker said. “They need to survive. A corpse can’t reveal how they stole from me.”
His other hand engulfed mine, as if not wanting to let me go.
Ever.
“Are you sure?” he muttered.
No.
“There’s no other way.” I forced a shaky smile. “The crater won’t let me leave and you have to go.”
We locked eyes, once again pulled apart by circumstances larger than us.
He would leave.
I would stay.
And some ugly part of me whispered that this was how it always would be.
“I’ll be safe,” I said once more. “Defend us. Come back alive.”
Please come back alive.
