Page 146 of Huntress

Elsie closed her eyes and breathed him in, letting his presence comfort and calm her. “It’s not impossible. If you want to visit your home, we can make it happen. I haven’t offered because you don’t like to talk about it, and I didn’t want to upset you.”

“How?” The question was so quiet he’d barely spoken.

“Show me on a map where to go. I’ll get myself assigned to the next mission to the nearest nest. We’ll slip out and make the trip once the mission is complete. If you’re ready to return to your home, I’ll help you get there,” she promised.

“I haven’t–” His voice cracked, and he paused, clearing his throat. “I haven’t been able to pay my respects. Or say goodbye. I don’t even know if anyone buried them.”

The ache in his soul twisted in her heart. He bent down, burying his face in her shoulder, clinging to her as if she was the only thing stopping him from drowning.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked sooner, we’ll go as soon as we can.” She held him as tightly as he held her while his shoulders shook and he took short, hiccuping breaths. Tears stung her eyes. She’d have eased his pain months ago if she’d been paying closer attention.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated over and over again, stroking his back while he fell apart. His whole body racked with deep, heaving sobs, the anguish in his low, muffled voice tearing at her guilt.

Elsie had no recollection of when they’d slid to the ground, the demon practically in her lap, nor did she have any sense of time for how long it took before he reigned in his tears. His crushing grip eased, just enough to show he was no longer completely lost to his grief. Eventually his breath evened and slowed, and he stilled, save for a sniffle here and there.

“You’ve held that in for way too long,” she sympathized. “Please don’t hide your pain from me anymore, okay? It sounds selfish to say it out loud, but I didn’t know. I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what you need help with. I’m sorry for what they’ve done to you. For what I’ve done to you.”

“You haven’t done me any harm. I may not have known it, or been willing to admit to it early on, but I haven’t blamed you for anything that’s happened here in a long time,” his voice was thick. He sat back and offered her a tired, half-smile. “We place blame where it belongs, instead of holding it between us.”

Elsie stared into his swollen, red-rimmed eyes and took his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back to the compound. We’ll head straight to the map room, and you can show me where we’re going.”

He nodded, and they walked hand in hand as long as possible, only letting go when the fear of getting caught finally overrode the desire to hang on. They moved through the compound with purpose, matching scowls on their faces, and not one person dared to stop them.

There were only two men in the map room when they entered, and they barely looked up from their work to acknowledge Elsie and her demon’s arrival. They stood over the display map of the entire continent.

“Where?” was all she said.

His eyes traveled south down the west coast, then east. He squinted slightly, reading the topography, then pointed at a blue smudge representing a lake.

Elsie frowned, measuring the distance between his lake and the nearest colonies. “Your people were hundreds of miles away from the nearest nest. How did they even find you?” she muttered.

“There wasn’t a nest nearby, but there were hunters in the area now and then. They were coming around more regularly toward the end. We avoided them, and they left us alone. Until they didn’t.”

“Wait,” she moved her finger to an empty space about one hundred miles away. “Grady has a theory that one of the research facilities is right around here. If he’s right about their location, they could have noticed your family, and Cornick would have been close enough to give the order.”

A low rumbling growl resounded deep in Saint’s chest before he caught himself and cut it off. One of the geographers gave them an exasperated look, rolling his eyes at them before going back to his work.

Elsie fumbled her way around the stacks before finding and pulling a map of the area Saint had indicated. She walked over to one of the geographers, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

“What is it?” he asked, a peeved expression on his face.

“I’m going to borrow this, if that’s okay?”

“You’re the captain of the first squad. We’re not allowed to deny you basic resources without cause.”

“Good to know. I’ll bring it back in one piece.” She filed that knowledge away into a pocket of useful information to use to her advantage later.

“Hey!” Elsie greeted Roz a few minutes later. “What do you have for missions lately?”

The administrator’s gaze roved over Elsie from head to toe, then back again. “I don’t see it.”

“See what?” Elsie asked.

“Where you’re keeping balls big enough to get picky over jobs.”

Elsie snorted. “It’s nothing like that. Albright told me I have the right to pick and choose my missions. I’m curious about what’s available.”

“You have the right to refuse missions if they interfere with your other work, that’s true, but it’s not a free-for-all. You can’t decline everything, certain missions require you personally,” Roz said. “For example…”