Page 15

One more guttural growl, and the entire pack raced toward us. Lyric squeaked in fear, and I crouched down into a ball. Another growl, this one more human-like, thundered across the meadow. The ground beneath my feet trembled. I’d followed my three friends, blindly, without question, and it seemed they’d led me to a certain and terrifying death. I balled up so tightly, my heart pounded against my ribs. I shut my eyes hard but couldn’t find a way to shut out the bloodcurdling sounds, the howls of pain, the tearing of flesh, and the liquid sloshing of blood-filled wounds.

Lyric tapped my shoulder. It startled me and caused me to curl tighter like a pill bug being teased by a kid. “It’s all right, Rafi.” Lyric’s quiet words rained down on me. “Revel is here.” It took me a few seconds to find the courage to open my eyes. She offered me her hand. I grasped it and straightened.

The horrifying clamor had slowed to small bursts of noise, low growls and whimpers. Every inch of me trembled and dizziness swept over me. When it cleared, the breath I’d been holding swept out of my lungs.

The silver and black beasts were on the opposite side of the river, running for the trees. Trails of blood followed them. They picked up their fallen comrade and carried his lifeless body along.

Standing on our side, his back toward us as he watched the beasts in retreat, was a man so big, so broad, he looked as if he could pick up the earth and hold it on one hand. A long, faded coat stretched across massive shoulders and hung to the tops of his tall leather boots. A bloodied axe with a large, curved blade that looked as if could slice an atom in half rested over his shoulder. His long, thick, dark blonde hair was wild and uncombed with sun-bleached streaks.

“About time you got here, Greyhart,” Austri said.

“Guess I should have cut my picnic short.” The man didn’t turn. He waited to make sure the beasts were gone. “Fenrick wasn’t messing around. Those eight were the ones that got past me.” He finally pulled his focus away from the forest. A straight nose and chiseled, strong jaw came into view as he turned. Muscular thighs were wrapped in tight buckskin breeches. He nodded to Madigan and then faced Lyric and me. I was still holding my friend’s hand as if I was made of helium and would float away if she let go.

The scratch on the side of his eye, and the blood smeared on his face, neck and shirt, didn’t take away from his extraordinary appearance. His hazel eyes seemed to shift color in the wavering daylight.

I squeezed Lyric’s hand harder. She leaned her head closer. “Yeah, Revel kind of does that to women,” she whispered.

And then it hit me. I’d seen those hazel eyes before, in my last glitch, only they were no longer looking out from the face of a boy or teenager. They were looking out from a man’s face.

And what an unforgettable man he was.

Six

The closer he got, the more breathtaking he became. Three thin, tightly plaited braids dangled in his unkempt locks. Each braid was tied off with an intricately carved silver bead. Sunlight made his eyes an unearthly green. He stared at me. I squeezed Lyric’s hand again.

His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked me up and down. “This is her? She’s no bigger than a whisper.”

His words bristled me. I leaned my head closer to Lyric. “Right, I’m the outlier on the size spectrum.”

Lyric laughed behind her hand. Even though we had a rapt audience, I still spoke quietly to her as if we were having a personal conversation. Lyric stuck her knife back in its sheath. She shrugged. “The knife’s really mostly for show, but it comes in handy sometimes.” She straightened and cleared her throat importantly. “Raphael Willow, this is Revel Greyhart. He’s here to lead us to Norvale.”

It was time for Austri’s self-important throat clearing. “I’m the tracker.”

Lyric nodded once sharply. “Right. Austri is leading us to Norvale, and Revel is here to …” Revel crossed his arms to wait for her to finish. As he crossed them, his massive biceps bunched up like basketballs. “Well, he does his Revel thing, and generally, that means blood and stuff like that. As is evidenced by the fact that he’s wearing a lot of it right now.”

“Lyric, I see you’re just as silly as ever,” Revel said.

I put my hands on my hips. “Uh, don’t talk to my friend like that.” My first impression of him, breathtaking and unforgettable, was overshadowed by his attitude.

A small crooked smile formed on his mouth, and damn if it didn’t make him even more appealing. “Right. Madi, Austri, we need to go before we lose too much daylight.”

“How are we getting Rafi across?” Madigan asked.

This topic helped me forget my indignation. I was a hundred percent in for protecting Lyric’s feelings, but crossing the dangerous river put my resolve on the back burner. “I still don’t understand why I can’t just cross the bridge and meet all of you on the other side.”

Revel glanced back at me over his big shoulder. His long coat was made of some kind of suede-like material. The contrasting white shirt beneath and the unruly head of dark blond hair gave him a sort of stylishly feral look. “I’ll take her. I can take you across, too, Lyric.”

Lyric lifted her chin and waved her hand at him. “Silly little Lyric doesn’t need the ride.” She spun around and hugged me. “You can trust him, Rafi.” She turned back and ran toward the rapidly moving water.

“Lyric! No!” I yelled.

Her long, thin legs left the ground, and she landed easily and delicately on the other side. She turned around and gave Revel another chin lift. “See you try and do that, Rev.”

Revel ignored her. “Austri?” he asked.

“Just give me a little boost,” Austri told him.

Revel walked over to Austri. “Here, take this with you, so it doesn’t get wet.” Revel shed his long coat and balled it up as small as possible, which wasn’t small at all. He wore a loose-fitting, white drop-sleeved shirt, and every time he moved, his muscles pressed against the thin fabric. I found it hard to look away from those darn arms.