Page 86

Time was the hardest thing to track out here but was the most important thing to our survival. The clock was ticking.

Raelynn’s skin glistened with sweat, making my hackles rise. How long would she last with human blood coursing through her veins?

“Are you on watch?”

“Guess so,” I mumbled, looking at Zeke. “He needs to rest.”

“Are you okay? I can watch while you sleep some more. I’ll wake you if something happens.”

I chuckled. “You’re worried about me, brat?”

She glared at me.

“I’ll be fine. Your blood did what it needed to.” I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled with a huff, looking at her. “Thanks for saving me.”

She rubbed her arm and nodded.

I didn’t expect her to respond to my gratitude. It felt foreign enough to even say it without her adding anything. But she deserved to know it mattered to me. I only wished I possessed the words to communicate what it meant that she looked out for Zeke and saved me when I lost control and couldn’t protect him. But Ash was the one with the poetic vocabulary, not me.

I closed my eyes, listening to every little crack and thump in the distance, thinking of the small pouch burning a hole in my pocket.

If I didn’t meet Raelynn halfway, I’d lose Zeke.

I wasn’t worried she’d take him away from me; she’d assured me she wouldn’t, and Zeke wouldn’t abandon me after all we’d been through together. My concern was that if our constant fighting continued to stress him out, I’d have to step away for his sake. He lived with way too much anxiety without me adding to it.

“You know, I’m okay with it,” I said, breaking the silence.

“With what?”

I rolled my head against the tree and looked at her. “Zeke. You. I wasn’t before, but I can’t ignore how happy you make him.”

She looked from me to where Zeke slept, oblivious to our conversation. Her probing gaze settled on me again. “Are you? Okay with it, I mean.” She didn’t hide the skepticism in her voice.

I sucked my teeth. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.” I licked my lips. “You know what he’s been through. He’s only been able to rely on us to protect him.”

“He’s strong,” she said, voice firm.

I inclined my head. “Yeah. He is.” My gaze swept over Zeke’s lean body, taking in the definition of his shoulders and chest beneath his dress shirt riddled with small tears from battle.

He’d spent years training hard to transform from a lanky, easy target into someone who could hold his own—if not take me down a time or two.

But we still needed to protect him from Cornaith. No matter how hard Zeke trained his body, his mind remained prisoner to Ezra’s asshole father.

I pushed thoughts of Cornaith aside before they set me off. I needed a level head to have this conversation with Raelynn.

“But there’s more to why I look after him,” I said.

“Well, you love him.” She shrugged. “It makes sense.”

“No. He’s different—like Ezra.” My eyes met hers. “People are afraid of Ezra’s Void powers. But they also fear Zeke.”

“Why would anyone be afraid of him? He’s harmless.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. If he didn’t have to, he’d never fight.”

“Then why? Why are they afraid of him?”

“Because he’s a Vithrelas and a seer. They’re afraid of what he might see if he touches them through a vision. But if he uses his Vithrelas powers, he can immobilize them and see things in their mind they don’t want anyone to know.”