NO MORE
Jayden stared at the arrow. Not Ryan too. Everyone was being taken from her. She raced in front of Ryan. “Let him go!”
“Jayden!” Ryan grabbed her shoulders.
A growl resounded from somewhere near, but she saw nothing. What was it? More magic? Was Idla rising from the dead?
The man lowered his weapon. “Westwind seems to think you’re a friend.”
Westwind? A surge of relief flooded her veins. Two wolves stood, the grass no longer hiding them from view. Westwind raced over to her and flipped her hand over his head with his cool nose. She fell to her knees and hugged his neck. His soft coat brushed away her tears.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his fur. “Logan’s dead.”
Westwind pulled away from her. The fur between his ears wrinkled and he shook his head.
“He—he’s alive?” At his nod, joy welled up in her heart.
The Feravolk man put out a hand to help Jayden up. “Come on. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“You’re Logan’s friend?”
“Name’s Gavin.” He motioned to the other wolf. “Follow Aurora to the trees. My wife Melanie will take you to our camp. Some redheads will be happy to see you, I’m sure.”
“But we—”
“Come on, Jayden.” Ryan towed her up, but Westwind growled and nipped Ryan’s leg.
“Westwind, they need to leave,” Gavin said.
“Look.” Jayden pointed to the secret exit.
Logan emerged. Jayden’s heart tripped on a beat. Blood covered his shirt in more than one place and soaked through a bandage around his left arm, but he was alive.
When he saw her, he sighed. She raced to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. “I’m all right, Jayden.” He hugged her close. “You?”
She nodded once, tears collecting in her eyes.
Together they followed the wolves into the forest.
Ryan stumbled often. Jayden walked near him and clutched his arm. He had to be just as exhausted as she.
Just when Jayden thought she’d collapse, Aurora stopped. She realized at once how much she needed water, and how much her legs had been relying on emotion to keep her running. They felt like wilting celery now.
“Logan?” Ryan’s voice cracked.
Heart pounding, Jayden whirled around. Ryan never sounded panicked.
Icy water spread through every one of her veins. Standing ten paces away was a huge, tawny mountain lion. A long, pink tongue swept over the cat’s whiskered cheek.
The cat paced closer.
Jayden let go of Ryan’s arm and slipped her hand inside her boot. Her fingers curled around the familiar handle of her assassin’s dagger. Yellow eyes locked onto her as if the cat knew what she was doing.
“Wait. Callie’s with me. She won’t hurt you if you don’t do anything stupid.” A petite blonde-haired woman stepped out from the trees and lowered the hood of her Feravolk cloak.
“Melanie.” Logan seemed relieved.
“You don’t look very good, Logan.” She walked toward him, but glanced toward Gavin and her eyebrows shot up. “You were going to let her hurt Callie?”
“Me? You could’ve come out sooner.” His smile deepened the wrinkles around his eyes.
Melanie reached Logan and inspected his arm with a wince. “You need stitches.”
“Thank you for coming.”
She smiled. “We found your red-headed tagalongs, and a dog?” She eyed him. “They’re just through here, setting up camp.” She led them past a cluster of trees, and Jayden blinked. She was apparently exhausted, because she would have walked right by Ryan’s sisters and Scout had Melanie not led her right to them.
Tail tucked, Scout wandered over. His brown eyes looked large and sad as he curled up beside Jayden’s leg. So he knew about Ethan. Jayden hugged his neck.
Three red-haired girls rushed forward. Chloe stopped in front of Ryan, her green eyes wide as she reached toward the red stain on his shirt.
“I’m fine, Chloe.”
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and she flung her arms around him. His other two sisters joined the hug.
Ryan chuckled. “Careful. I’m not made of steel.”
“Ethan?” Chloe whispered.
“I—I’m sorry,” Ryan whispered.
Jayden swallowed the lump in her throat. If Ryan had died too . . . The lump choked her again, and she squeezed Scout tighter.
“You could all use a good rest. Some of your wounds need tending to,” Melanie said. She nodded toward Ryan. “You first.”
Ryan backed away. “I’m fine.”
Melanie cocked an eyebrow.
He touched the dried blood on his shirt. “I just pulled—”
In one swift motion, Melanie lifted his shirt, and Jayden gawked at the sight. Ryan’s stitches were pulled, all right. Pulled clean out. Gone. Only a huge scar remained—healed. The uneven edge encroached on his birthmark like a dagger piercing it.
Above the scar were four small marks in the shape of a crescent moon—also healed—where the black lion’s claws had dug into his skin.
Ryan swallowed. “I heal fast.”
“That you do.” Melanie let his shirt fall. Her brown eyes searched his face.
Logan’s hand thudded on Ryan’s shoulder. “Why don’t you kids get some rest?
Ryan nodded, but avoided Jayden’s questioning eyes. He headed to grab a bedroll.
Oh no, he wasn’t going to just walk away without an explanation. Jayden followed him, and towed him farther away from the others. “What happened in there?”
His eyes met hers and his emotion slammed into her. Fear. Sorrow. Hurt. Why were they hitting her so freely? As quick as they’d come, every feeling winked out like he’d blocked them from her. His chest heaved. “You first.”
Jayden closed her eyes and bowed her head as the pain gripped her insides. It was unfair to make him tell her what happened so soon. This was Ryan. He would tell her when he was ready. “I shouldn’t have pushed you. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry about Ethan.”
His finger grazed her arm. “I told you not to blame yourself. I’m the reason he was in this mess.”
She looked up. “What do you mean?”
“I asked him to take care of you.”
“What?” Her fingernails dug into her palms. How could he do that? Didn’t he know about Ethan’s sacrificial tendencies when it came to protecting his very good friends?
“When I was dying, I sent him a message. I don’t know how, but I did. And I asked him to take care of you.”
Now it all made sense. The connection, Ethan’s commitment—he was just following his brother’s wishes. Dying wishes.
Jayden’s heart clutched. She leaned against Ryan. With her eyes closed, the scent of her mother’s honeysuckle swelled in her memory. She could almost feel the warm summer sun and hear the cowbells clanking. He’d taken her back home, a place she could never go again. He would always remind her of home.
Ryan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you believe what the queen said? About love being a weakness?”
She hugged him tighter, and his arms—his strong blacksmith’s arms—gripped her back. “No. But I believe using any strength has its risks.”
“But you’re willing to take that risk now and let love protect you?” His breath heated her hair. “Like what your family did? Like what Ethan did, and I will continue to do?”
“Yes.” And her love would protect him back. Always. “Exactly like that.”
Dry twigs crunched. Jayden looked up from Ryan’s chest to see Logan approach.
He handed her water and the satchel her mother had given her, and gave her a weak smile. “Chloe went back to the wagon for our belongings.”
She clutched the satchel close. Idla had broken her necklace. This was the only thing she had left from her family.
Logan placed a warm hand on her shoulder. “We should put more distance between us and the palace. Idla might be dead, but she’s not our only enemy. My camp is three days from here. I’ll feel a lot safer when I get you kids home.”
Home. Something warmed the numbness in Jayden’s chest. That felt right. She may have lost so much now, but Ryan was right. She would persevere. Her mother had told her to survive; Ethan had given his life for her. She wouldn’t waste their precious gifts. Anna had made her Destiny Path clear, even if she didn’t want to believe it at the time.
She strapped her satchel to her back, grabbed Ryan’s hand, and fell in line behind Logan. The love of everyone who had ever protected her would fuel her perseverance. She would save the Feravolk, no matter the cost. They were her family now.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. The next storm broke.