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“But you’ve already run. So, why are you really here?” Wiri dropped his arm and took a step away from her. The boulder lodged in his throat and stopped him from swallowing.
“I didn’t run away, I came to see you.” Serenity settled over Phoenix, a confidence and a peace older than her years. “I’m here because I miss you. We didn’t get the chance to talk because of everything that happened over the summer.” Her gaze slid to his wrist, and she smiled at the beads clinging to the weak elastic. “I love you, Wiri. But we’re going to make Mama and Papa listen to us.” She turned with a sigh and stared up the mountain, at the paddocks dotted across the landscape. They resembled a patchwork of green, bisected by lines of fencing. The cattle grazed in groups, always a few stragglers littered about the hillside.
Her gaze settled on the mare as the horse lay down again, collapsing first onto her knees before sinking her rump into the grass. “Papa hates lies and divisiveness more than anything. You were right before when you wanted to tell them the truth. I should have listened.”
She reached for his hand, clasping her fingers around it and bringing the bandage to her lips. “He’s afraid we’ll be like the others,” she whispered. “Like our ancestors. He believes we’ll mess everything up and ruin what he’s built. But we won’t, will we?”
Wiri groaned. “It’s too late for that, Phoe. I’ve already lied. He thinks I went north to the cousins and instead, I came south to a job I got on my own.” He shook his head and licked his lips. “Look how that turned out!”
“It’s too late for a lot of things!” Phoenix rounded on him, her eyes flashing and her teeth gritted. “But it’s not too late for us.”
“How do you know what Logan thinks?” Wiri slapped his palm on the balustrade and the impact sent pain through his torn finger. He shook his head and glared at her. “You told them, didn’t you?” It hurt more than he imagined it would. The Plan meant he’d be cut off, but he pictured himself getting ready for the moment, preparing for his future as a Kingii and not a Du Rose. “It’s too early,” he said, his tone laden with regret. “I’m not ready. You’re not sixteen.” He turned back to her, sensing her trepidation as she faced him with defiance and fear. She looked so tiny and fragile, a twenty-year-old woman in a fifteen-year-old’s body. But it didn’t make it right. Or legal.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, as though waiting for the world to crash down on their shoulders and bury them together in the loamy soil. “What happened?” He asked without wanting to know the answer.
“Nothing.” She spoke the word into his chest. Even muffled, it communicated her sadness. “He got up and walked out of the house. Mum ran after him. I don’t know where they went. Mac avoided trouble by going in the shower, so I stole his phone. The later it got, the more I realised I couldn’t face them, so I left.”
Wiri arched his spine so he could study her expression. His muscles felt less rigid. The heady mix of Phoenix and pain pills had given him a temporary reprieve from his ailments. The headache seemed less angry. “Didn’t you bring anything with you?” he asked.
Phoenix shook her head. “Just Mac’s phone. I turned mine off and hid it at the bottom of my wardrobe. I didn’t want Papa to track it. You can bet your life Mac’s blocked the GPS app on his.” She slid her lower jaw to one side, twisting her face and giving her a quizzical expression. “I want to face them, but I need you with me. We understand what they’re afraid of, Wiri. We can prove we’re different.”
He exhaled and looked around him at the craggy mountain, wondering what it thought to their shared dilemma. He guessed it had seen many others, worse or couched in more hopelessness. “This place is a bust,” he admitted. “I doubt I’ll get paid, although I’ve spent more time damaging myself than actually working.” He tutted and watched the mare stagger to her feet. She walked a few paces before lying down again and rolling onto her side. Phoenix followed his gaze and pursed her lips.
“We need to go up and see what’s happening,” she said. Her fingers twitched as she lifted them to push her fringe from her eyes. “I have a bad feeling.”
“Me too.” Wiri winced and heaved in a breath filled with conviction. “We can take my truck, but you should drive.”
