Chapter 47
Rufus struggles to get the right angle to cut the rope.
It doesn’t help that his sword is as sharp as a piece of bark.
After an eternity of sawing, the fraying spot begins to unravel.
I grunt and rip the remaining strands free.
The disgusting gag in my mouth goes next.
I spit. ‘Faster,’ I urge Rufus, then take over the unwrapping of my legs from the bands binding me.
‘Ryland,’ I shout, pushing to my feet. I slow considerably when I reach him, because I don’t know what I’m looking at, and I’m scared to figure it out.
Miraculously, his eyes blink open slowly.
I huff – he’s still alive. But how?
A line forms between his brows as he struggles to lift his head. His confusion grows when he sees Agatha lying on his chest.
There’s so much blood. It puddles between them.
‘Agatha,’ I venture tentatively, my hands shaking. I know she’s injured too after taking a bolt to the stomach, but that didn’t stop her from running to Ryland the second Rufus set her free. Dread pools in my gut. She’s so still. I drop down beside the two of them.
Slowly, Ryland rolls Agatha to the side, and her arm smacks hard against the ground.
I gasp, my hands flying to cover my mouth, knowing she’s dead.
No.
Even if her eyes weren’t open and empty, there’s no mistaking the bloodless pallor of her skin. My sister, all the family I had left in the world, is gone.
Ryland’s hand shoots to her neck, checking for a pulse. He grimaces, then readjusts his fingers. ‘Come on, come on,’ he chants. The seconds painfully tick by, until Ryland finally gives up and drops his head. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No, Agatha,’ I whisper, pulling her head into my lap and rocking her gently back and forth – but I stop when I see her chest. ‘How did this happen? She wasn’t shot three times.’
Ryland looks just as stunned as he stares. His hand drifts to his own chest, feeling around. He winces. ‘She … Agatha healed me. At least the worst of it. But how … I was –’
I don’t understand. ‘Are you saying that the connection did this somehow? You gave this to her?’
His eyes snap to me. ‘No. It doesn’t work that way.
’ He grimaces in pain as he tries to move closer.
‘I thought she was you. I mean, the sun was shining …’ He shakes his head in disbelief, then goes still.
‘She sounded like you. She even said that Agatha didn’t want to come over …
so I tried to connect with her. To heal her.
But I … I don’t know what happened. I must have stopped. ’
And she returned the favour.
He keeps talking, but I can’t listen any more. The rest is pointless. All that matters has been said.
My sister made yet another impulsive choice, and this time it’s too late for me to save her.
I cling to Agatha as a weakness slips over my body. A strange mix of numbness and the feeling of being buried alive.
‘Marian,’ Ryland says, voice broken.
‘He’s over here,’ Levi calls, running up.
Samuel follows, his face scowling, sword clutched as he assesses for threats. He checks to make sure Atlas is dead before turning to Ryland. His movements go unnaturally slow when he sees the blood. ‘Are those arrow wounds? How many?’
‘Two bolts – one gut, one chest. Partially healed.’
Samuel’s narrowed gaze slides to Agatha in understanding. ‘How partially?’
‘Enough,’ Ryland says.
‘Not for an infection. Show me,’ Samuel commands.
Ryland reluctantly moves his arm from his stomach, wincing at the movement.
Sam lifts Ryland’s shirt for him, then abruptly stands. ‘We leave right now,’ he snaps. ‘Levi, get a trailer. Kill somebody if you have to.’
With wide eyes, Levi nods and sprints off.
Samuel turns to me. ‘Are you injured? You going to be able to ride?’
‘She can come on the trailer with me,’ Ryland says.
A long strand of Agatha’s hair, the exact same colour as mine, is lying across her nose. With a gentle finger, I tuck it behind her ear. Slowly, my head shakes.
‘No, you’re not able to ride?’ Samuel asks, his voice softening. ‘Or no, you don’t want to ride with Ryland?’
‘I’m not coming,’ I mumble. But there is relief in knowing that Ryland’s taken care of.
‘Marian,’ Ryland says carefully. ‘I know this is … awful, but you have to come to Kingsland.’
No, I don’t. There’s only one thing I have to do. My mind won’t stop drifting back to Agatha, and my heartbeats turn arthritic. Every fibre of my being begs for this to be a lie. A cruel nightmare.
We were supposed to have more time to fix the problems between us.
Now any chance of real reconciliation is over. I struggle to take a breath.
Ryland keeps talking, listing all the logical reasons I need to go with him. None of it resonates. I don’t care.
This is what happens when I let people close. They get hurt. Hurt enough to die.
Lucky shows up, limping but otherwise okay. Then Clark arrives on horseback with Fitzgerald, who’s suffered some burns on his arm and face. Ryland’s agitation only grows when they volunteer to accompany me back to Notting.
‘No, she needs to come with me!’ Ryland says. ‘She’s not in any condition to fight if you’re raided on the way back.’
My mind wanders – how am I going to explain Agatha’s death to Dezzy?
Eventually, Levi arrives with a trailer and most of our horses, and the arguing between Samuel and Ryland escalates. Ryland insists they force me to come. Samuel threatens to tie Ryland up.
Ryland holds his stomach and struggles to his feet, then shoves Samuel. He yells, his tone harsher than anything I’ve heard from him before.
Samuel takes it, falling back a step. And when he responds it’s almost soft. ‘You’re really going to boss her around like her father?’
Ryland looks like he’s been struck.
Samuel exhales noisily through his crooked nose. ‘You know this has to be her decision.’ Then he turns to me. ‘So, what’s your choice? Hurry up because the clock is ticking. I need to get Ryland to a doctor.’
I stroke my fingers over Agatha’s tangled hair. It doesn’t even feel like a choice. ‘I’m going home to bury my family.’ She needs to be buried beside our mother.