Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ifind Bastian waiting exactly where he said he would.
He’s casually leaning up against a tree at the edge of the forest, rucksack dangling from his fingers, looking to anyone that he hasn’t a care in the world.
It’s almost enough to make me laugh. I wish I could look even the smallest bit as carefree as he appears, but there are too many thoughts and revelations rattling around in my mind for me to ever feel carefree again.
Although, for all he looks carefree, I can see a muscle in his jaw flutter as it tenses and his eyes quickly skim my form, assessing that I’m unharmed.
“Tell me, staellara. What’s your plan?” he asks with a smirk that feels false for the tension I know is flowing through him.
I take a fortifying breath before I present him with my plan.
“I want to find my parents,” I announce with conviction.
“I feel like they’ll be able to answer more questions.
About my heritage, my powers. Everything, really.
” He nods but doesn’t seem at all surprised by my choice.
I tilt my head, assessing him, hands on my hips.
“You knew that was what I was going to want to do, didn’t you? ”
He smirks. “I wouldn’t say I knew it was what you wanted. It was certainly a safe bet.”
I roll my eyes at him. He acts as if he’s known me for years, not less than a week.
“Shall we get going?” he asks, softly. “I don’t want to rush you in case there’s more you wish to do before we head off.
Anyone else you wish to see.” I almost think I hear an edge of violence lacing his words with that sentence but when he continues speaking it’s gone, leaving me thinking I’ve imagined it.
“But we should head out soon, before we lose the light.”
“Yes, of course.” My mind jumps to Tom for a brief moment. Should I find him to apologize for the way we left things? I immediately shake that thought off and push my shoulders back. “I have nothing else I need to do. We can go.”
His eyes narrow for a moment before offering a quick nod and striding back in the direction of the portal, back to Grimhallow. I have to practically jog to keep up with his brisk steps.
After a few minutes of trying to keep pace, I’ve had enough. I slow down to a casual walk, panting as I catch my breath. “Mind slowing to a lowly human pace?” I tease.
He laughs as he turns around to look at me, continuing to walk backwards. “You’re Fae, Liv. You shouldn't need me to walk at a lowly human pace, as you put it.”
I huff out a breath. “Yeah? Well, how about you walk at a pace that a Fae whose powers are bound can keep up with.”
His foot trips over a root and he nearly crashes to the ground. He recovers and stops so abruptly that I nearly walk straight into him. He grasps my upper arms, steadying me.
“Your magic is what?” he asks, a stricken look on his face.
“Bound, apparently,” I answer as I toe the dirt. “Fleur did it to keep me from accidentally manifesting them as a child.”
His jaw clenches, eyes turning downright murderous. “She shouldn’t have done that.”
“Yes, well, we’re way past the point of being able to change that. My new plan is to continue trying to tap into the powers to unbind them, since apparently the only way to do that hinges on me being able to unlock them myself.”
He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “She’s not wrong.
It’s just a… drastic measure for her to have taken is all.
” After a few beats of silence, he opens his eyes again and the rage there has faded.
“Let’s keep going. We can add cracking the binding to our priority list.” He turns and continues to stalk towards the portal, but at a much more reasonable pace for me to keep up.
After another few minutes, he stops abruptly again, cocking his head to the side. I step up beside him and peer at his face. His brows are furrowed, nostrils flaring.
“Do you hear something?”
“I’m not sure…. I thought so. It sounded like footsteps, but they’ve fallen silent. But I’m also catching a scent on the breeze.”
“Is it an animal?” We are in the middle of the forest so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s picking up on some small creature.
“I don’t think so. This smells… different. Almost familiar in a way. Like a scent I know but it isn’t readily clicking with my memories.” The furrows of his brows deepen as he tries to place it.
I spin in a circle, trying to see if I can spy another being in the woods with us.
Nothing. It’s all quiet.
“We should keep moving,” he says tersely.
I offer a small nod before tentatively starting off, my body as tense and on edge as his.
We’ve barely made it a few steps before he whips around and narrows his eyes into the trees behind us.
“Run, Liv,” he orders, voice deathly quiet.
My panic rises at his tone. “What? Why?”
“Run.”
I hesitate a moment, but that’s all it takes. He grasps my upper arms and spins us with inhuman speed, putting his body between whatever he heard and me. He jolts a step forward into me with a grunt.
“Are you okay? What is it?” I ask frantically. I can’t see around his large frame, so I have no idea what’s coming or what seems to have caused him to stumble forward like that.
“Olivia. Fucking run!” He rarely uses my full name and that—combined with his urgent tone—has my feet moving.
I turn and run, making it a few feet away before glancing over my shoulder to check that Bastian’s behind me. But he’s not. He’s still back where I left him and turned his back to me, facing the threat head on.
I inhale sharply.
Now I can clearly see the arrow protruding from his shoulder. Blood is quickly blooming on his shirt at the site of the wound.
I duck to hide behind a large tree near me. I peek around the trunk to get another look at Bastian. I don’t see anyone coming, so I’m not entirely sure what he’s waiting on.
Males. I swear. Always wanting to be the big bad protector.
I take a few deep breaths to calm myself—and the trembling in my hands that I’m trying not to acknowledge.
With a final breath, I run back to Bastian. When he hears me approaching, he spares a quick glance over his shoulder.
“Liv, for fuck’s sake.” I can hear the pain lacing his firm words.
I finally reach where he’s standing and grasp his hand, giving it an urgent tug.
“I’m not leaving you here to get yourself killed.
If I have to run, then you’re running with me.
Let’s go.” I try to place as much command into my words as possible, but my voice still trembles a bit with fear.
I give another tug, putting my whole body weight behind it, but he doesn’t even budge.
I can finally hear the rustling of leaves in the distance at the attacker’s approach. Branches snap. Birds squawk as they flee the forest.
“Liv, please,” he begs.
“No,” I say, holding firm on my decision. “If you won’t leave with me, then I guess I’ll have to stay here with you.” I cross my arms over my chest and raise an eyebrow at him in challenge.
He opens his mouth to respond, presumably to argue with me, when a twig snaps even closer than before.
Both our heads whip in the direction of the sound, but I can’t see anything.
He shakes his head in exasperation but firmly squeezes my hand once before releasing it. “Fine, but we need to go. Now.”
We both turn on our heels and take off running as fast as my legs can carry me. I’m almost positive he’s slowing his pace to remain close while he leads the way. The arrow is still lodged in his shoulder and my stomach rolls at the sight.
My chest starts to feel tight, and my breaths become labored from the physical activity. I’m terribly out of shape. I rarely run. And certainly not by choice. I start to slow down in an attempt to catch my breath.
That was a mistake.
Something whistles past my ear and embeds in the tree ahead of me.
Another arrow.
Shit.
Whoever is after us is gaining on us.
“Basti—” I start shouting to get his attention to alert him when an arrow grazes my upper arm. I hiss out a breath.
Fuck, that hurts.
How is he running with one jutting from his back?
In the blink of an eye, Bastian has stopped running and is standing in front of me, wide-eyed and looking a little crazed as he examines me for further injuries.
I push at his uninjured shoulder. “I’m fine,” I gasp out.
“Don’t stop. We’re nearly to the portal.
” I flick my eyes over his shoulder and can just about make out the near edge of the faerie ring we arrived in.
Bastian pushes me so I’m leading the way now instead, but as we make to run towards the portal, another arrow is loosed and buries itself in his side.
Someone lets out a piercing scream, and I think it might be me.
“Fuck!” He lets out a pained expletive as he falls to his knees, hands clutching at the arrow in his side.
Now I’m the one wide-eyed and likely looking a bit crazed. “Oh my gods, Bastian.” I drop to my knees in front of him, my gaze darting between his face twisted in pain and the wound.
“You need to go,” he grunts out.
“No, not without you! We’ve already been over this,” I cry out, the warmth of tears working their way down my cheeks.
He grunts nonsense at me once he comes to the conclusion that I really won’t leave him here and arguing about it won’t do us any good.
He moves to position himself again between the threat and me.
I follow his line of sight and this time I do see the assailant.
There’s a dark figure lurking in the depths of the forest.
Bastian drops his hand away from the wound and with a flick of wrist, the shadows from the trees begin to warp and twist.
Is Bastian doing that?