Chapter 39 #2
‘Of course, you’re injured,’ I say. ‘Because you jumped. From a cliff.’ Anger flashes through me and my hands smack his chest in a small but forceful shove. ‘You scared me to death!’
He chuckles. ‘I had to. The raven.’ He shrugs like that says it all.
I can’t even dispute it because not only did Benedict apparently save Lucky, he also saved me and two others with that key. When I return home, Benedict’s getting a buffet of berries. ‘I tried to come after you, but Coatl tied me up.’
I feel Ryland’s gaze snap to my face. ‘What? Why?’ he demands.
His attention sends a jolt through me, and my heart flutters with longing. Yes, look at me.
I quickly smother that. ‘After Coatl caught me planning a rebellion, he attacked. Lucky jumped off a cliff to save his life, and I was tied to Atlas’s throne all night until Coatl could turn me in.
It’s how I overheard Agatha explaining what she learned from you, and Atlas making plans to go on the biggest raid he’s ever pulled. ’
‘That bastard,’ Lucky mutters. ‘All of them.’
Samuel points at Lucky. ‘If he’s got no place to go, he can’t stay with us. The guy never shuts up.’
‘We’re going to need him, though,’ I say. ‘We’re going to need every able-bodied person to stop Atlas.’
‘We’re what now?’ Samuel asks.
‘That ambush she mentioned – it’s on Kingsland,’ Ryland clarifies. ‘He figured out how to get there and left already.’
‘Is that what they were up to?’ Samuel says with a dangerous edge. ‘We saw them leave.’
Ryland turns to me. ‘Why don’t you fill them in on the rest?’
That won’t be a quick conversation, so I take a seat on the log Lucky was perched on before. I start with Ryland being tricked into marrying Agatha, since that’s where it all went south.
‘So you’re married … to her sister?’ Levi asks, incredulous. ‘Like, connected married?’
Ryland’s jaw ticks, then he asks Lucky to check the perimeter. ‘Yes,’ he finally answers when we’re alone.
Levi’s brows knit as his gaze sweeps over me. ‘Whoa. That’s kind of … permanent. What are you going t–?’
‘Tell us the rest,’ Samuel interrupts.
I take a breath, wishing I didn’t have to. ‘Last night, Ryland and my sister … bonded and …’
Ryland drags a hand down his face. ‘She saw into my dreams and possibly my memories.’ He exhales hard. ‘So she knows how to get to Kingsland and likely what’s there if they raid.’
A tension fills the air.
‘My sister has also developed explosives. Bombs, though not the kind that created the badlands. Smaller. But still, the kind Kingsland won’t be able to defend itself against.’
‘Your sister’s evil,’ Levi mutters.
‘She’s not,’ I insist. ‘They were for defence. Atlas is misusing them.’
‘But she betrayed Ryland to your father,’ Samuel says. ‘Or can you explain that?’
I can’t, which terrifies me.
Ryland’s face grows tight. ‘It doesn’t matter why she did it. She made a mistake.’
His quick defence of her is a blade to the ribs. Wow, maybe they have become blended.
Samuel exhales a curse. ‘We should have stopped them earlier, when we saw them.’
Levi drops his elbows to his knees, head bowed.
‘We’ll still stop them,’ Ryland says.
‘Yes,’ I agree. Although, I don’t know how we can stand against these new weapons of theirs. ‘If you give me an hour or two, I can gather food for the journey. Supplies.’
‘You have all night,’ Ryland says. ‘We’ll leave in the morning.’
I shake my head. ‘But we need to catch them –’
‘We need to rest.’ He gives me a significant look, one that tells me he might just be worried about me.
‘It’s five days on horseback to Kingsland, and they’ll be slower since they’re pulling trailers and have an army.
We’ll catch up. Let’s eat. Pack. Rest. Make sure all of our …
injuries are taken care of. Because once we’re out in no man’s land, we won’t be doing much of that. ’
Samuel takes out his knife and works on whittling the shaft of an arrow. ‘Any thoughts on how the handful of us might stop all of them?’
His question hangs in the air, but it feels like it’s directed at me. What am I prepared to do to stop my sister? My father? How far am I willing to go?
I don’t know.
‘We could start by breaking their trailer wheels,’ I suggest. ‘Steal their horses. No way they’ll be as motivated to keep going if they have to walk and carry everything on foot.’ I bite my lip. ‘Or we could try to somehow take the explosives …’
‘We slip in and retrieve Agatha first,’ Ryland says. ‘Then we’ll reassess.’
Air punches from my lungs. For once, I think I’m truly jealous of my sister.
And yet, I agree with Ryland’s plan. I am going to save Agatha’s sorry arse, even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming. Again. Maybe I should just be glad Ryland wants to help.
Samuel’s eyes narrow on Ryland, then he stands. ‘I think we’re done here. No tactical plans can be made until we get eyes on the landscape, their weapons and numbers.’
He’s probably right.
‘Marian,’ Ryland says, following me as I go to my horse.
My stomach flutters with reckless hope. ‘What do you want?’ I ask, face blank.
In the dimming light, his eyes seem intense. Frustrated.
I glance over his shoulder at his friends watching us. They both burst into movement.
Ryland exhales, drawing my attention back to him. His mouth opens, but he doesn’t speak. ‘Nothing … I just … rest. Get some sleep.’
My head seems to wobble on my neck. ‘Yeah … you too.’
Out of everything we’re about to face, deadly vagabonds on the road and an impossible battle with Atlas, I think it’s this that might destroy me.
A broken heart.