Chapter 61
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Nerves course through my body as I wait on deck with Sig.
The night is dark, the thinnest sliver of the moon high in the sky is almost invisible in the vast expanse.
Tonight needs to go to plan. After my last failed attempt, I don’t want to deal with the repercussions if the worst happens.
Hopefully, Roley trusted me and is waiting alone for us to arrive.
The danger we face is more real than any other shift or interaction with the Voyagers.
My stomach is in knots as my mind conjures all the things that could happen to Weston if Dane had somehow found out.
Weston would put himself between us, and it isn’t below Dane to use him against me to get what he wants.
The healing waters. My mother.
My body shudders and I push the thought out of my mind.
That will not happen.
Sig is quiet. She stands beside me, hands on her hips, as she watches the steps, waiting for Weston to emerge.
My mouth dries the moment he does, and my eyes trail over his body.
More weapons than usual are strapped to almost every surface, looking like he’s going into battle.
A second sword hilt peeks over his shoulder, and every slot in his vest is filled with a variety of sized blades.
His sleeves are rolled to his elbows, the fabric tucked away so it won’t interfere in a fight, and his hands are filled with even more as he strides toward us.
He hands the weapons off to Sig, then holds a dark brown leather vest behind my shoulders.
I slide my arms through the holes, and he pulls the laces taut, the backs of his fingers brushing against me as he secures the knots.
It’s just like his, and I’m not surprised at all when he turns back to Sig, taking the weapons from her and fitting them in my vest.
A sword is all that’s left, and he reaches down, hooking the scabbard to my belt, the one I stole from him.
He doesn’t have to say a word, because I know what he is doing.
He needs to make sure I can defend myself in the event he cannot.
Knowing I am protected gives him peace of mind going into tonight.
Weston turns to Sig then. “You know what to do if I don’t come back. You take care of everyone, and never stop trying to get them home.”
“You’re going to come back, Cap. Both of you,” she says, looking between us.
Weston reaches out, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and pulls her into his chest. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him affectionate with anyone else in the crew, and a pang fills my chest. They’ve been through everything together.
Weston wouldn’t have lived if it hadn’t been for Sig, and I finally understand what Sig meant all those months ago, when she said Weston was like a brother.
She pushes him off with tears in her eyes.
“Stop. Just go get the kid,” she demands, looking at me next. “You make sure he comes back. Both of you better come back.” She turns on her heel, and descends the steps quickly, disappearing into the deck below.
Once we’re alone, Weston steps back to me, our bodies barely brushing. I crane my neck to look into his face just as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck in a soft caress, his thumb softly stroking my jaw.
“If we run into Dane,” he says, “you let me deal with him. If something happens to me, you don’t hesitate. You get back to this ship.”
My throat feels like it’s closing and my voice catches on it. “I’m not going to leave you, Weston,” I croak.
He reaches up and brushes a piece of hair off my forehead, and my chest warms. “You know what you should do. You’ve had all the training and the lessons. I know you have. You know it’s more important for you to get out than me.”
“Stop talking like that,” I say. My nose burns as I try to will away tears. “We’re going to get Roley, and we’re coming back.”
“Promise me, Lennox.”
His eyes trail over my face, as if he’s memorizing every piece of it. Tenderness fills his expression, and it feels like my chest is cracking in half when I realize what he’s doing.
“I promise,” I whisper.
He leans down slowly and presses his lips gently to mine.
This kiss is so much different from the others we’ve shared.
Before, they were filled with passion and desire, impatience and hunger.
This one says more than his words do. The gentle caress of his lush lips tells me everything I need, and more than I want him to say.
A single tear falls onto my cheek and I swipe it away, pulling my face from his. “Don’t you dare say goodbye to me, Weston. This isn’t over.” I sniff, and he smiles down at me softly.
“No, sweetheart, it isn’t over.” He presses a kiss to my forehead, then laces his fingers through mine.
“Let’s go.”
I pick my bow and quiver up off the deck and drape them over my shoulder. Weston leads me down the gangway, the mask of the abrasive and intense First Guard and Captain firmly back in place, as if that moment between us hadn’t just happened.
Weston is always on high alert whenever we leave the ship, the result of being responsible for everyone else’s well being, but he has never been as attentive to our surroundings as tonight.
He watches everything, keeping me hauled in close to him as he constantly scans the terrain while we move swiftly to the portal.
Once we’re safely inside, his shoulders relax slightly, but his pace doesn’t slow. I’m almost running to keep up with his long strides as we weave through the tunnels.
“Near the edge of the forest, right?”
“Yes,” I say. “I told him to wait there for me and I would be there after dark.”
We reach the steps quickly, and Weston takes them first, his head poking through the portal in the ground just enough to make sure we aren’t about to be ambushed. I hold my breath until he sinks back down into safety.
“There’s no one waiting, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hiding. Be prepared for an ambush and drop back into the portal. We’re going to do this fast.”
I nod, and he draws his sword, the sing of the blade echoing in the tunnel. I lift my bow off my chest and pull an arrow from the quiver, nocking it and raising it to the ready. Hopefully, I can get to anyone before they make it to him. I’m not taking any chances.
He peeks out of the portal again, looking around before climbing the last steps and disappearing.
Running up the stairs behind him, I burst through the portal, not wanting to leave him uncovered for long.
The darkness of the forest makes it even more difficult to see in the already pitch black night.
It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust so I can see things clearly, still holding my bow up and ready to fire.
The area before us is empty; not a hint of Roley in sight.
“I told him to wait near the bridge. Maybe he is closer to it.”
“Quickly,” Weston says, peering into the trees as we take the path toward the bridge. The island is silent, the only sound the rush of water in the canyon alongside us, and it feels eerie, like at any moment the world will explode with danger.
No. We’re just here to get Roley. Then we’re going home.
The entrance to the bridge appears just ahead and Weston slows his steps. I match his pace so I don’t walk past him, keeping my bow out in front, ready to pull back. Looking around, everything looks undisturbed. There’s nothing, no sign of Roley at all.
“Lennox,” Weston says warily. “I don’t think he’s coming.”
“No, he has to. He told me he would.” Worry fills me as I look around for him, hoping he didn’t choose to stay, or worse, let someone know about the plan.
“Roley!” I call out, my voice a coarse whisper, hoping he is just hiding.
Footsteps shuffle in the dirt as a small shadow appears ahead, emerging from the edge of the trees.
“Lennox?” Roley says weakly and steps out onto the path in front of us.
Relief floods through me as I take him in.
He came.
I lower my bow, pointing the arrow to the ground when movement catches in the corner of my eye. Weston stiffens and takes a step forward, using his body to shield me as someone larger emerges from the trees, just in front of Roley.
“So, you must be Weston.”
Mara.
Weston pulls the other sword from his back, knees bending, ready for an attack. I level my bow at her, pulling the string taught and taking aim.
Fuck.
He told them, or he was followed. I risk a glance at the trees, as my breaths heave. Where is Dane? Are there others here? It is too dark. I can’t see if we are surrounded, trapped against the monster filled river and not close enough to a portal.
My shoulders tighten as my training kicks in. Situations with multiple attackers start cycling through my mind. I know Weston feels it, too. I can tell by the way his body leans slightly toward me.
“Lower your bow, Lennox!” Mara calls out.
“Not a chance!” I yell back.
“I’m serious Lennox, lower it!”
“I don’t feel like a knife to the back again, Mara.”
She knows I can make the shot. I’ve proven it to her already, but I will not do anything to put him or me at risk. I won’t let my guard down again.
My ears strain, trying to pick up any sound of Voyagers approaching from behind, all while keeping my eyes locked on Mara. Her sword hangs at her side, not drawn like she normally travels, and a feeling of unease runs through me.
She takes a step forward and Weston does too, angling himself further in front of me with her advance.
“Stay where you are,” he growls. “We just came for him.”
“And I just came to talk,” she says, raising her hands, palms facing us. She doesn’t move. Standing in silence, she waits for us to decide.
“It’s true, Lennox. She just wants to talk,” Roley yells from behind.
“Weston,” I mumble. “What do we do?”
I can feel him thinking as he stands in front of me like a statue, muscles taut and ready to spring into action at any sign of deception.
“Throw your sword,” he orders, and she quickly complies, pulling it from the scabbard and tossing it out in front of her. She raises her hand up again, waiting to see if that will suffice. A Mara that is quick to agree to leaving herself unprotected doesn’t sit right with me.
Something is wrong.
“Is this a trap?” I whisper to him.
“I don’t know yet,” he murmurs back. He glances around again, looking for any threat that might come as soon as we relax.
“There’s no one else here,” Mara says. “It’s just us. Please, I just want to talk.”
“You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk to me at all a few days ago,” I yell. “Not when you were trying to attack me in the clearing.”
Weston grunts in front of me. “You left out that detail,” he grumbles.
“It’s fine. I had it handled. You taught me how to disarm her, remember?” I murmur back.
“Things have changed,” Mara yells. Her voice wavers slightly, and my curiosity piques. Weston’s does too, and his head tilts just the slightest bit to the side.
“What’s changed?” Weston yells.
“Can you just lower your weapons, please?” She’s getting impatient now, and I will admit, the malice and hatred in her voice and eyes from before doesn’t seem to be there now.
“I think she’s telling the truth,” I say to Weston.
“But can you trust her?”
Can I? Could things change so quickly that she is back to the Mara I knew before? My friend? What could make that change happen? Or am I about to learn another serious lesson in warfare and deception, one that Edmond couldn’t prepare me for without being thrown directly into it?
“She saved my life before. She didn’t even know me then. I trust her.”
He pauses for a beat before lowering his swords to his sides. At his cue, I drop my bow, pointing the arrow into the ground and still keeping it nocked so I can react to any trickery.
“Don’t move. We’ll come to you,” Weston orders, and walks toward her. I follow closely. He kicks her sword behind us, stopping just out of her reach.
“Talk,” he says gruffly, the all serious Weston back in full force.
Mara eyes him for a moment, before directing her attention to me, her eyes full of emotion, and her eyebrows drawn in.
Has she been crying?
“First, I need to say I’m sorry.” She gulps after the statement, eyes pleading with me to believe her. I stare back at her in shock, the apology the last thing I was expecting to hear when I thought she was going to ambush us.
She continues, “I’m sorry I hurt you before. I was too furious that you left us to see that you actually saved Roley.” She eyes Weston before turning back to me. “But it seems like you made the right decision.”
“What do you mean, Mara?” I ask warily.
She lowers one hand, reaching behind her, and Weston automatically levels a sword at her. She pulls her arm forward and holds her hand out toward us.
My gaze falls to what she holds, and I choke on the air.
The bow drops to the ground at my feet and I stumble into Weston, my fingers digging into his side as I struggle to breathe.
No. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.
Of all the ways my mind conjured tonight could go, the worry that Weston would be hurt, or worse, taken, the nerves about Roley being discovered, the anticipation of an ambush, nothing prepared me for what Mara holds in her hand.
A limp piece of fabric I’d recognize anywhere dangles from her fingers, the circular opening hovering above the ground.
But there’s no golden glow.
My eyes fly to hers, streams of tears already falling down her cheeks as she chokes out the next words.
“He’s gone, Lennox. Storm left too. You tried to talk to me. You said you weren’t a traitor, and you didn’t abandon us, but I wouldn’t listen. I was wrong.”
Weston’s sword lowers slowly as he pieces it all together.
Ringing fills my ears and nausea churns in my stomach as I stare at the pouch.
The empty pouch.
All these years, Edmond taught me to believe in hope, but he was wrong. Light doesn’t always find a way. We have no hope anymore. It was ripped away from us the moment the Guardian chose himself over the island.
Dane left us all here. He’s gone, and so is the dust.
We’re all trapped on Dawnlin.