25. Evanee
Evanee
Ryker brought me to a small, weathered cabin, deep in the woods, nearly two hours by flight. It was hidden; the trees barely cleared enough for the home.
As he shifted back to his human form, I knew I should look away—I couldn’t.
His muscles bulged and shifted as they shrank back to human size.
Talons retreated, leaving him barefoot, but still at an intimidating height.
His wings absorbed into his skin, leaving a mesmerizing tattoo in their place.
My gaze traced the tattoo further down—to where his pants hung loosely.
He turned, giving me a full view of his rigid abdomen and that sharp V that made my stomach flip.
He cleared his throat. "Gawking again?"
My eyes snapped up, blood rushing to my cheeks. A hint of amusement flickered across his face as he rolled his shoulder, where ridged pink lines with fading black veins blended with the ink on his shoulder. The useo’s bite—
I blanched.
“Your—your shoulder,” I sputtered. “I’m sorry—I didn’t even ask. Are you okay? I can’t believe you carried me so far—”
He huffed a laugh, “I’m fine. Aniah stopped the poison from spreading. And you hardly weigh anything. You’ve lost weight,” he said, nodding toward me. My gaze dropped down, and I quickly pulled my coat tighter.
“You could've just told me you were a Gargoyle.”
He smirked. “How well do you think you would've taken that?”
The door burst open, light flooding around Aniah as she ran out.
“Did anyone see?” She frantically scoured every inch of us.
I frowned.
“No. Your fog knocked everyone out. Except Aiden—I don’t know where he was.”
She stared at me blankly. “What fog?”
“The fog… There was this weird fog. And a metallic taste in the air… That wasn’t you?”
“No,” she shook her head slowly. “Ryker said it was safer—and easier—to go alone.” Her brows drew together.
The blood drained from my face.
“You mean they weren’t in a magically induced sleep?” I rasped.
Ryker raised a brow. “What made you think they were?” He grabbed a black tunic from a cart, pulling it over his head.
“The fog—it came from nowhere.” I blinked, the realization of how dangerous and bad that could have been settling in me like stones. Aiden hadn’t even been there. Had he caught what was happening…
“I don’t know about fog, but I slipped something into the drinks that were being gathered at the pub. But there was no guarantee they'd all drink what I tampered with.” He shrugged.
“What if I had drunk it?!”
“Then you would've woken up here and missed the beauty of the flight.” A mischievous smile spread, revealing the sharp points of his canines.
A raw, unrestrained growl tore from my throat—and he laughed.
Aniah quickly stepped between us, shooting him a reproachful glare before turning to me, hands raised as if she were approaching a rabid beast.
“Regardless, you made it here. We can’t stay long, but we’ll be safe for the night.” She smiled warmly before she went back into the little cabin.
“It’s good to see you like this,” Ryker said as he moved to pass me.
“What, feral?” I snapped.
“Free.”
The word hit harder than it should have.
Anger drained from my body in an instant, leaving behind something unsteady and exposed.
It was clear he didn’t mean free from servitude.
Those cunning eyes cut deeper—he saw the real me.
The restraint, doubt, and fear that had tried to smother the strength I had, even with my memories gone.
The Fae—Aiden—tried to take the fight out of me.
Make me into something I wasn’t. Ryker could see it.
It made me wonder if that’s why he poked at me, trying to get any response he could.
To wake up the side of me that had been chained and silenced.
I hated that he could see how trapped I was. That such a small word could unravel me. He saw more than I wanted him to.
I quietly followed as he moved past me, holding the cabin door open.
The interior was decrepit.
The smell hit my newly improved senses first—mold and rot, sharp with an undercurrent of wet wood.
Dust covered the small table and two chairs by a foggy four-paneled window to the right.
My stomach tightened as a rat scurried across the single-burner stove.
Down the burner it went to its nest of random scraps below.
The rat’s wiry whiskers twitched as it stuck its head through the crack of the cast-iron door, then squeaked, disappearing once more.
The bed in the furthest corner had nothing except a tattered, white, goose-feathered mattress missing half the feathers by the look of it, with a very dark stain near the head. One breath told me the dark stain was dried blood, its iron scent crawling up my nose.
The door slammed shut, making me flinch, and Ryker pulled a large wooden board down into the slot as a barricade.
“Should be secluded enough,” he mumbled to Aniah, then his bright gaze landed on mine.
My pulse leaped—not from fear, but a deep burning realization that I didn’t have anything to be afraid of here. I took several deep breaths as Ryker slowly walked toward me—it’s done. I escaped. I wasn’t a prisoner anymore. But my mind still warred with itself, over Aiden.
My betrothed.
I should've trusted him.
I hadn’t.
Something deep within me had told me I couldn’t. Why? Why hadn’t he told me who he was? Why would he want me to forget? I could've told him about Ryker and Aniah. Their plans, but I didn’t. I was eager to escape.
Air wouldn’t fill my lungs fast enough as Ryker moved into my line of sight, those predatory eyes filled with concern.
“Evanee, are you alright?” He reached out, gently placing a hand on my shoulder, his white hair falling across his forehead.
“Yes…. No. I don’t know.” I pushed my hands through the loose, tangled strands of gold that weren’t my hair. “I had a memory.”
Nausea twisted. A scream clawed at my throat that I couldn’t release.
“What of?” Aniah asked urgently, as she sat on a wobbly chair at the table. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.
“I’ll start a fire,” Ryker said, leaving us to talk, although I knew he would hear every word.
My legs shook as I sat across from Aniah and told her of the memory.
She nodded along, intently listening. I even told her of my argument with Aiden afterward. My accusation that I knew what he and Malachai were. I thought I saw her flinch when I mentioned Malachai, but I was too exhausted to be sure.
The fire crackled and hissed, quickly heating the small space. At some point, I moved in front of the flames, though I didn’t remember moving. Too much had happened, and my mind hardly had time to process it all.
“What now?” I asked.
Ryker seemed to keep his distance, hovering near Aniah.
They were tired, too. Ryker’s smooth face was covered with stubble and hollow.
He was paler than when I’d seen him before, but that could be from carrying me so far while still healing from the useo’s poisonous bite.
Even Aniah had a lighter pallor, making the dark circles beneath her eyes stand out.
“We get you away from this realm. Take you home,” Ryker said, leaning on the wall, arms crossed over his chest.
Home.
Even knowing I was a Gargoyle, the Western Realm wasn’t my home. Not yet. Not when I couldn’t remember anything about it.
A strangled, harsh laugh scraped up my throat.
His sharp eyes flared, the silver blazing dangerously.
“Is there something amusing about that?”
“Ryker…” Aniah warned.
“No, nothing at all.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice. “Except for the fact that I still can’t remember everything. Only scraps.” My fists tightened at my side. “I can’t even shift. And tonight I learned that the male leading me to my next prison was my betrothed.”
They stared on in silence. Aniah with understanding. Ryker, something darker.
“Now you want me to trust two strangers—one who already lied to me and the other, a sister to the very Witch that cast this curse on me—who say they’re taking me home.
I don’t even know what home looks like.” I paced before them.
“Maybe I should have stayed with Aiden.” My words were edged with bitterness.
I caught Ryker’s jaw flexing, eyes simmering, but pressed on.
“I know him from before, after all, and—”
Ryker shoved off the wall hard enough to cause an old frame to clank to the floor, making me jump.
“Have you any idea the sacrifices Aniah and I have made to find you?” His fangs flashed as he scowled. “To save you?”
“But why?” I yelled back, tears burning my eyes. “Why bother if the male I was to match with is here—”
“If you want him,” he said, the words dangerously calm and low as he gestured toward the door, “then go. But don’t pretend you don’t know what waits for you. You don’t need your memories to know what type of male he is.”
I flinched at his words. Because he was right.
“Ryker! That’s enough,” Aniah reprimanded, pushing out of her chair, expression pained.
He gritted his teeth, jaw working as he raked his hands over his face and paced.
“I need to gather some herbs for Ryker’s wound,” Aniah said softly into the thick silence.
Her feather-light touch landed on my shoulder.
“I made you a tincture. It’s imbued with my magic.
To take that glamour off. It should also break the remaining bits of the proximity spell.
” I partially turned, seeing her offer me an apologetic smile as she held a mug of dark, brown liquid inside.
I accepted it, mumbling my thanks before she left.
Ryker still had his back to me as he rifled through a bag.
I swirled the contents once, then drank, grimacing as the gritty texture scraped down my throat. Instantly, my scalp tingled, and I watched the blonde strands that draped over my shoulder turn black once more.
Then a strange sensation flared in my wrists and ankles.
A small burn built, and then it was like the ink itself was moving.
I pulled my sleeves up in time to see thick globs of ink drip from my skin to the floor, smacking to the ground like tar, until there was nothing left on me.
The black liquid then absorbed into the floorboards—disappearing altogether.
I pulled my sleeve further, seeing if the band on my bicep was gone too—it was still intact, not marred at all. What the hell is that one for? Why won’t it just go away, too!
I rubbed my wrists as I stepped in front of the foggy little window and held my breath.
The palest green eyes—flecked with gray—stared back at me, stark against my inky black waves.
Turning my back to the wall, I slowly slid to the floor, the rough texture easing some of the returning pain in my back as it scraped through my tunic.
More hot tears welled and slid down my cheeks.
I pulled my knees up and buried my head.
Too much had happened. Too much anger burned within. I just needed my damn memories back.
The floorboards groaned beneath heavy steps.
“Hey, look at me.” Ryker’s voice was deep, but softer than before. “It’s nice to see your natural hair again.”
I lifted my head. He was kneeling before me, shining gaze searching mine with apparent empathy. He reached out and carefully wiped away one of my tears, his gentle touch sending shivers down my spine.
“Nice to see you cut yours,” I quipped through a sniffle.
A dimple formed from the hint of a smile. I breathed deeply, relishing his scent. Stop it.
“I’m sorry. For what I said about going back to the captain—I didn’t mean to… That’s to say—”
“It’s fine.” More tears slid free. “You were right. I do know what type of male he is. I could see it. At the end, at least. Though the signs were there long before.”
His lips pressed into a line, brow creasing.
“I haven’t been around anyone else in a long while, aside from Aniah. With everything you’ve been through, I shouldn’t get angry.”
“I’m angry,” I whispered, swatting at my face.
“You have every right to be. I know this has been a lot for you, and that you have no reason to trust us. There’s nothing else Aniah, or I can do to show that we want to help you.
Not trap you.” Something in his expression eased the tight knot in my chest. A calmness swept through me as if he were the water dousing the raging fire in me.
As his words settled over me, I quirked my head to the side, something he said replaying in my head—
“Do we know each other?” I asked, repeating my question from the cave.
“You’ve already asked me that.”
“You just said that it was nice to see my natural hair again. Ryker, have we met before?” I held my breath.
He worked his jaw before answering.
“Yes. We know each other.” He stood, releasing a breath he’d apparently been holding too. “Will you take a walk with me?”
He held out his hand.
I stared at it.
Another defining moment. Somewhere deep within, I knew if I were to take his hand, it would be more than just him helping me off this dusty, uneven floor.
It would mean a new life—one that didn’t include Aiden.
Aiden made me feel wanted, but he'd lied to me from the beginning. Manipulated me. Stoked my rage, and played on my desperation for connection. For what purpose, I couldn’t fathom.
My mind may not remember Ryker—but something deeper did.
There was a subtle pull to him I couldn’t deny.
Being here with him didn’t just ease my spirit. It felt right.
When Aiden said I was safe with him, they were just words. With Ryker, I didn’t need him to say it—I could feel it in my bones.
I placed my hand in his.