Chapter 10
Holy. Elemental. Headache.
“Ugh...” I groaned, rolling over in bed. My body ached in protest, and I fought to open my eyes.
This... wasn’t the hut I had woken up in this morning.
The space was larger, filled with someone’s personal belongings.
Books were piled on top of a sturdy dresser, one drawer left ajar to reveal neatly folded sets of dark leathers inside.
Beside it, several pairs of well-worn boots sat lined up on the floor.
The space smelled like cashmere sandalwood and…
My brows furrowed as I scanned the rest of the room, trying to piece together where I was—and, more importantly, whose space I had somehow ended up in.
My eyes landed on beautiful destruction.
Rhodes was slumped in an armchair beside me, fast asleep.
His head rested against the back of the chair, his damp black hair messily strewn across his forehead.
He had bathed and changed out of his usual rugged leathers, trading them for a black lounge set I’d never seen him wear before.
The thin, soft fabric clung loosely to his body, outlining every dip and ridge of muscle beneath.
For a moment, I just stared—taking in how handsome he was. My fingers itched to tangle in his soft, dark hair. My body begged to curl up against his warmth, like the night of the thunderstorm, when he scooped me from my room and held me all night to keep me safe.
Before the storm hit, he told me I’d know where to find him if I needed him. At the time, I thought he meant the thunderstorm, but now I knew that wasn’t his only reason. From the moment I met him, Rhodes had been there every time I felt like falling apart.
And the truth was, it was never me searching for him in those moments. Somehow, Rhodes always knew how and where to find me when I needed him most.
Of all the cruel things I’d done to myself, pushing him away was the one that cut the deepest. But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let him become another piece of my collateral damage.
But then again...
I glanced down at myself beneath the sheets. Someone had wiped away the dirt from my fight with Fallon, but not entirely. My matted hair was proof enough of that. I wore an oversized black shirt that was clearly not mine. My bruises from the fight had already formed.
Once again, Rhodes had picked me up from the ground and brought me to safety.
So, for now, I’d call a silent truce with myself.
I channeled a small tendril of air under his shirt, letting it wiggle against the ticklish spots around his ribs.
Rhodes jolted awake instantly, his body tensing as if startled by unseen danger. His eyes, half-open but sharp, darted around the room before landing on me.
His defenses eased as he sat back down in the chair and stretched. His muscles flexed beneath the thin fabric of his shirt, and he dragged a hand through his messy hair.
“Did you just tickle me?” he muttered, his voice gravelly with sleep.
I smirked, shrugging innocently. “Technically, no.”
Rhodes resisted a smile, rubbing his jaw. “How are you feeling?”
I sighed. “My head feels like it’s about to explode.”
Without a word, he stood from the chair and crouched by a crate on the floor, rifling through its contents. A moment later, he pulled out an ice pack and snapped it to activate its instant-cooling magic.
He returned to my side and kneeled by the bed, his movements careful and deliberate. With a gentleness that caught me off guard, he pressed the ice pack against the side of my face where Fallon’s knee had connected.
I flinched at the cold and groaned softly.
“Hold still,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing, his fingers brushing against my jaw as he adjusted the pack.
I glanced down at him, catching the flicker of concern in his eyes, but I looked away quickly before he could see the softening in mine.
“This feels familiar,” I said sarcastically, a smirk tugging at my mouth.
Rhodes’s gray-blue eyes flicked to mine, a faint glimmer of amusement in them. “I won’t throw it at your head when I leave, though,” he deadpanned.
I narrowed my eyes playfully, leaning slightly into the ice pack. “You deserved it. And I think I’ll be the one to leave... I assume this is your lodging?”
He nodded slowly, his tone low and measured. “It was closer than yours. Didn’t want to risk running into your lovely sister on the walk over.”
I swallowed. “And the shirt...”
His face paled. “I didn’t think you’d want a stranger to undress you, but your leathers were covered in… I’m sorry. I swear, I only got you changed. I didn’t peek, and I used a washcloth to wipe the visible grime off after—”
“Thank you.”
He froze mid-sentence, his mouth still half-open.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting,” I whispered, my voice barely steady.
“It’s not fair to you. I just... I don’t know what in the elements is happening.
It’s like everything I thought I knew about my life has crashed and burned around me, and—” My throat closed up, the words strangled before I could finish.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Rhodes murmured, his voice low and calming as he moved onto the bed. He tossed the ice pack aside and slid an arm beneath my neck, pulling me gently into his embrace. His warmth and steady heartbeat pressed against me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, his lips brushing the crown of my head.
I wanted to say something, anything, but the lump in my throat made it impossible.
So instead... I let myself melt into him.
I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his comforting scent.
He stayed quiet as my trembling breaths evened out, holding me close as if his arms could shield me from the darkness inside threatening to consume me.
“She has my scar,” I whispered.
Rhodes let out a long breath, and I could feel his heartbeat quicken.
“Even though you didn’t know the marekem existed between you,” he said quietly, “it was still there—buried, but alive. The pain you carried must have run deep enough to travel through the bond... and leave its mark on her too.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
That pain had marked Lakota too. Somehow, his bond with my birth mother had transferred to me—and even though it was faint, it was enough.
He could feel the connection tugging at him, urging him to find me.
He searched the skies for years, chasing the pull.
But the bond hadn’t been strong enough..
. not until that moment in the shed, when I had finally given up.
“How did everything go to shit?” I asked, my words muffled against the firm warmth of his chest.
Rhodes let out a deep, weighted breath. “I don’t think everything went to shit,” he said, his voice calm but resolute.
“I think a lot of shit came to light, and now it’s time to take action.
There’s been a war brewing in the north that none of us are prepared for.
.. but thanks to Shayde, we finally have a first step to take. ”
I pulled back slightly, just enough to tilt my head and meet his gaze.
“Shayde?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
Rhodes cleared his throat, his gaze flickering with hesitation before settling back on me.
“Shayde unblocked our marekem the day he took you to that mountain peak. He sent me a signal that he needed help. That’s how I found you.
I don’t know the full story of how my brother became a part of Cora’s—” Rhodes paused as I flinched at the name, his tone softening before he continued, “the Grim’s plan, but he tried to stop it. ”
He sat back slightly, his jaw tightening. “Shayde’s actions gave us a first step to understanding what we’re really up against,” he said, his voice steady. “And how we’re going to stop it.”
I stared at him, trying to process the conflicting emotions that stormed through me. The weight of it all was too much, and I sank back into the mattress, silent.
It didn’t take long to realize that both of the Wylder boys would become incredibly important to me, albeit in very different ways.
Shayde, with his steady presence and easygoing demeanor, had been my simple solution to the chaos in my life. He had a way of making everything feel okay, like the storm in my chest could settle just by being near him. But deep down, I knew I was only pretending.
Pretending that his comfort could erase the pain of my past. Pretending that his charm could undo the damage. Pretending that if I willed my eyes to see what I yearned for, it would become my reality.
But life is never that easy—or at least, nothing that simple is ever worth fighting for. I think I realized the truth during the Burn Trials. That was when I knew which Wylder I wanted to risk giving my heart and soul to.
Shayde stayed behind while Rhodes ran to fight with me.
Rhodes wasn’t the calm in my storm. He was made of sharp, broken edges that matched my own. Where Shayde made me feel like I could escape my problems, Rhodes made me want to face them head-on.
Rhodes didn’t offer me an escape—he showed me that my life was one worth staying for.
And Shayde? He proved that people who look bright and shiny on the surface can be dark and broken underneath. He taught me the harshest lesson of all—it’s the ones you least expect who leave the deepest scars.
I cleared my throat. “So, what do we do next?”
Rhodes tilted his head slightly, his gray-blue eyes steady on mine. “Well, you’ve got two evils waiting on the other side of that door, both needing to be addressed. First, my brother, who’s refusing to speak to anyone that isn’t you.”
I swallowed hard, already feeling the weight of that responsibility resting on my shoulders.
“And second,” Rhodes continued, his tone dropping into something heavier, “your biological father. He’s returned from a mission.”
The air in the room thickened.
Rhodes hesitated before finishing, “And he’s the General of Hollow Summit.”
I paused.
“Are you sure?” I whispered.
Rhodes gave a single nod. “Positive. Noemi confirmed it.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. Fallon had mentioned that she’d been following our marekem ever since she knew I existed. I hadn’t dared to ask her questions about our father. I’d convinced myself I didn’t want answers to questions I was too cowardly to face.
But I’d never stopped to think about how our father played into all of this.
General.
The title echoed in my head, a chilling reminder of the power that came with it. A man in that position would have the resources—an army at his disposal—to find me, to break me free from the confines of that cursed shed where I’d spent years in captivity.
Had he known? Had he chosen not to act? So many questions rang in my mind that my head grew suddenly dizzy.
I wanted to laugh, to cry, to scream—all at once. Of course, the timing was impeccable. Because why wouldn’t my life throw one more storm at me when I was already drowning?
“Scarlet,” Rhodes said gently, his voice pulling me back. “You don’t have to face either evil alone. Not this time.”
I looked at him, at the unwavering resolve in his expression, and for a fleeting moment, I believed him. But then again, facing things alone was the only thing I’d ever known.
I could feel a part of myself, deep within, wanting to push Rhodes away. But I was so tired—tired of walking through life alone.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted under my breath.
He winked. “First, you get bathed and changed. You’re not allowed to walk out in public wearing only my t-shirt.”
I playfully slapped his chest. “Excuse me?”
Rhodes smirked and flicked my nose. “Because I don’t want others looking at what’s mine. You can kick me out, yell, scream, even throw vases at me if you want—but I’ve already claimed you, Scarlet Thorne.”
His voice softened, a rare vulnerability slipping through. “I don’t have many things in this life that are truly mine, and I don’t plan on ever letting your stubborn ass go. I even sparred with an identical version of you to try and help you, and that absolutely tortured me.”
My heart squeezed.
Rhodes leaned closer, his voice like velvet. “So now you can hop in my washtub—it has hot, running water. I’ll collect some clean leathers for you. Then you can decide what’s next.”
His warm breath tickled my skin, and I felt a familiar pull deep in my chest. My eyes flicked down to his full lips, the ones I knew were capable of magic. My heart raced, betraying me, and heat coiled in my core.
“I’m keeping the shirt.”
Rhodes grinned, that infuriating, cocky grin that always left me teetering between wanting to hit him and kiss him. “It looks better on you—on or off, anyway.”
Before I could come up with a witty retort, he leaned down, brushing a soft kiss against my cheek. The warmth of his lips lingered, leaving my skin tingling.
He stood and walked to the dresser, grabbing a leather jacket and slipping it over his shirt.
At the door, he rested one hand on the frame, pausing just long enough to glance over his shoulder. His gray-blue eyes locked with mine, filled with something unspoken but heavy enough to leave me breathless.