Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,188

Jacob went rigid as I explained the source of my pain. Every muscle flexed .

After a long pause, he released my foot then crawled on top of me. Using his arms and legs to trap me beneath him, he shifted so that he hovered over me, and I lay down in the sand, not caring that its gritty, salty specks were getting in my curls. He took my hand, which was clutching the necklace Kemper got me, and pushed it to his chest.

"You feel that, Ash?" he asked softly. His heart pounded beneath my touch.

"Yes."

"That’s your boundary," he said. I thought back to the rock, veiled in the darkness of the night. It stuck out of the ocean, marking how stuck I was. I felt his heart beating again and closed my eyes. "Do you hear me? Say it, Ash," he urged.

"Home is wherever you are," I whispered, remembering the inscription on the bracelet they got me for my birthday. I was in such a hurry to leave, that I left it behind, and now I wished I had it to cover up the ugliness of the fetter.

“That’s right, Ash, I’m your boundary. Not some fucking rock. You’re tied to me, okay?”

“I’m tied to you,” I replied. I understood and appreciated the sentiment, but realizing how tethered we all were made the reality of that rock feel like it wasn’t out in the ocean, it was sitting on my chest, suffocating me.

We both walked back in a daze. I hated that our date felt ruined by my fetter. I wanted to shake off the fear and disappointment I felt, but the invisible boundary around Ethros seemed smaller now. The entire province felt like my basement bedroom at the Stonewell’s.

At the door, before we walked inside, Jacob gently kissed my lips. We both smiled when our lips touched, making our teeth clash a bit before pulling away with mutual chuckles. "You're quite the gentleman, Jacob."

"I try," he replied with a laugh before opening the door for me. The moment Maverick saw us, he pushed Cyler's tense frame aside and ran towards me. "Are you okay?" he asked .

"Yeah, why?" I asked while looking around the room.

"We felt your fetter. What the fuck happened?" Jules asked. She was leaning against a lab table with her arms crossed over her chest. Her cheeks were red, as if she'd been running, and her usually sleek hair was unraveling from the tight bun on top her head.

"Oh," I mumbled before touching my fingers to my lips. "I was swimming. The fetter wouldn't let me go in the ocean. I wanted to see how far the boundary was," I explained with a frown. "You felt that?" I asked in shock. I knew we were tethered together now, thanks to Maverick’s stupid plan, but it slipped my mind in the moment.

"Yeah, and it fucking hurt," Jules complained while rubbing the skin around her fetter.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't think."

"No. You didn't. In case you didn't know, we're all connected now. So you can't do stupid shit like testing boundaries and pissing off Ethros soldiers," Jules yelled.

I looked back to Maverick who was frowning. I knew it was foolish, but now I felt selfish.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," I whispered. I felt a warm palm cup my hand, and Jacob swarmed to my side.

"Okay, thank you, Jules," he said sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "Ash has had a hard couple of days. I think she should rest," he added before pulling me away from Maverick and up the stairs.

"No more leaving the lab," Maverick called behind us, making me pause. I slowly looked over my shoulder while Jacob tried pulling me further.

"No more leaving Ethros, you mean," I said softly before following Jacob upstairs.

Chapter Fifteen

The next day, Patrick woke me up with breakfast in bed and forced me to get dressed and sit downstairs with him. Huxley and Cyler were visiting Josiah at the Ethros prison. Even though I wanted to go with them, they said that it would be better if I stayed behind until they knew which soldiers were keeping guard. We all wanted to avoid another situation like what happened last time, and I didn’t doubt that if Blan or Webb threatened me, Huxley would end them.

Jules disappeared at early sunrise and hadn’t returned since. I briefly worried if she was okay but knew that she was more headstrong than Maverick and Cyler combined. Worrying or chasing after her would just push her further away.