that tears were flowing. I felt genuine fear for Gordon’s safety.
“Is that the boy Maverick helped?” Jacob asked. It was the first time he willingly spoke to me in ages. I expected his smooth, sultry voice to make my stomach clench, but my body didn’t react at all.
“Yes. He—he heard something said between Tallis and I—” I began through choked words before Cyler cut me off.
“God damnit. What’d you do now?” Cyler demanded and I felt my heart stop.
“I—I…” I began, but the emotions, exhaustion, and fear was too overwhelming. I couldn’t speak.
“Of course you have something to do with it. We’ll be there within the hour to scout the area. Go back to the Dorms,” he ordered before ending the call. I stood there silently for a moment before Tallis disrupted my inner turmoil.
“Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” he asked, grabbing my hand.
“It doesn’t matter. We have to find Gordon.” I wiped my eyes. “If he thinks I’m staying in those damn Dorms, he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought,” I added with more force. Once the initial shock wore off that Gordon was missing, an entirely new emotion had taken over.
Anger.
“Let's go.”
Tallis and I walked the woods, our only source of light was his lantern. We wandered around, calling out Gordon’s name. The further we got from camp, the more concerned I got.
“Gordon, get your ass out here!” I screamed into the dark forest for the millionth time. I had given up all sympathetic pretenses and had switched to annoyance.
“Where the hell is he?” I asked Tallis. We had walked for at least an hour and my shoes were covered in mud from traveling along the banks of a river. The darkness was eerie, but I felt safe with Tallis.
“I don’t…” he began before crouching low and snapping his head towards the west. His hand reached out and grasped mine, pulling me down in a swift movement. I collapsed against his bare chest and my arms wrapped around him in reflex.
“Where the hell is this kid?!” I heard a familiar voice say just as two figures appeared right in front of us. “Jules?” Jacob said as he shined a light on Tallis and I. I closed my eyes in embarrassment as Tallis stood and pulled me up with him. After a moment, I realized that my hand was still snugly placed against his bare chest and I immediately removed it.
“What are you doing out of the Dorms? I told you to go back!” Cyler, who was standing beside Jacob, growled with a frown. His pants were covered in mud from the knees down, and I assumed that he had been wading in the creek.
“I wanted to help,” I said while lifting my nose up.
“I’m sure you’ve helped enough. Tallis doesn’t need to babysit you while trying to look for one of his people,” Cyler argued. He threw his arms up in exasperation.
“Actually, Agapimenos has been extremely helpful,” Tallis replied and I warmed at his quick reflex to defend me.
“Oh, it definitely looked like she was being helpful when we walked up,” Cyler countered with a disgusted scowl.
I did what I usually do in these situations when my brother was mad and I felt helpless—I looked to Jacob—who was smiling at me. Actually smiling.
“Cy, we’re wasting time. Let's go. We need to find him,” Jacob said while continuing to walk along the bank of the river. I followed after him, leaving the others to navigate the muddy creek behind us. I was eager to get away from the tension rolling off Tallis and Cyler.
We walked in silence, but I occasionally looked at Jacob, who kept his eyes ahead. I wanted to hug him. To beg forgiveness. But instead, I kept quiet. There were bigger problems at hand than my redemption.
“Cy—look at these tracks. Think he’s headed towards the Grove?” Jacob asked, and my stomach flopped. The Grove had always been their secret hiding spot, not once was I ever allowed to see it. To be welcomed in on their secret.
“I think you’re right,” Cy replied while stepping over a thick vine.
“What’s the Grove?” Tallis asked.
“It’s a place we used to run off to when we were kids,” Jacob explained with a sad smile. The moonlight reflecting in his eyes was beautiful, and I was briefly reminded of why it was so easy to fall for him before.
“Oh good. Jules can lead the way then,” Tallis replied while grabbing my hand. He looked at Jacob and me