She sighed and then continued in a rush. “I’ve been looking for my father’s killer.”
Varik groaned. “Alex, you know—”
“He’s a lost soul,” she interrupted. “He told me so. I can’t let him roam the Shadowlands forever, and what little information I’ve gotten on—”
“Whoa, back up.” Varik raised his hands to slow her down. “You’ve seen and talked to Bernard? Here?”
She nodded.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Shit. What has he told you?”
“Not much, just answered questions about the Shadowlands and the Hall of Records. It’s not like I’ve been spending every waking moment here. Sometimes I see him, but most times I don’t.”
“Hall of Records?”
“It’s not a real place, but—”
“I know what it is.” Anger flashed in the depths of his dark eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me you could access the Hall of Records?”
Her own anger rose to meet his. “I didn’t know I could, and once I did know, I didn’t think it mattered! Besides, how am I supposed to know you know about any of this? It’s not like you’ve been forthcoming with shit from your past.”
“Do not try to shift this argument to me. You should’ve told me about Bernard and the Hall from the start.”
“You don’t tell me everything. Why should I tell you anything?”
“Because we’re bond-mates! That’s why!” His eyes shifted from dark brown to molten gold. “I can’t protect you if you don’t fucking trust me!”
“Don’t lecture to me about trust, Varik! For your information, I do trust you, but it’s a two-way street and you’re making this a hell of a lot harder than it needs to be. And what are you going to protect me from? Sweepers? The Tribunal?” She gestured to the surrounding forest. “That shadow-thing?”
“Yes, all of that.”
Alex scoffed and shook her head, muttering, “You’re as bad as Stephen.” She paced a few steps away then faced him squarely. “I’m not a child. I’ve been an Enforcer for over twenty years. I can take care of myself. You can’t protect me from everything, Varik. I don’t want you to protect me. Don’t you understand that?”
“How can I when you barely talk to me unless we’re working a case?”
“I talk to you,” she whispered, crossing her arms in front of her.
“No, you don’t.” He closed the gap between them. “You keep yourself walled away so I can barely sense you through the bond, except for snippets of dreams. Whenever I try to talk to you about our past, or our future, you shut down.”
She shivered as he slipped his hands up her arms.
His voice softened. “You don’t respond when I say I love you.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me how you feel.” He leaned forward and his breath warmed her face. “About me, us.”
“I don’t know how I feel.”
“Such a pity,” he murmured and his lips brushed hers.
A primal scream issued from overhead.
They both stepped back, searching the canopy above. “Where is it?” Alex asked. “Do you see it?”
“No.” Varik continued to hold her hand. “You said if we could reach that patch of sunlight, then we could get out of here?”
“I think so.”
“Right.” He tugged on her arm, pulling her along with him. “Let’s go.”
They ran, dodging trees and hurdling fallen logs. Another scream sounded from above, much closer, and it chilled Alex. Questions raced alongside her.
What chased them?
Why did it first attack her in the salvage yard before turning on Varik?
Why was it fixated on him?
As they neared the patch of sunlight, the specter dropped from an overhead branch. Alex lost her footing, stumbled, and smashed headlong into a tree. The impact left her unsteady until she tripped over an exposed root and sat down hard at the base of the tree she’d hit.
Only a few feet away, the wraith had Varik on the ground on his back. Both snarled and growled as they grappled and exchanged awkwardly swung blows.
Although disoriented, Alex pushed herself to her feet, using the tree’s trunk for balance. She added her own rage-filled scream to the chorus and charged the phantom. She pounced on it and her momentum carried them into the underbrush.
They rolled and tumbled, each trying to gain the upper hand. Hissing in anger, the shadow released her and disappeared as the inertia she’d built tipped her over the edge of a steep slope. Her arms and legs worked furiously, attempting to find any purchase that would slow her descent.
She careened off a jagged stump and was pitched into the air.