that he doesn’t trust me when I don’t think I trust any of them.
He picks up his bag and flashes me a grin. “It seems like a good day for a walk.”
I don’t know what to think… is he trying to confuse me because he knows something? Or am I being completely paranoid now?
Stone and Crius stand ready, both so different, yet they share a similarity. Their obedience to Ragnar, the way they wait for his order, how they look at him with determination, is admirable. So what is Nikos’s story, then? He’s got his back to us, staring out into the woods as if determining the best direction for us to take.
“Let’s go,” Ragnar orders, then glances out in the woods.
“Yep, almost there,” I respond and move to slip into my shoes and roll my coat into my bag. Once I’m all packed and ready to go, Stone comes over and hands me a kitchen towel wrapped up around something.
“Saved you some,” Stone announces.
I quickly unwrap the gift to find a slice of salted fish on bread, along with an apple. It’s more than I’d eat most mornings back home, and it’s ridiculous to get excited over a meal, but he saved me some when he didn’t need to. When I lift my head, he’s back over with Crius, and I catch his eyes, smiling my thanks.
With everyone waiting on me, I quickly wrap it back up and tuck it into my pocket to eat as soon as we get moving.
“Alright, we follow the path from a distance like yesterday.” I step up in front of them and take the lead, only this time Ragnar isn’t following me. When I steal a peek over my shoulder, I notice he’s walking alongside Nikos, and now I am more confident than ever that last night was a test after all. Perhaps the kiss was too, to trick me into taking his offer. And the thought leaves a sour taste in my mouth because I enjoyed the kiss a bit too much to discover it was a game.
Something in me insists on playing by the rules, to show them I want the same as them. To get this mission over and done with to get my sisters back. It’s tearing me apart on the inside to think of Jae closed in a room, to know Kaira is somewhere out there alone.
There are too many things going on in my head, not to mention that my power consists of only detecting magic and nothing beyond that. Unless I include the possibility of having my ability go haywire and accidentally burning one of the Viking Alphas. Yeah, I can see that going down well.
That single thought alone brings back a wave of memories of Martell, and I loathe that each time he comes to mind, my chest feels like it might crack open. My wolf growls in protest that I left him, that I now associate with these Alphas.
Yep, my wolf hates me even more as she pines deep inside me. She doesn’t understand that I left for our survival.
I refocus my attention, as it’s the only way to ease the longing that strangles me.
The burned woods extends out a lot farther than any of us anticipated, and all the while in the distance to our right, the greenery by the path rustles in the breeze.
Sweat drips down my back, and I long for a single movement of air through my hair, something to take away the stuffiness choking me. Despite the danger, the temptation to take that risk grows by the minute as more perspiration collects along the back of my neck.
Behind me, the four men keep up easily, though by their red cheeks and perspiration, it’s clear they are no less affected.
Dark, charred trees surround us, the ground crisp and dry, and I am starting to wonder if the landscape is another means of discouraging anyone from leaving the path. When I sweep my attention straight in front of us, the gray of the forest blends into colors of deep greens and browns. I almost squeak out loud to see we’re finally out of this deadland.
When the ghostly fingers of a warm wind wash over my face, a surge of excitement bubbles inside me. “Did you feel that? It’s a breeze!”
In that same moment, a spark of energy bubbles in my chest, and I know what that means. We are in a part of the woods where the witches’ magic is now