His jaw clenches while a flare of pain crosses his gaze. The tragedy in his eyes squeezes around me, and now I wish I never asked the question. What could have happened so that he now wishes for death?
I reach up to cup the side of his face, still unable to believe this is real and we all survived the last spell. He leans into my touch gently and closes his eyes momentarily as if the reality still hasn’t fully found him either. He doesn’t move, and I want to lean in and taste his lips. I take in the beautiful structure of his face, his throat, his powerful body, and I sway forward in response. I’m half tempted to reach over and smooth out the pinched wrinkles across the bridge of his nose.
His eyes slide open. “Narah, why don’t you have injuries from a bear attack?” He swiftly changes the topic, and I don’t push him on it either.
“One never came for me. Only for you four.” As the response leaves my mouth, I can’t help but wonder if the witches are playing games with us. Did they want to see how I’d react, how I’d use my power to help the men?
My fingers curl tighter around Crius’s shirt. The thought races and brings with it a terrifying revelation that we are walking into a bigger trap none of us will be able to escape from.
A tremble races up my spine, and I glance up to meet his gaze. “Maybe it’d be wise if we turned back and forgot this mission.”
His eyes narrow in response, but it’s someone else’s voice that distracts us.
“She’s awake,” Stone declares, stealing the chance for Crius to answer. Stone’s voice is dark, and when I face him, there are shadows painted across his expression. His secret of not being taken seriously by anyone flutters to the forefront of my mind, and I can tell he thinks I’m not worthy to see this part of him. But he couldn’t be more wrong.
Crius unfurls his arms from around me, and I turn to the other three approaching.
Nikos stares at me with the same unsettling stare as Stone, the one that reminds me how he intends to leave Ragnar’s pack, worried he’ll be thrown out as he had out of his own family. He lowers his gaze from me, and my chest constricts. This isn’t what I want… for them to pull away, to feel less of themselves.
These men can rip me apart, yet they withdraw over secrets they hold onto like their lives depend on it.
It’s only Ragnar who stares at me with a look of dominance… of course, he has nothing to hate me for, but would he if he had revealed his deepest secret?
“How did you survive?” I ask him. “I never got the chance to tell you how to break the spell.”
He shrugs and tilts back his head, his lips tightening, yet his gaze never leaves me. “I was going to ask you the same question. I ran with you in my arms from the bear, and next thing I knew, I passed out and the bear dissolved into nothing.”
His pale blue eyes study me, and it leaves me covered in shivers. He’s not a man who’ll be gentle if he thinks I’m hiding something from him.
“Pretty sure Narah made you spill your darkest secret like she did with us, as that is what had us passing out,” Nikos says bitterly.
My posture bristles, and I can’t stop myself. “Don’t blame me. I saved your lives. I’m sorry you had to share something with me, but I am not judging you for it, and I won’t be sharing it with anyone else, so take your hatred somewhere else.”
I want to punch Nikos in the face for standing there, dark and formidable, clear he has no intention of forgiving me. Except I did nothing wrong, and my arms tremble by my sides.
“No one is upset because you saved us,” Crius adds, trying to be the peacekeeper. “You’ve got to understand, our backgrounds are fucked up and beyond broken. Why do you think the four of us have bonded so well? And what we shared is a small insight into our weakness. It’s not something anyone wants to share. That shit makes you soft and vulnerable. So give it time and we’ll all deal with this crap our own way.”
My muscles across my shoulder blades tense. “Fine, I get that, but don’t take it out on