Adrianna ducked into the cave and propped her archery equipment and bag against the rock wall. I felt a slight tug on the kin bond as if Frazer was checking. I stayed kneeling, but projected, I’m fine. Safe.
Frazer still gave me a once over as soon as he entered. Then he started to sniff the cave out.
Adrianna clucked her tongue. “It’s just bat shit. Relax.”
Frazer ignored her and paced over to the wall to drop his bag, sword and my kaskan.
Wilder piped up, “Serena tells me that you both saved us. I can only say I’m very glad you suspected me of being a traitor.”
Frazer’s expression remained neutral, but Adrianna had the good grace to look sheepish. “Well, I’m relieved we were wrong—I don’t think Serena would’ve forgiven me for killing you.”
Wilder lifted a brow. “I’m relieved you didn’t feel the need to try.”
Adrianna suddenly flushed. I smothered a grin.
Wilder turned to me. “Now that we’re all here, we need to decide our next move. D’you want to tell me what happened in Attia first?”
I gnawed on my lower lip as the image that’d lodged itself in my heart now flared to life. Wilder acting as my shield, my protector. A savior. A sacrifice. The very thought made me sick with fear. Smothering the visage, I recounted the events he’d missed.
Wilder’s eyes stayed glued on me as I talked, while Adrianna and Frazer rolled out bedrolls to sit on.
When I was done, Wilder curled his fingers into the folds of his cloak. His hands balled into tight fists, he said, “I hope for this Hunter’s sake we never come face-to-face. I might rip his throat out on sheer principle.”
“He sounds delusional,” Adrianna remarked coldly.
There was still a tiny part of me that wanted to speak up for him. Frazer’s voice cut into me. “I’ve met fae like him before. He wants you for his pet, Serena. Not his equal.”
I glared back. “Stop snooping.”
I’d forgotten about Wilder. He growled. “Am I missing something?”
I found him glancing between the two of us, wary-eyed.
“That’s a tale for another time,” Adrianna said, bailing us out. “So, what are we thinking?” She stared over at me. “Should we go back to Kasi?”
Frazer spoke first. “Morgan will want blood when she learns the ambush failed, and Dimitri will hate you both for humiliating his son. You won’t be safe if you go back.”
An emotion flitted through our thread on gentle wings. His fear for me urged me to say, “We’re not abandoning Cai and Liora. You know how spiteful Dimitri is—”
Adrianna interrupted. “I could go back alone and try to protect them …”
I shook my head, but Wilder was the one to say, “Dimitri’s noticed how close your pack is. All the instructors have. If two of your group suddenly disappear along with your former instructor, even Hilda will start asking questions. And when Tysion dares to show his face to his father, he’ll find out that you’re the reason he failed. At the very least, he’ll petition Morgan to have you watched more closely. And then, good luck trying to get away when the time comes.”
Her mouth set hard with doubt, but she said nothing.
There was also the thorny matter of the ingredients, but until I told Wilder everything, it was best to stay silent on that. One thing I would never say—that I buried so deep inside my soul, even Frazer couldn’t find it—was that I couldn’t bear to hide away, to cower, while someone else took my place, while someone else stood in front of me.
Frazer nodded to me. Maybe he’d seen my thoughts anyway. “Then we’ll need a plan to shield you from them taking their revenge.”
Wilder interceded. “I don’t think Morgan will be the problem. She set the ambush to happen away from camp. Nice and quiet—no witnesses. There are reasons she didn’t want to take us publicly. Those are still valid. And whatever else she is, she’s not impulsive like Dimitri. She knows how to play the long game. My guess is she’ll wait until we’re vulnerable again.”
Frazer’s lips paled as his jaw worked furiously. I recognized that look—he was biting down on frustration. “And what about you? From everything Hunter told Serena, it sounds like Morgan won’t wait any longer. It sounds like she’s in love with you. If you come back with us, what’s stopping her from taking you and forcing her way into your mind? She could see our pack’s plans to desert.” His eyes found mine and he added, “And anything else you tell him.”
My chest seized. I’d never thought …
Wilder’s reply was steady, calm. “I’ll write to tell her that she’s made her point. That I’ll go back to being her commander once the training cycle’s over, as long as she leaves Serena alone. In short, I’ll lie.”
The hard lines of his face made my heart ache and stutter.
Frazer’s voice was low. Almost a growl. “D’you expect her to agree to that? Gods, it’ll probably have the opposite effect once she realizes how strongly you feel.”
My cheeks burned. I resisted peeking over at Wilder. Afraid of his response. He let out a small sigh that broke my will; I turned to find a troubled, thoughtful expression. Wilder replied, “I’ll tell her my feelings ended when I discovered she’d been with you.”
Adrianna picked up the conversation, saying, “Doesn’t that contradict what you did for her in the forest?”
My fingernails bit into my palms as the memories resurfaced.
Wilder shrugged and crossed his legs. “Morgan expects shit like that from me. She’s always thought I’ve been soft on humans. She’ll believe me if I say I did it to avoid spilling their blood.”
No one spoke, but everyone wore similar expressions: thoughtfulness mixed with doubt.
I found one question circling, plaguing my mind. “Is Morgan really in love with you?” I blurted out.
Wilder blinked, then pushed out a weak laugh. “Morgan doesn’t love. She likes powerful males and wants to be adored in return. And when she isn’t, she becomes obsessed and even crueler than usual. That didn’t start with me. I’ve seen her become so jealous that one of her favorites had found his mate, that she ordered the male to bed her the same night.”
Adrianna made a noise of pure disgust. An echo of my own feelings.
Frazer was the one to ask, “Did the male betray his mate?”
Wilder answered with a grimace. “Yes. But from what I heard, it was the mate who convinced him to submit. She thought Morgan would kill him if he didn’t.”
A cold fury, fierce and consuming, rattled my bones.
Adrianna harrumphed. “That sounds like a female you can really rely on to restrain herself.”
Her sarcasm prompted Wilder to say, “I still think the main danger will come from Dimitri’s need for vengeance rather than Morgan’s. And apart from maybe the fae in his pack, he doesn’t have any allies.”
“That you know of,” Frazer put in darkly.
Wilder frowned. “It’s true, I might have miscalculated. But we’ll still have allies to help curb his wrath. Hilda and Goldwyn and Cecile all hate him.” He trailed off and turned to face me. “Either way, I won’t stay behind.”
Those words punched a hole through my chest. I managed a weak smile. A part of me wished he’d fly away and abandon us. To spare him from me and all the arrows in the world that one day would be aimed at my head. That is if Morgan had her way.
My eyes sought Frazer’s. Then Adrianna’s. And finally, Wilder’s.
I should’ve tried to persuade him to go, to leave us, but instead selfish, selfish words poured out. “Are you all right to fly back?”
A smile twitched at the corner of that full mouth. “If I can rest my wing tonight, I should be ready to fly by tomorrow.”
Adrianna stood, shouldered her archery gear, and briskly said, “Good. Frazer and I will leave once we’ve completed our trials. Since Serena’s already finished hers, I’ve got some catching up to do.” She flashed me a teasing smirk and went on. “Which means, I need to be making the most of this light.”
Concerned, I dared to ask, “Shouldn’t you rest or something first?”
One word punched out of her. “No.” And that was that.
Adrianna turned on her heel.
Frazer straightened up. “Can you take me down there?”