Page 109 of Wilds of Wonder
“Two birds with one stone.” I shook my head. “I get it. I still don’t think it’s smart. If you want to survive, if you want your brothers to survive, you can’t make an enemy of an actual spirit. You have no ideathe power he wields. You don’t even know how to kill him. No one knows how to kill a spirit.”
But my words had no effect. I could see in the set of El’s shoulders, in the fire behind her eyes, that she wouldn’t back down. She’d been planning this for a long time. Now that Annalee was here, she had a way out. If I would allow it.
I peered at her. “So how does this connect to the bolt?”
El shot me a sharp look, then signed,“No connection. Aron brought bolt. I hid bolt somewhere safe.”
I snorted, not sure I believed her. “You’re telling us you want nothing to do with that bolt? That you don’t think you could somehow use it to aid you in killing Spirit Shadow?”
Emory stiffened beside me. It wasn’t a confirmed theory. In fact, it wasn’t a theory at all. Just something Emory and I had pondered over the years through some of our findings.
El gave a vicious shake of her head.
“Okay,” I said warily. “Then we’ll be on our way with the bolt. Tomorrow. You can come if you’re looking for a way out. Annalee will leave with us, so this will be your only chance to escape.”
“And we’ll have to hurry.” Emory lifted the pocket watch from where it lay on her chest. “Annalee knows what this watch does. It’s counting down to the next time the border will open. We have days.” She glanced at the ticking hand, now halfway between the eleven and twelve. “I think.”
I thought I heard Driscoll mutter “great” under his breath.
Annalee glared at me from across the table.
“We have to go home,” I said as gently as I could. “We’ll find a way to save everyone here. I know you’ve formed a bond with these creatures, and now you can bring that expertise with you to the outside world.”
El looked no happier than my sister. Her jaw worked back and forth, but she gave a stiff nod, then stood, signing“Excuse me”before sweeping out of the room and leaving all of us in silence.
Chapter Fifty-One
EMORY
Maverick stood on the balcony, which was missing half of its thick banister railing. Trees sprouted up through the stone, huge fissures and cracks splintering what once must’ve been a magnificent piece of architecture.
His back was to me, his clothes now clean, suspenders snapped in place over his crisp white button-up, tucked into his gray trousers. I had to admit, it was a nice view.
His head turned, and I jumped, realizing I’d been caught gawking. “Hi,” I said quickly.
He turned fully now and leaned against the part of the railing still standing. “Hi.”
I dragged the toe of my slipper over a crack in the balcony suddenly feeling shy. “I kept your notes, too, you know.”
“I’m sorry?” he asked.
I gave him a soft smile. “Driscoll accidentally spilled the contents of your satchel, and...”
His eyes widened. “And all the notes you wrote me over the years were inside.”
I nodded. “I kept yours too. In a little box in the bunker along with all my artifacts. I’d read them over and over, especially on my worst days.”
The days when my husband was particularly cruel or life was particularly hard. Those notes were my escape.
He tilted his head. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m sorry,” I burst out. “I’m sorry about everything. I know you would never trap me in a marriage. I know you would never put your work before me. When I saw that vision, I was scared. It took me right back to my marriage with Gregory, to the worst years of my life. Before I met you. The Maverick you. Well, the bone collector you too. But, well, you know what I mean.” I flailed my hands in the air, suddenly not knowing what to do with them.
“Ah.” He tipped his head toward the shimmering blue lake in the distance. “So you realized the lake you fell into wasn’t the one El was talking about. The one that would show you your future.”
I blinked several times. Then looked at the lake he was pointing to. Then back at him. Spirits below. He was right. El had said the lake right outside the castle was where she’d seen her future. She’d been talking about this lake. Not the one we’d encountered on our travels. So what did that lake show?
Maverick took a few steps forward until he was standing right in front of me, then he used his finger to gently close my mouth. “You look surprised by this revelation.”
