Page 116 of Wilds of Wonder
Emory shot me one of those brilliant smiles that lit me up from the inside out. “There’s only one way to find out,” she said. “That lightning bolt will be ours, and I’ll get the frost queen to pardon me.”
I thought about the frost queen, the mission she’d sent me on a year ago, how I’d been directly working against her, giving her false leads, pretending I was on the cusp of capturing Emory, only for her to slip through my grasp. I needed to tell Emory at some point. The frost queen was hiding something. I just didn’t know what, and right now, it didn’t seem to matter all that much, not when there were much bigger things at stake—like our lives. That bolt might very well earn Emory her freedom, but if we didn’t have it, I’d find another way.
“Emory, you don’t need a bolt to keep from going to the frost prisons.”
She sent me a disbelieving look, brow arched. “I don’t?”
“No.” I drew her to me and pressed a rough kiss against her head. “You have me. And I won’t let anyone trap you. Never again.”
Her eyes shone. “But your job, your life?—”
“You are my life, and I won’t let anyone take you from me.”
She gave a small laugh. “My fierce bone collector. I was so wrong about you.”
“And I was so right about you,” I said.
She shot me a curious look. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I knew you’d come around.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled me along the tunnel. “Uh-huh.” Her laughter died, smile disappearing as she stopped abruptly.
From out of nowhere, a man stumbled into our pathway. We bothtook a few steps back, but he lurched forward, eyes wild, his thick salt-n-pepper hair going in all directions.
“She’s gone,” he said with a shaky voice. “My Bellamy is gone.”
Emory and I shot each other concerned glances, Emory letting go of my hand as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, we don’t know a Bellamy.”
The man grabbed hold of Emory’s shoulders. “You don’t understand. She’s gone. She’s gone and she’s never coming back.”
“Get your hand off my wife,” I said with a deadly calm.
I grabbed the man’s arm, ready to wrench him the fuck away from Emory, but she gave a slight shake of her head. My jaw clenched and my grip loosened. The man didn’t even seem to notice me. I didn’t like it, but I also trusted my wife, and I knew she was capable of taking care of herself.
“I’m sorry Bellamy is gone,” Emory said gently. “That must be so hard for you.”
He sank his head into his hands. “I failed her. I failed my daughter.”
Emory swallowed. “I’m sure whatever happened between you, she’ll understand.”
“She won’t. She’s never forgiven me, and I don’t blame her. I kept so much from her. To protect her, at first. Then because I was trapped in my own mind, in my own nightmares. Now she’ll never know the truth.”
The man had been driven mad, that much was clear. He must’ve been one of the residents here, gotten lost and wandered into the dungeon. Tears filled his eyes and slipped down his pale cheeks, his green eyes so bright and glassy.
“I can’t take this anymore.” He grabbed his hair and pulled. “Get out of my head. Please. Get out.”
He turned and ran in the opposite direction.
“Wait!” Emory reached out a hand and shot me a questioning look.
I sighed and shoved a hand over my hair. “Let’s go get him before he hurts himself.”
Emory made to move, but I grabbed her hand. “Nothing stupid. No risking yourself for this man. I just married you, and by the spirits, I plan on loving you for a long, long time.”
She pressed a brief kiss to my lips, then set off after the man. I shot my fire magic forward and raised my hand to lift it higher so that it cast its light wider, gave Emory a path forward.
“Wait,” she called out to the man, who’d disappeared. “We can help you get back to your room, to safety. Please stop!”
