Page 71 of Wilds of Wonder
Aron might have been a wolf, but he was kind and helpful, and he didn’t deserve to waste away in a place like this. At least, I thought he might be wasting away. I actually didn’t know if he aged in this form. It didn’t seem like it, but I hadn’t actually asked.
Another question, another mystery.
They’d answered a lot of our questions, though, even if the answers hadn’t been what I wanted to hear. I’d hoped they would know more about a way to escape, but we would still have to figure that out on our own. I wasn’t sure where we went from here. El made it seem like going to the library was a fool’s errand. But if we went with them to the safe haven they’d created for their people, we’d be wasting time.
Maverick was determined to find his sister, and we’d made a deal. I’d promised I would help, and in exchange he’d let me have the bolt. The bolt we no longer had in our possession. I sighed in frustration.
I could go back on my promise to Maverick, but the thought of his sister being out here alone, possibly already dead, was enough to motivate me. I couldn’t leave her. Whatever had happened between me and Maverick, I knew his sister meant everything to him, and for some annoying reason, that meant she meant something to me too.
The plan formed easily in my mind. We’d find Maverick’s sister, we’d scour the lands and find the bolt, and we’d use it to escape this spirits-forsaken place. Once we found it, maybe we could even offer to help El and her people escape. Though that would present a whole new problem. I had no idea what place these creatures could have in our world. It wasn’t a very accepting one. We didn’t like conflict. We didn’tlike things that made us uncomfortable. We didn’t like change. Especially not the frost queen. These monstrous creatures were all of those things, and I didn’t know what would happen to them if they escaped the Wilds. It was such a mess, and right now, all I wanted to do was sink under this warm water and let it wash away every thought from my mind.
Nothing had disturbed me so far, so maybe that meant I was actually safe here, that I could relax.
A splash sounded, and I stiffened, standing up in the water, which barely covered my breasts.
I was naked, no weapons on me, but I had my magic. I summoned a dagger of ice and gripped it tight. A cluster of rocks that sat in the spring blocked my view from the sound. Water splashed again as I rounded the pile of stone and ran right into Maverick Von Lucas.
He stared down at me, surprise flashing in his eyes.
“Stalking me again, little rabbit?” he asked, voice low.
Our bodies were plastered together, so close I could see the water droplets clinging to his eyelashes, rivulets dripping down his nose, landing on his full lips.
I shoved myself from him, then quickly lowered into the water when I realized my breasts were on full display.
“Emory,” he said, gaze dipping with my movement. “I think we need to talk.”
“We agreed to work together,” I said quickly. “I’ll help you get your sister. You help me get that bolt. We don’t need to talk beyond that unless it has to do with planning, which”—I gestured to my naked body, now covered by the silvery water—“now’s not really the right time for.”
His eyes flashed with heat as they followed my hands, and I realized I was pointing directly at my breasts, the swell of them still visible. I cleared my throat and sank lower until the water reached my chin, hair now floating around me.
He was so damn close, his chest broad and hard, his abs carved by muscle. Scars laced his arms, and I wanted to trace every single one, which only made me back away farther.
“Why are you running from me?” His voice was low as he steppedcloser, towering over me. “We were... friends. All those years spent passing notes back and forth, adventuring together.”
“You never knew me,” I said. “And I never knew you. Not really.”
“You know that’s a lie,” he murmured. “You can taste the bitterness of it on your tongue, on your lips.” He reached out and brushed a thumb across my lower lip.
A shudder rippled through me, heat pulsing at his words.
“How else would I know that as much as you’re afraid of this place, you’re also enticed by the adventure? You can’t help but want to know more about the Wilds.” He stood in front of me now and lowered himself in the water until his face was inches from mine. “You want to explore as much as I do. You want to figure out what happened to the star court as badly as I do. Because you and I, we’re the same.”
I stared at him, the way the purple sky shone over his umber skin, the way the water lapped at the hard muscles of his chest. I wanted to take the leap, to close the distance between us, but I stayed frozen to my spot.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked, his gaze so intense I thought I might combust under it.
“I don’t know,” I burst out. “I’m not used to this. Okay? I’m not used to letting others in. The only person I ever let in was—” I stopped.
“Me,” he guessed.
“The bone collector,” I said, and he winced.
“It’s humiliating, you know. How much I shared with you about my stupid dreams of working at the academy one day. I’d never shared that with anyone. You must’ve thought me such a fool.”
“No.” He grabbed my shoulders and gave me a small shake. “I thought you were the bravest person I’d ever met. The fiercest. The smartest. The prettiest.”
I raised a brow. “Now I know you’re lying. You didn’t even know what I looked like.”
