Page 96 of Wilds of Wonder
“She’s not the problem,” I said quietly, gazing at Emory as shelaughed in delight at something Driscoll said. “She was married before. To a terrible man. He hurt her.” I thought of those bruises on her neck and had to swallow back my anger. “She’s scared. She’s afraid to be in another marriage like that.” Annalee opened her mouth, but I continued on, “She’s worried she’ll be trapped again. Her husband kept a tight rein. So she had to hide that part of herself from him. She doesn’t want to risk losing herself all over again.”
“Hm,” Annalee said. “You know, when no one believed me about the Wilds, I’d almost given up. Father sent me to that terrible Academy of Ladies, and I was so resigned.”
My heart broke at the words. I’d known this, but hearing her say it hit differently.
“I was going to just go and finally be the good girl. Shut up and forget about these dreams and forget about the Wilds.”
“So what changed?”
“You did.” She laughed.
“Me?” I said, arching a brow.
“Yes,you. You started taking more risks, going after what you wanted, trying to make an actual change at the academy instead of going along with those old, stuffy professors. You became this amazing adventurer, and it made you happy in a way I had never seen before.”
“Because I met Emory. Because she changed me.”
“So show her that,” Annalee said. “Don’t stop proving yourself until she realizes you’re going to love her the way she deserves to be loved. Go after her like you’ve gone after all those rare artifacts sitting in that fancy academy museum.”
My lips twitched because when she put it like that...
“If you love her, then it’s worth the fight.”
Of course I loved her. She’d become so entwined in my life, in my thoughts, in my very being, there was no me without her.
Annalee was right. I’d never scared easily. I’d never let anything stop me from getting what I wanted. And there was nothing I wanted more than Emory.
We finally arrived at the top of the hill, and Annalee gasped.
“That’s your camp?” she asked, mouth agape.
I took in the view below. A sparkling blue lake spread out in front ofa towering castle. Silver walls that shimmered and glittered rose into pointed peaks. Large balconies jutted out with billowing white curtains draped over the windows. A drawbridge stretched over a river that fed into the lake and wound around the castle.
“Your camp is the castle?” I asked with a raised brow.
El just shrugged as the rest of our group caught up, and Driscoll hunched over, hands on his knees. “I get to stay in the star court castle? Are you kidding me?” He turned to El. “Do you have hot water?”
She nodded.
He sank to his knees. “Oh, thank the bloody spirits. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my entire life.”
“Is it safe?” I drew Annalee back toward me.
“It is,” Aron said. “The castle is where many of us have resided for the better part of sixty years. We keep it fortified.” He nodded toward the castle walls, and I could just make out the forms of guards keeping watch from the towers, all of them with something slightly off about them. I swore one of them had wings instead of arms and another’s body was covered with black fur. “You’ll be safe. I promise.”
That was good enough for me. Maybe without constant threats to my life, I could finally have some time and space to figure out exactly how I was going to win back Emory and make her mine.
Chapter Forty-Five
MAVERICK, ONE YEAR AGO
Istood at our tree, holding out the little glass jar as thick snowflakes fell from the sky. The snow came up to my calves, and I shivered, the wind a constant barrage. She was late. As usual.
For a moment, I worried something was wrong, but then my eye caught on the little piece of paper sitting atop the other folded pieces in the jar. It was a different color, shaped into a triangle instead of in half like the others.
A note. My heart kicked up its pace. Maybe she’d written to tell me she couldn’t make it today. Maybe she’d had some other commitment and needed to reschedule our choosing. Something in my gut told me that wasn’t it. Not after she’d practically run away from me ten months ago in the highlands. Right after I’d admitted I wanted to reveal myself to her.
The thing was I didn’t regret it. If I regretted anything, it was not chasing after her. I’d spent the last ten months thinking about that moment.
