Page 41 of The Wolf and the Chimera
“He’s a nice kid,” I said. “Just admit it.”
“He was useful,” Ryder conceded.
“Let’s go see if he can be useful again,” I said and swung my leg over the mattress.
Black spots danced in my vision, and the room spun. I clutched the scratchy sheets to keep from falling over, and Ryder steadied me with a gentle grip on my shoulders.
“Easy there,” he told me. “You need to rest before you can talk to anyone.”
“Can I at least rest somewhere else?” I asked. “Being in here makes me feel like a lab rat.”
As I sat there, I blinked away my lingering dizziness and gestured at the sterility of the room. The ceiling hung far too low, disinfectant scented the air, and the only other furniture aside from the bed was the metal chair Ryder had occupied.
“Yes please,” Ryder agreed and wrinkled his nose. “This place gives me the creeps.”
Though we could leave the sterile room, we were still trapped on the estate. Guilt squeezed my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
Ryder frowned. “For what?”
“How are we going to leave now?” I whispered. “We can’t risk unleashing me on the public if the sorceress can possess me whenever my magic comes back.”
Ryder twisted one of my braids around his finger.
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “Besides, it’s probably time I stop running from this place.”
He had only come here because of me. No one would want to return to the home of their mother’s second family.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you left,” I said. Ryder scowled, and I continued in a rush. “Lyall would continue helping me. We both know he’s doing it for his own motives anyway. You could get out of here—you could help find Freya.”
At the mention of her name, he flinched.
“Don’t use her to convince me to abandon you,” he growled. “It kills me not to help her, but fate, magic, the gods—they decided I need to protectyou,and I’m not going to abandon that duty.”
Obviously he would help Freya if he could,I thought,but fate has shackled him to me.
He hadn’t chosen to keep me safe because he knew me or cared about me. It was dangerous for me to believe how he treated me was the product of anything other than werewolf magic.
He was here because he was honorable.
Just like your parents.
I tried and failed to keep my insidious thoughts at bay.
They didn’t choose you. You were just given to them by some rogue witch with the instructions to keep you safe at any cost.
My parents had paid the ultimate price to keep me safe. I only hoped Ryder wouldn’t do the same.
Instead of the usual bout of despair that recalling their deaths incited, hope spark in my chest, followed by confusion. The sorceress’s voice rang in my ears.
Did you see them die?
As I braced myself for her possession, my stomach flipped, but nothing happened.
“Ellie?” Ryder asked. “Are you all right?”
I forced a pleasant smile on my face. “Absolutely. Let’s get out of here.”
