Page 55 of The Wolf and the Chimera
He shoveled some more food into his mouth but continued to study me with concern.
“I think you should eat,” he declared. “Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”
I sighed and nibbled at my bacon. Sweet and salty flavor danced on my tongue, and I barely stopped myself from sighing in enjoyment. After a few bites, I forked some eggs into my mouth. Though I needed Kieran to believe I was sick, I also needed my strength to communicate with the sorceress without letting her take total control.
The thought of it made me feel like a fool, but Dad’s smile flashed behind my eyes, and I remembered what was at stake. I couldn’t sit here eating fine food and luxuriating in my safety when my parents were out there waiting for me. Besides, Ryder had once told me he would help me navigate my powers. Though he enjoyed teaching me how to punch and kick, he had yet to follow through on that promise.
It was time to take matters into my own hands.
I gasped and clutched my stomach. My knee clanked against the bottom of the table hard enough to shake the silverware. Kieran choked.
“I’m sorry,” I said and stood. “I need to go lie down.”
Kieran washed his food down with a chug of orange juice and mirrored me.
“What is it?” he demanded. “Elle, something is wrong, but you can tell me. Is it…” He hesitated and grimaced. “You know,her?”
I smiled weakly.
“No,” I assured him. “This is far more mundane. Itinvolves, you know, womanly troubles.”
I expected him to recoil in discomfort and drop it like most seventeen-year-old boys. Kieran frowned and sniffed.
“You’re not bleeding,” he said.
You can smell that?
I balked. “I, um, I think it’s coming on.”
Kieran nodded and patted my back.
“I’ve got just the thing to help you,” he promised. “My mom always eats these berries that grow on the eastern part of the creek. She says they’re the ultimate pain-relief because they’re blessed by the gods or something. You go lie down, and I’ll gather them for you.”
My guilt reached a crescendo. I almost confessed my lie right there. When Ryder found out I tricked him, he wouldn’t empathize with his brother who was acting out of compassion, not foolishness. I would be responsible for driving a new rift between the brothers.
As if Mom were right in front of me, the scent of sea salt and Chanel No. 5 invaded my senses.
Ryder and Kieran will be okay. They have to be.
“That would be wonderful,” I said. “Thank you so much, Kieran. You’re a remarkable kid.”
He puffed his chest. “I’m almost eighteen, thank you very much.”
I rolled my eyes. Clutching my stomach, I shuffled out the door and remained hunched. After pausing to kiss my cheek, Kieran jogged down the hall and turned left, toward the nearest exterior exit. When I was certain he was out of sight, I straightened and picked up my pace.
Luckily, training had given me the excuse of wearing comfortable running shoes, tights, a long-sleeve dri-fit top, and a light jacket, but I swung by my room to grab a heavier, down coat. I wasn’t sure how long I would be gone, but I wanted to be as prepared as possible.
I walked through the estate’s halls with my head down and the coat tucked beneath my arm. By the grace of the gods, Ididn’t run into Melanie or Bo. Other werewolves eyed me with suspicion, but only because that’s how theyalwayslooked at me.
I reached the western exit, which led to a gravel pathway that weaved between the woods. I passed a pavilion and a few young werewolves and walked farther. Though I was willing to take on the sorceress’s power myself, I wouldn’t risk the lives of everyone in the estate. When I called for her, I needed to be far from the chateau’s walls.
Growing more anxious by the second, I stepped up to a jog. The exertion eased my frayed nerves, and soon, the gravel path dissipated. I stood alone with trees towering over me and shadows dancing across the ground. Rubbing my foot against moss-covered rock, I caught my breath.
Here goes nothing.
“Sorceress,” I whispered.
Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself, as if that would help.
