Page 51 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Pity softened his features. “You were dreaming,” he whispered.
“Yes,” I agreed, “but it wasn’t a normal dream. The sorceress whispered to me—”
He growled. “How dare she toy with you.”
“I don’t think she is,” I said in a rush. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but she’s told me this before. She said they’re in our meeting place. How else would she know we had a place to meet in case anything ever happened to us, and we got separated—”
“Maybe,” Ryder interrupted, “because she’s in your head.”
He tucked a braid behind my ear, but I pushed him away.
“I know,” I said. “I know she’s not trustworthy, but this feels like the truth.”
“Does it?” he asked gently. “Or do you want it to be the truth?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Can’t it be both?”
“Your mom was in bad shape,” Ryder whispered. “Your dad was outnumbered.”
“But those wolves never caught us,” I said. “Maybe it’s because my parents ended them. Maybe they’re out there, Ryder.”
He sighed. “Maybe, but are you willing to do the sorceress’s bidding to get to them?”
Confused and exhausted, I laid back down and searched for the answer to Ryder’s question. All I could think about was how good it was to see Dad’s laugh lines and hear Mom’s voice.
“I miss them,” I whispered.
Ryder laid at my side and held my hand. This time, I didn’t pull away.
“I know,” he whispered. His other hand caught a tearI didn’t realize had slipped down my cheek. “I know, Ellie, but think. If your parents were alive, why haven’t they come to you? Why go to some meeting place? Where is it you’re supposed to meet anyway?”
“Maybe they fear they’ll be followed by the High Witch if they come to me,” I said. “And as for the meeting place, I swore to them I would never reveal it to another living soul.”
“How am I supposed to help you get to it if I don’t know where it is?” he countered.
I looked at him sideways. “Would you help me if I told you?”
Ryder’s brow furrowed. “It’s a trick, Elle. The sorceress is using what you want most against you.”
His words confirmed my suspicions. He wouldn’t.
If I wanted to find my parents, I would have to do it on my own.
Not entirely alone,I thought.
Even worse, I would have to rely on the sorceress’s aid.
???
Ryder
After Elle’s dream, the last place I wanted to be was away from her side, yet that’s where I found myself the next day.
“This’ll be fun,” Lyall repeated.
I wondered if he thought saying something enough times would make it true.
We stood in the back pasture of the estate in front of the smoldering embers of yesterday’s bonfire. All around us, wolves picked up trash and packed away speakers. I wanted to help, but Lyall insisted they had it under control. Instead of helping his pack clean up after a partyherequired, the Sovereign wanted to spend his time going on a run with me.
