Page 5 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Cady’s lip wobbled. “I helped Walker unlock his cuffs, but when we went to help Freya, she was already free. I should’ve known.” She sniveled. “I should’ve known it was odd when shetold me and Walker to save Arion, but everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew, we were all on Arion’s back and leaping through the ripple, but when we got here, Freya wasgone.”
Walker abruptly stopped his search. Thunder boomed outside, and magic set my teeth on edge.
“They hurt her knee,” he said quietly, “and her magic was already drained. She wouldn’t have had enough left to heal in time to run toward the ripple or help save Arion.”
My chest tightened.
“She only had enough energy to astrally project,” Lyra deduced. “She knew she had to make you all believe she was escaping at your side to get you out of there.”
I wanted more than anything for it not to be true, but that tactic was so painfullyFreya.The only person I’d ever met more willing to sacrifice herself was Elle.
“So, she’s still there,” I said.
She thinks I hate her.
Fuck.
Did she do this to make up for turning Elle over to the High Witch? Only Freya would find such a dramatic way to say I’m sorry.
My heart cleaved in two.
I could never hate Freya. She was my first love. She was my oldest friend.
As Walker realized what Freya had done and why, he glared at me with viciousness I hadn’t known the amicable cowboy possessed.
“This is your fault,” he accused. “You made her feel so guilty for trying to save us all! You convinced her she wasn’t worth saving!”
My anger sparked. “I don’t remember you being gracious when she got your sister mortally wounded, and Elle had to turn herself over to the High Witch to save her.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Walker promised.
“Walker,” Cady snapped, but her brother stepped towardme with knotted fists.
Though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t resist the urge to rile him further.
“I’d like to see you try, Walter,” I shot back.
Lightning skittered across his skin, and thunder boomed once more. The Elders shifted nervously, but Cady rose to her feet and charged toward her brother. As she moved between us, Walker’s gaze remained trained on mine.
“This isn’t Ryder’s fault,” Cady said. “We both know Freya makes her own decisions.”
Walker finally looked down at his sister, and his lightning receded. Sorrow crumpled his face, and his shoulders shook with the effort to hold back his tears. When he sank to his knees, Cady hugged him, and Walker buried his face in her neck and cried.
Afraid I would lose it too if I watched them a second longer, I returned to Elle’s side. Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t wake.
“We’ll get Freya back,” Gloria promised. “We have to.”
“How do we know she’s still alive?” a gray-haired Elder asked. She pulled her cloak more tightly around herself, and her thick, golden bracelets glimmered. “How are we sure there will be anything left to save?”
“I can feel her,” Walker said and released his sister. He rose to his feet. “I would know it if she’s gone.”
“Because of your bond,” Gloria surmised.
Walker nodded. “Until I knew it was there, I never really noticed how our powers mingle with each other. I always assumed that how connected I felt to her, even when she wasn’t there, was emotional, but…but I cansenseshe’s alive. I just know.”
I prayed what Walker sensed was real and not the result of wishful thinking, but logic told me he was right.
“The High Witch still needs her alive to entomb Elle,” I said. “Cordelia won’t kill her—not until she gets what she wants.”
