Page 356 of Shadowblood Souls
A growl forms at the base of my throat.
I don’t care if Riva’s decided she can trust him. He shouldproveit—to all of us. Or at least to my three friends who are tied to her as completely as anyone can be with the marks I might never be able to take on my own skin.
Maybe it’s not his fault. The guardians could have put him through all kinds of hell that we don’t know about.
We still need to hear it.
I confessed all my past shit to her. It was a good thing I did.
He should want to for all of our sakes, including his.
I stand up abruptly, my wolf-man features itching at my face. I’m not going to threaten him into it, even if part of me would like to.
When the others glance up at me, I jerk my head toward the area to the left of our path. “I can hear a stream somewhere off that way. Why don’t those of us carrying the jugs go see if it’s worth refilling them.”
That’s just us Firsts. We’ve shouldered the heaviest packs. And we’ve each got at least one empty jug by this point.
We wouldn’t really all need to go, but Dominic gives me a thoughtful nod as he gets to his feet as if he understands I must have some other motivation. Jacob’s eyes flash with sharpened alertness, and Andreas’s easy grin fades.
Riva looks around at the kids with a slight frown. “You’re all okay on your own for a few minutes?”
“Hey, we’re not toddlers,” Nadia says, her tone light enough to show she isn’t offended. She swipes the fringe of her dark pixie cut away from her damp forehead. “And I don’t think any of us would argue with having a plentiful supply of water.”
Griffin has stayed seated on the log. He ruffles his cat’s fur. “I’ll be here with them.”
I fix him with a firm stare. “You should fill up too if it looks like a good source. Come on.”
Griffin gazes back at me, and I know he can pick up on how I’m feeling. The threads of aggression, the determination behind my demand.
Riva makes a small noise as if she’s about to speak, but then Griffin gets up. He lets the cat leap out of his arms and go to the empty can he filled with water for it.
“That’s no problem. I want to do my fair share.”
I have to lead the way, of course, since I’m the one who can supposedly hear the running water. But when I check to confirmthat the others are all with me, Riva has twined her fingers with Griffin’s again.
My fingers flex, my claws prickling with the urge to spring free. I keep walking in as straight a line as I can manage until the chatter of the younger shadowbloods has completely faded into the rustling of the leaves and buzzing of the jungle insects.
If my wolfish ears can’t hear them, they definitely won’t hear us.
I turn to face the others, folding my arms over my chest. “There isn’t any stream—at least, not that I’ve heard. I just thought we should talk. The six of us, alone.”
Riva knits her brow. “About what?”
I can protect her and my friends with more than my brutal strength. I can protect her from the secrets we need to be sure won’t come back to haunt us.
I lift my chin toward Griffin. “I think it’s time you told us exactly what happened to you in the past four years—and why we should believe anything you tell us now.”
Twenty-Four
Riva
Zian’s words come out with the edge of a snarl. I instinctively step even closer to Griffin, my fingers tightening around his.
I don’t know how much of a chance he’s gotten to talk to the others—to apologize, to explain… Does Zian have any idea at all of the reasons Griffin decided to side with the guardians over us?
But then,Istill can’t totally wrap my head around his reasoning either, can I? I’ve been willing to do what I can to see the hints of the boy I knew rise to the surface through the robotic being he’s become, but I wouldn’t put my life in his hands.
Not now. Not yet.
