Page 58 of Broken Fate
In that instant, I hated men. Why did they have tosuckand yet be so great all at once?
“I’m sorry,” I told Clive. “I don’t know what to do. I just need … I need some space. I have to think.”
He nodded and gestured back to the clearing. “We should probably get going anyway.”
“Yeah,” I said, cursing the stiffness between us. Would it ever go away or had my kiss with Kiel done irreparable harm?
Oddly enough, despite kissing one man and being pursued by another, I somehow feltmoreisolated than before.
Who knew life could be somessy?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Icame awake to the sounds of the others rising and stretching under the dim moonlight, preparing for the last leg of our journey. According to Andi, we would reach Helisson today. The first step in our rescue of Gralk.
Glancing around, I saw no sign of Clive. He’d ignored me the rest of the night before, and that looked like it would continue into tonight. Perfect.
Kiel was at our head, his black-furred beast motionless, watching and waiting as the rest of our team got up and ready. Andi was going through a series of stretches while Praksis strapped one of the packs to Kiel. Flak, the final member of our team, a shifter I hadn’t met until we left, was urinating against a nearby tree.
How charming.
I got to my feet, shaking my head to clear it of any remaining sleep, and then let my wolf out. She came to me smoothly, stepping into my wolf form with practiced ease. Her glee at being able to run was subdued since she knew we weren’t there for fun. We were on a mission, but she was still glad to be unleashed.
Next time you’re out, we’ll probably be running for our lives, I told her. She didn’t understand, not completely, at least.
The moon was already halfway across the horizon, its slim crescent providing little light, not that our wolf eyes needed it to see. I waited patiently as Praksis buckled a pack to me as well, my eyes scanning the sky and the area around us. Always watching.
That close to Helisson, patrols would be getting thicker. More random. If we were spotted, it would blow any hope of our mission succeeding. We would have to move carefully, with everyone at their most alert.
Kiel rose from his crouch as Praksis, having finished strapping everyone up, shifted. It was time to go.
I turned southward—only to see Kiel head west instead, a sharp deviation from the usual direction. I’d never quite found outwherethe main rebellion base was, but given the groves of hugefilmoretrees we’d had to run through, groves that could only exist in one place, I’d known we were somewhere in Pallas territory. Helisson was south of there.
So, why were we going west toward the coast?
We ran swiftly and easily in the darkness. I tried exchanging glances with Andi or Praksis to determine if they were as surprised, but they were both focused on our flanks. Keeping watch. Clive was behind us, taking the rear watch, but I didn’t bother trying to ask him. I didn’t feel like being blatantly ignored.
Three hours into our run, we cleared a ridge, and my eyes widened as the briny scent of saltwater filled my nose. The sea was close. I’d seen the ocean before, several times. Arcadia wasn’tthatfar from the coast, and my father had taken us several times as kids. Though never after Lanna died.
I sobered, following Kiel and the others down the far side of the ridge, as unbidden memories of the four of us dashing in and out of the surface came bubbling up. My sister and me, screeching as the waves chased us back toward our parents, who, laughing, came running back down the beach as the water retreated. Only for us to turn and book it back up as the next wave crashed.
Over. And over.
Now, they were all gone. And I was alone.
Andi growled at me. I’d veered a little in my reminiscing, getting in her way. I strayed back into my lane.
Well, maybe not entirely alone.
After another twenty minutes, Kiel led us up an incline. At the top, he paused and, to my surprise, shifted back. I quickly followed, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“What changed?” I asked almost immediately. “Is something wrong? Why are we going this way?”
Kiel’s brow wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
“Helisson isthatway,” I said, pointing generally south. “Isn’t it? Why are we here?”
Kiel looked at me as if I were an idiot. “This was always the plan.”
