Page 157 of The Lands Defying
I spot Zaide and he nods his head at me in respect, I nod back. I don’t see Jerrod though, or Sarah.
“She is helping the villagers that you brought with you,” Josh says.
“Are they okay?”
“They are now with food in their bellies and a safe place to rest.” Warmth pulses through me at that. “Just…don’t leave us like that again.”
Darius’s warmth touches my back as I’m hauled back into him. His hands wrap around my waist, nuzzling into my hair. I leanback, feeling my magic swirl within me. “She won’t.” Darius tells him.
Josh rolls his eyes. “This is going to be worse now, isn’t it”? he asks, pointing at Darius and then to me.
I shrug. “Honestly, I think it goes both ways,” I tell him somewhat shyly, bringing my hand up to land on Darius’s arm, scratching slightly there.
“I’m so fucking happy you’re awake.” Josh looks at the ground, running a hand down his face to cover his emotions.
“Me too,” I tell him, swallowing over the lump in my throat and leaning further back into Darius.
I look at my pack, standing strong, eyes on me and I couldn’t have wished for a better family. And as the Elites move at their back facing Darius and I, I can see now that it has grown some.
We are united in our goal to end the Highers and see the rogures purged from these lands, but in the meantime, we have become one in our little inner circle, one I think that will only get closer over time.
“You are ready, child,” Belldame says, and I look into her light, violet eyes.
“Am I?” I wonder. “Because I feel pretty useless.”
She shakes her head. “You are on the path you are supposed to be.”
“What will I find at the end?”
She holds my gaze for a moment, sparing a glance at Darius. “Everything you have ever wanted.”
“That is very vague, Grandmother,” Anna says.
I turn to look up at Darius and see him already looking down at me. I see in his eyes what could be, what I want.
I look to my pack next, who nod their heads, telling me they are with me.
“Where is he?” I eventually ask Josh, a notable member of the family missing.
Josh’s eyes turn sad for a moment. “He’s in a cabin close to the west side of Eridian. He...he wanted to stay there, and Darius has an Elite guarding him.” He glares at Darius at the mention of it, who doesn’t seem affected in the slightest. “He’s not doing so well, Rhea.”
I take in a stuttering breath. “Tell me.” Darius strokes my waist, the touch comforting while I wait.
“He barely talks to anyone, and when he does talk, it’s mostly to himself. He just sits there, other times he’s staring at the walls— day and night. He hardly eats, either. He calls out in his sleep, shouting and sometimes…screaming.”
Rage and heartache bubble up within me. “Take me to him,” I tell Josh, moving out of Darius’s grip. He hauls me right back.
“Stay beside me,” he growls, and I growl back, spinning to face him fully.
“Not now, Darius. I am not dealing with your—oh for Gods’s sake.”
He jostles me over his shoulder. “You can calm down up there as we go to the cabin.”
“You can’t be serious.” What in the lands is he doing right now? “Darius!”
I’m aware of the others laughing at our antics, even Belldame laughs at us.
Where is the loyalty?!
