can’t lose them again.”
Heath is right. Whit is trusting his instincts, and I have to trust mine.
I drop my eyes. “I’m not going, Whit,” I say finally, sighing.
“So that’s how it is? You’re choosing him over your own family?” My brother’s words burn like acid in a wound.
“That’s not fair,” I start to protest. “I need to be here for Mom and Dad. For the people who are our family now, too.”
But Whit’s face darkens. “You know that’s not the real truth. You’ll be here babysitting an old politician and cozying up with your boyfriend.”
I’m furious with him, but my heart is aching, and I’m already doubting my decision. Whit’s not even looking at me now, though.
He’s walking away, with Janine and Sasha on his heels.
“Don’t do this,” I plead, stepping out from under Heath’s arm toward my brother. “Whit—”
“We’re going to try to stop a war,” he says. He looks back at me one more time, his expression unyielding. “With or without you.”
Chapter 31
Whit
IT’S SO MUCH WORSE than we expected.
I expected these towering trees, creaking and swaying around us like drunken giants. And I expected this cold wind that rips through to our bones. But we didn’t expect this:
A man behind bars.
A woman shot through with arrows.
A head with a dripping axe next to it.
The silhouetted face of a wolfish creature with a gaping mouth full of spearlike teeth.
There are signs posted on trees every ten or twenty paces, crudely drawn on barklike parchment, painted in what might have been blood.
“What do they say?” Ross asked, peering at letterforms on the signs that we don’t recognize.
“Rest stop ahead,” Sasha answers, deadpan, but panting in between words. “Fuel, food, beds, and clean bathroom facilities, one mile.”
Ross jabs Sasha playfully. “That’s what I thought. For a second, I thought they might be warning us of our imminent deaths.”
“Silly you,” Janine quips, just before the rocks break away under her feet and she scrambles to gain footing as they tumble down the hillside. With an instant protective reflex, I steady her.
“Don’t say the words ‘imminent death,’ ” I tell Ross. “You just jinxed us, man.”
“So does that mean if I say ‘clean bathroom,’ one will suddenly appear?” he asks, and it’s good for a chuckle.
I’m thankful that I have friends here to help keep spirits up as we struggle endlessly through the harshest environment we’ve ever been in. Janine and I are up in front, followed by Sasha and Ross behind. I picked up Feffer, our trusty dog, from my parents’ house, and she wanders through the woods next to us, her ears pricking at the tiniest sound.
When the conversation lulls for a minute, the sound of our teeth chattering hard feels almost deafening, so I keep talking to distract us. “So, Sasha, did you say Emmett’s heading up the City Watch?”
Sasha nods. “He wanted to come, but someone had to stay behind and keep things running.” He frowns at the sheet of rock rising up in front of us. “I noticed Byron didn’t jump at the chance to come on this little adventure, either.”
“I asked him not to. I need him to keep an eye on Wisty.” I shake my head, thinking of heartbroken Byron Swain. To be honest, I don’t think I could’ve dragged him away from her if I’d tried.
“That sounds like something Wisty will really appreciate,” Janine says, giving me a wry look from under her ice-encrusted scarf.
I sigh in frustration and slash at the branches blocking our path, my arm getting sore from the constant work. “Wisty’s going to do what she’s going to do. But she shouldn’t be left alone with that creep.”
Why wouldn’t you just come with us, Wisty? I think for the millionth time. After Bloom’s little TV show, the City will be a dangerous place for magicians—perhaps even more dangerous than here.
“Another one,” Sasha says as he plucks the weathered sign from an
Heath is right. Whit is trusting his instincts, and I have to trust mine.
I drop my eyes. “I’m not going, Whit,” I say finally, sighing.
“So that’s how it is? You’re choosing him over your own family?” My brother’s words burn like acid in a wound.
“That’s not fair,” I start to protest. “I need to be here for Mom and Dad. For the people who are our family now, too.”
But Whit’s face darkens. “You know that’s not the real truth. You’ll be here babysitting an old politician and cozying up with your boyfriend.”
I’m furious with him, but my heart is aching, and I’m already doubting my decision. Whit’s not even looking at me now, though.
He’s walking away, with Janine and Sasha on his heels.
“Don’t do this,” I plead, stepping out from under Heath’s arm toward my brother. “Whit—”
“We’re going to try to stop a war,” he says. He looks back at me one more time, his expression unyielding. “With or without you.”
Chapter 31
Whit
IT’S SO MUCH WORSE than we expected.
I expected these towering trees, creaking and swaying around us like drunken giants. And I expected this cold wind that rips through to our bones. But we didn’t expect this:
A man behind bars.
A woman shot through with arrows.
A head with a dripping axe next to it.
The silhouetted face of a wolfish creature with a gaping mouth full of spearlike teeth.
There are signs posted on trees every ten or twenty paces, crudely drawn on barklike parchment, painted in what might have been blood.
“What do they say?” Ross asked, peering at letterforms on the signs that we don’t recognize.
“Rest stop ahead,” Sasha answers, deadpan, but panting in between words. “Fuel, food, beds, and clean bathroom facilities, one mile.”
Ross jabs Sasha playfully. “That’s what I thought. For a second, I thought they might be warning us of our imminent deaths.”
“Silly you,” Janine quips, just before the rocks break away under her feet and she scrambles to gain footing as they tumble down the hillside. With an instant protective reflex, I steady her.
“Don’t say the words ‘imminent death,’ ” I tell Ross. “You just jinxed us, man.”
“So does that mean if I say ‘clean bathroom,’ one will suddenly appear?” he asks, and it’s good for a chuckle.
I’m thankful that I have friends here to help keep spirits up as we struggle endlessly through the harshest environment we’ve ever been in. Janine and I are up in front, followed by Sasha and Ross behind. I picked up Feffer, our trusty dog, from my parents’ house, and she wanders through the woods next to us, her ears pricking at the tiniest sound.
When the conversation lulls for a minute, the sound of our teeth chattering hard feels almost deafening, so I keep talking to distract us. “So, Sasha, did you say Emmett’s heading up the City Watch?”
Sasha nods. “He wanted to come, but someone had to stay behind and keep things running.” He frowns at the sheet of rock rising up in front of us. “I noticed Byron didn’t jump at the chance to come on this little adventure, either.”
“I asked him not to. I need him to keep an eye on Wisty.” I shake my head, thinking of heartbroken Byron Swain. To be honest, I don’t think I could’ve dragged him away from her if I’d tried.
“That sounds like something Wisty will really appreciate,” Janine says, giving me a wry look from under her ice-encrusted scarf.
I sigh in frustration and slash at the branches blocking our path, my arm getting sore from the constant work. “Wisty’s going to do what she’s going to do. But she shouldn’t be left alone with that creep.”
Why wouldn’t you just come with us, Wisty? I think for the millionth time. After Bloom’s little TV show, the City will be a dangerous place for magicians—perhaps even more dangerous than here.
“Another one,” Sasha says as he plucks the weathered sign from an
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