But damn him to Hel , he didn’t want her to go. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.
Maybe not ever.
The thought should have terrified him.
He bared his teeth in a grin. “Then I guess I’m stuck with you.”
*
*
*
Lara smiled back, relieved and triumphant. “As long as you realize it.”
Iestyn’s grin sharpened.
She felt a quick quiver of caution. What was she doing, dismissing the chance to return safely home? What would she do when this adventure was over, when Iestyn was gone?
But she silenced the whisper of doubt. She was not a victim or a child. She would figure it out. In the meantime, he wanted her with him.
At least for now.
Fremont shuffled his feet. “Guess you’l be leaving us, then.”
“Not yet,” Lara said.
Iestyn shot her a quick look. “You want to change your shirt?”
“No, I—”
“You need to hit the road now,” Fremont said. “We can’t leave until you’re gone.”
“Why?” Lara asked.
“Trackers,” Fremont said.
1 9 6
V i r g i n i a K a n t r a
Iestyn glanced at the roofline. “The birds?”
“Guardian spies,” Soldier said.
“We’ve only got your word for it that they’re not after us,”
Fremont said. “I want to watch them fol ow you out of here.”
“We need something from you first,” Lara said.
The youngest flyer, Max, gave her a tomcat grin. “Name it.”
Iestyn stiffened beside her. But she was too focused on his future to worry about his feelings right now. She turned to Soldier. “You wore a heth once, you said.”
The flyer eyed her warily. “So?”
“How did you remove it?”
He shook his head. “You don’t want to mess with that.
You could get hurt.”
Her gaze dropped to the puckered scar around his throat.
“That’s why I need you to tel me how to do it. I don’t want to cause him any pain.”
Soldier snorted. “It’s not him you should worry about.
You want to be careful, girl. He’s not like us. Once that heth’s off, there’s no tel ing what he’l do.”
“I’m not an animal. I don’t need a fucking col ar,” Iestyn said.
Soldier’s weary blue eyes met his. “That’s a matter of opinion.”
Iestyn’s muscles bunched. She squeezed his arm, wil ing him to keep quiet.
“Please,” she said to Soldier. “Tel us, and we’l go.”
He held her gaze a moment and then shrugged. “It’s your funeral. You can’t cut the cord without breaking the charm first.”
“Break it, how?”
“Any way you can. Shatter it. Melt it.”
“While it’s on my neck,” Iestyn said.
Soldier rubbed his scar. “I didn’t say it would be easy, F o r g o t t e n s e a 197
only that it could be done. If you have the strength and the stomach for it.”
“If you have the bal s,” Max said. He looked at Lara. “You could stil change your mind, sweetheart. Come with us.”
“Fuck you,” Iestyn said. He looked down at her, his eyes molten gold. “We’re leaving. Now. Together.”
She blinked at his sudden about-face. She almost didn’t recognize this hot-eyed, cold-voiced stranger. But she trusted him. “Fine.”
