entrance of the cave with curious smiles on their faces.
“No, she isn’t the sporty type. She just has A.D.H.D.,” Cole replied coolly. “I think ten minutes alone in here is worse than prison to Amanda. Do you know why the caged bird sings now?” “No, but I know why fifty percent of marriages end in divorce.” She huffed, too glad that they would be leaving to be embarrassed.
“Wow! You two move fast, married and divorced before you even tell me that you’re a couple,” Armaan teased.
“Oh, shut up already. Can we leave now?” Armaan looked at Cole, who shrugged.
“See what I mean, A.D.H.D.,” Cole said, making Armaan laugh and her last nerve break.
“Impatient is not the same as having A.D.H.D., and I’m serious. Our situation is serious. We need to leave!”
Armaan stopped laughing, and Cole looked apologetic. “What’s with you two being chummy all of the sudden anyway?” she asked, half wishing Cole was still giving Armaan the cold shoulder.
“He just explained some things to me last night. I didn’t want to trust him, but what he said makes sense. I don’t know. I guess I believe him. Of course, I’ll be watching you and won’t trust you until you deliver Amanda to Shiphra safely, but until then…” Cole pointed to his eyes and then at Armaan.
“Well, I’m used to having people’s eyes on me, so I’ll barely notice,” Armaan said through a fake yawn.
“Okay, I just want to know when we’re leaving. Can one of you just give me that small bit of information?” she asked, rubbing her temples.
Why was it when you got two men together they acted half their age? The math just didn’t seem right. She felt sorry for mothers who had more than one son.
“We can leave whenever you’re ready,” Cole said. “Armaan, can you check on Madgie real quick?”
Armaan crossed the room, and Cole spoke.
“I know that you are in a hurry to get to New Hovel, and I understand that, but we can try to keep our moods light when we have the chance. It makes things easier between Armaan and me, most of the time. When he and I are joking, I can pretend he is the same person I knew, although he’s changed. Right now, in this cave, no one can get to us. When we step out of these walls, it isn’t going to be that way. We aren’t exactly safe out there. Don’t think I don’t take this seriously. Your safety is everything to me. There isn’t anything I take more seriously,” Cole whispered making her feel guilty.
“I know that. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t. It’s just that I need to get to New Hovel, to make sure Madgie gets the care she needs, to see Nell so I know she’s safe, to meet Shiphra so she can tell me what’s happening to me, and to find Kaedin before it’s too late.”
“Wow, that’s a long list of needs, and shoes weren’t even on it. What kind of girl are you?” He nudged her with his thick shoulder playfully. “I didn’t stop and think of how stressed out you must be feeling, just been so worried about keeping you safe. Never occurred to me to, you know… talk. Curse of the gender, you know, and based on that small tirade, you’ve been needing to talk.”
Amanda hadn’t thought about how much she did need to talk to someone. She was so used to repressing her thoughts and feelings. Amanda wondered if things would be different at the New Hovel, or if it would be the same old thing with a different label.
“You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?”
“Of course. You’ve always been the person I talk to. I’ve just gotten used to keeping my thoughts to myself. They always got me into trouble growing up, if you recall.”
“I know what you mean. There’s something I’ve been keeping to myself for a long time. It’s nothing you don’t already know, but I’ve wanted to tell you for as long as I can remember.” Cole stopped talking and rubbed the back of his neck. He averted his eyes, and a blush kissed his cheek.
He’s nervous? Cole was never nervous, she thought, but was only clueless for a moment before his emotions overwhelmed her.
“I lo—”
“Can we leave now?” Armaan’s impatient voice asked from across the room.
“Yeah, sure,” Cole said, jumping up. “I’ll carry Madgie so that you can lead the way.”
Cole hurried off toward Madgie awkwardly, and Amanda was left sitting next to an invisible wolf, wishing he had finished his sentence and that there was a club handy to beat Armaan with. When she’d first realized what he was about to say, she was nervous, not knowing what she would say back and not sure of how it would change their relationship. If there was one thing she’d learned as a Healer, it was how badly I love you could end. Now that it had gone unsaid, she was full of hollow disappointment.
Stupid Armaan! I’m glad I never had a little brother. Could you nip his ankle for me, you know, just a little? she asked, scratching the animal behind the ears. She wasn’t sure, but she thought he seemed pleased by the idea.
By the time she exited the cave, Cole and Armaan were at the edge of the clearing, heads bent together, talking in hushed voices. She didn’t understand why the discretion was necessary until she was a foot away from them. Beyond the clearing was deathly quiet, without even the rustling sound of the wind moving through branches she’d grown so accustomed to hearing the past few days. Not a single woodland creature seemed to be on the move today, but other more sinister creatures were. She looked up as soon as she felt their presence and noticed that Cole’s big arms, cradling Madgie, were shaking.
“You did this,” Cole whispered. “You lead them to us?”
“No, no I swear. They have Ancients on their side too, you know. Calm down, and we’ll find a way around them,” Armaan said.
“You swear? You think that your promises mean anything to me?”
Her brain caught up to the conversation, and she interjected. “We don’t have time to argue. They found us when it was just the three of us,” she said gesturing to Madgie. “This has nothing to do with him! We need to get out of here.”
“Okay, but we are not taking the path that he chose for us. We’ll go this way,” Cole said, turning on his heal.
“You saw what was down that path — nothing but rocks, fallen trees, and overgrown brush! This is the best route, and you know it. Go that way and you’ll have to fight the Guard and nature. We can’t carry Madgie safely through that way.” He looked down the path that they had chosen together.
Amanda’s wolf stood partway down it, beckoning her to follow.
“Just trust me, please!” Armaan pleaded to them both.
Cole stood unmoving, glaring at him as if his mere stare could start the boy’s hair on fire.
“I do,” she said, taking off down the path after her wolf, knowing that Cole would follow her, and he did, begrudgingly, taking up the rear.
“Do you even know where you’re going?” Armaan whispered behind her.
Her feet were flying over the terrain without her telling them to do so. “I think so. I kind of feel like I did last time when Shiphra was pulling me where she wanted me to go.”
“Stop!” he said, grabbing her arm. “This isn’t like the last time. You need to follow me, not that pull.” His voice was so commanding she looked at Cole for help.
“You’re hurting my arm. Let go of me!” She struggled out of his grasp. “Madgie told me to follow this feeling, and I’m not going to follow you if you’re telling me to ignore it!”
Cole was at her side, glowering into Armaan’s face. “I knew you’d try to lead us to them! You are your brother’s lap dog,” he said, his voice full of venom.
“Wait! Please don’t go that way. It isn’t Shiphra. This is nothing like the last time you escaped the Guard,” Armaan pleaded as they backed away from him.
She turned to follow where her feet told her to go, but was stopped short by her wolf’s unmoving frame. Calm down just leave him be, she thought, seeing the fur on his haunches standing on end, reminding her of a deadly pincushion. The invisible string pulled tighter, and she stumbled trying to stay on her feet.
“Come on, Cole, we need to leave here.” She tried to step around her wolf, but he spun, knocking her to the ground. “What’s the matter with you?” she yelled.
Cole was next to her in less than a second. “Are you all right? What happened?”
He helped her to her feet, which she was having a hard time staying on. The tug was so great that it felt like a rope had been lassoed around her. The sensation was heavy and forced, nothing like it had been last time.
