Page 24 of Bryce

My lion didn’t understand that forgetting was all I longed to do. I had to forget. I needed to, or else I would go mad.

Even the sight of her there, excitement coloring her cheeks and making her eyes snap and sparkle, stirred him to new awareness. Nothing I did to tamp down his growing interest seemed to matter. He wanted her. He had to have her.

So did I, but this was hardly the time or the place. We’d left a great deal unsaid under that tree, and I longed for the chance to set things straight. For the time being, however, there was the matter of keeping her alive long enough to do so.

“All right.” I looked around the group. “Gate and I were discussing the possibility of traps having been set around the estate, which by my calculations we should be practically on top of by now.”

Logan checked the GPS device he carried in his pocket and nodded. “Yep. We’re close. Only five miles away from the border.”

“Five miles. We ought to be there in another hour at the pace we’ve set.” I focused my attention on the women, who had never looked more alike to me than they did just then. Both of them sensed they were about to be left out of something, and neither of them appreciated the idea very much. I supposed I’d feel the same in their shoes, though now was not the time for pride to get away from any of us.

“What’s the plan, then?” Isla challenged. “’Tis time we discussed how we plan to continue once we reach the place.”

“As I told Gate, it doesn’t appear to be protected by walls or fences, not according to the satellite images we studied.” Logan nodded in agreement. “This leaves either sorcery, traps, or both. Would you put it past these Gwydions to use both?”

“It’s cruel!” Leslie gasped. “Why, people hike these woods all the time. I can practically smell them on the air. We only passed the remnants of a campfire ten miles back, perhaps less. Can you imagine innocent humans being caught up in these traps?”

“Do you think they care either way?” Gate growled. “Monsters, all of them. They care for nothing but themselves.”

“We must be on our guard, then,” I concluded. “With that in mind, it would be better for you two to stay behind until we study the area and confirm the lack of danger.”

“There will never be a lack of danger,” Isla reminded me, and rightly so.

I nodded. “Fair enough, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do everything possible to keep you out of it.”

“This is wrong.” Leslie’s frown was nothing like the look of disgust Isla bore. “I cannot agree to this.”

“I’m sorry to say it, but no one asked whether you agree with it.” I looked to Gate, who gave silent consent, and to Logan. He shrugged, averting his gaze. It was up to me, then, to bear the brunt of what was to come. No great surprise.

“Make yourselves comfortable here and wait. That is all you need do. We’ll return soon.” I turned away, prepared to continue on. I even managed to take a dozen steps before footsteps crunched in the leaves behind me. Naturally.

Turning, I found both women hot on my heels. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The firm set of Isla’s jaw came as no surprise. “Coming with you, of course.”

“Of course, nothing,” I spat. “You’ll stay behind with Leslie, as I already told you to do.”

Her face turned nearly the color of her hair. “I will do no such thing. What? Are you telling me to stay behind because I’m a woman? Is that what this is about? Some ancient sexism?”

“This isn’t worth it,” Gate grumbled. “We’re wasting time.”

She jerked a thumb at me. “Tell him to stop wasting time, then. I’m just as capable as any of you and just as quick-witted, perhaps more so,” she added in a boastful tone. “I see no reason why I should hang back simply because of my sex.”

“Did you ever think that I might want to keep you safe for your brother’s sake?” he asked, at her the way she’d glared at me. It was gratifying to see her take a step back, to watch her stern expression falter somewhat under the weight of his frustration. “Owen asked me to keep special watch on you.”

She sputtered. “I’m sure he did, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Enough already.” I looked over her shoulder to where Leslie lingered. She was adamant, too. “If you’re dead set on coming, there’s no stopping you. We only thought—”

“You thought we ought to stay behind because we’re so delicate,” Isla snickered. “There’s a reason we were sent on this mission. We might just as well have stayed behind and let Pierce or Smoke come along if you refuse to allow us to continue on now.”

This was never going to end. She was going to argue me into my grave. I would die fighting her, and for what? It mattered little.

Let her see what she was so determined to see. Let her know just a fraction of what it meant to go on a mission like those I’d called my life’s work for decades.

“Fair enough.” I ushered Leslie past me, where she joined Gate and a rather bemused Logan.

The smug look on Isla’s face made me wish I’d left her behind and been done with it, but she would soon find out what she’d demanded she be a part of.

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