Page 37 of Bryce

“It could have killed us,” she snapped.

All the while I advanced on him, one slow step after another. I saw everything so clearly now, down to the beads of sweat rolling from his temple to his meaty jaw. Meat I wanted to sink my teeth into…

A glimpse of something else startled me. A wire strung between two trees. A wire he was backing into.

Isla didn’t see it, and I couldn’t tell him to look out.

Everything happened at once.

I turned on my rear legs, pivoting, shifting as I did. Isla let out a cry of surprise as I tackled her to the ground, covering her with my body.

A sickening groan sounded not a moment later as dozens of bolts had fired from three surrounding trees and sank into the guard’s flesh.

I didn’t want to study the damage. I’d already witnessed enough horror to last a lifetime.

“Are you injured?” I asked, raising myself up on my palms, looking down at her. “Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No. You frightened me half to death. Good thing you shifted back, or you might have crushed me.”

“Which is what I had in mind when I shifted back.” I looked down between us, and an intense awareness of our positioning flooded my being.

My lion, frustrated at not having his kill, now turned his attention in other directions. Directions we could not go in at that time.

“If he was on duty, alone, it means they more than likely aren’t here,” she reasoned. “I do wish I’d had the chance to ask him, though there was no guarantee he would’ve told the truth.”

“What do you think, then? Should we go back? Or should we continue on and gather what intel we can?”

Isla’s chest heaved against mine, her eyes probing my face. “I suppose we should continue.”

“I suppose we should. Though I wonder now if I should continue on as my lion. He’s the only reason I was able to see the trip wire.”

“That might be helpful,” she agreed with a shaky smile. “As soon as you’re no longer pinning me to the ground.”

“Right.” I got to my feet and helped her up. It should have embarrassed me, being naked and vulnerable before her, but we’d already crossed that bridge. It was difficult to maintain focus, especially after being so close to her.

She obviously thought along the same lines. “I feel that if this is the last time we ever spend together, you ought to know something.”

My chest tightened. “Go on.” This could be anything. Would I even want to hear it?

She let out a long breath. “You hurt me badly. I know I haven’t exactly made a secret of it these last few days, but I feel I deserve to have my say. No double talk. No argument. The simple truth.”

Hardly the time, with me standing there as naked as the day I was born, but I could see why she felt she had to get it off her chest while there was still the chance to do so. “I would like to hear it.” At least, I hoped I would.

“Perhaps I was foolish. No, I know I was foolish. I thought there was more to… us… than there was. That was my fault. I have no one to blame but myself. You never made a promise, you never even spoke of the future. Neither did I. I could have. Perhaps I should have.”

This was all very moving, but she was getting off-track, and I only had so much attention I could spare her, no matter how important the topic. “What are you trying to say?”

She huffed. “I’m trying to say I cared deeply for you and you left without saying goodbye. Without a single word.”

I stepped back. “That isn’t true.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It isn’t.”

“Am I suffering amnesia? Did we have a long, tender conversation which has entirely slipped my memory?”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m talking about the letter.”

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