Page 36 of Bryce

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Icouldn’t help admiring her as we left the rest of our team behind and ventured further into the woods. They would end soon enough, leaving a wide clearing, according to what I’d seen of the satellite images. We’d have to stay inside the tree line once we made it that far.

“You must be tired,” I murmured, leading the way with her just behind me. The chance of finding more bombs or other traps loomed in the back of my mind, ever-present, but there was no stopping. Not when we’d already come so far.

“You needn’t remind me,” she replied with a dry chuckle. “There will be more than enough time to rest once we’re home. If anyone tries to pry me out of bed before three days are over, I’ll have their heads.”

I laughed softly at this. “You won’t hear any arguments from me.”

“You did wonderfully back there. I thought you should know that. With Gate. You did just splendidly.” She tripped over some unseen obstacle and fell into me, but I managed to hold her upright. She didn’t fight me off this time, as she had not long after we’d started out.

“Thank you. It means a lot to hear praise from you.”

She clicked her tongue but didn’t argue. It didn’t take a genius to understand that she wished to make amends. I had no trouble with the concept, though I did wish she would stop pretending I hadn’t done all I could to make things right before leaving the island.

Rather than give her the chance to come up with a scathing retort, I continued. “I promised Martina that I would take care of him, and I would hate to have to go back on my word.”

“You care a great deal for her, don’t you?”

“Not in the way you mean, so you can take that tone out of your voice.” I stopped suddenly, throwing an arm out to hold her back. We’d come to the end of the woods, with only a dozen yards separating us from the clearing around the compound.

The lawn was lush, freshly manicured, even with winter coming on, it looked healthy. Sorcery, I supposed, though it seemed a bit of a waste.

When I looked out across the lawn and took in the monstrosity of a mansion before me, the effort made sense. This was a group who enjoyed keeping up appearances. They would want to take in their beautiful, impeccable lawn as it stretched out before the three-story stone structure with its turrets at all four corners and a sweeping staircase flanked by two lions carved from the same gray stone as the walls.

Lions. The irony was not lost on me.

“Goodness,” she breathed, leaning against my arm.

“Indeed. Come on.” We continued around the edge of the woods, both of us sweeping the area, our heads turning this way and that. All seemed quiet, only strengthening my theory that they’d picked up and moved on to another base of operations.

“How do you care for her, then?”

“What?” I hissed, hardly paying attention.

“Martina. You said you didn’t care for her that way. What way?”

“My God.”

“I’m only asking.”

“Let me remind you that this is hardly the time.” I held a hand up, bringing her to a stop, my ears tuned to the sounds of nature. All seemed to be well.

Until the snap of a twig brought me around to my left, bringing me face-to-face with a stranger.

“You don’t belong here,” he muttered, his voice deep and rumbling. “What are you doing here?”

I had one of two options. I could pretend we were lost, or I could kill him. He would surely kill us.

The shift came over me in an instant, shredding the clothes from my body before I landed on all fours. My lion roared in delight, pleased at this unexpected opportunity to be free.

To tear something apart.

The stranger’s eyes went as wide as saucers, and he instantly began backing away. “D—don’t hurt me!” he pleaded, hands waving in front of him in a futile gesture. “I only patrol the grounds, I don’t have anything to do with them! I never hurt anybody!”

“Why didn’t you come on the run when the explosion occurred?” Isla demanded from behind me.

“I figured it must’ve been wild animals. A fox, a bear, a raccoon,” he blubbered. Tears now flowed freely down his cheeks. “It happens sometimes.”

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