Page 55 of Renegade Kingdom
“What’s going on with you?” Damon asked. “I can tell something’s unsettled you, and I know it’s not just me. You’ve been twitchy since Ezra and his men joined us.”
I was quiet for a moment, watching the group ahead. Ezra was walking near the front, close to Tank and Alyssa, gesturing toward something in the distance. One of his men laughed at something Ryder said. Another was deep in conversation with Maddox about something I couldn’t hear.
They looked normal. Friendly, even. But appearances meant nothing.
“Do you know how we first came across Ezra?” I asked.
Damon shook his head. “I was a bit preoccupied at the time, being ridden by a nightmare and locked up in one of Arik’s dungeons if I remember correctly.”
“He was an Endless. One of Arik’s soldiers, controlled just like the rest of them. Alyssa freed him. Ezra was the first person she did it to.”
“And you don’t trust him because of that?”
“I don’t trust him because of anything.” I watched Ezra’s back, noting the way he moved, the way he positioned himself relative to the others. “I don’t think he’s still working for Arik. I’m not that paranoid. But there’s something about him that doesn’t sit right with me. He’s too eager. Too devoted. People don’t go from enslaved soldier to die-hard loyalist that quickly without there being something else going on. He had a chance to run and he didn’t take it, that’s not normal right?”
Damon was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, I could hear the smile in his voice even without looking at him.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing. It’s just...” He laughed, a soft sound that was almost lost in the crunch of leaves beneath our feet. “This is the same Dean I remember from when we were kids. The one who never trusted anyone outside of our group. Who spent three weeks convinced the new neighbour in our block was a spy because he smiled too much.”
“Hedidsmile too much. It was suspicious.”
“He was friendly, Dean. Some people are just friendly.”
“Those people can’t be trusted.”
Damon laughed again, and this time it was louder, more genuine. For a moment, it was like the nightmare didn’t exist at all. Like we were just two brothers walking through the woods, bickering the way we always had.
Then I remembered the chains on his wrists, and the laughter soured in my chest.
“You’re probably right,” I admitted. “About me, not about that neighbour. I never trusted easily either. It’s why we worked so well as a unit. You were suspicious of everyone, I was suspicious of everyone, and between us, we kept the others safe.”
“Someone had to.”
“Someone still does.” He glanced at me sideways. “Though I notice you’ve expanded your circle a bit. Tank. Alyssa. That’s more trust than I’ve ever seen from you.”
I didn’t have a response to that. He was right. Somewhere along the way, I’d started trusting people outside of my brothers. Started believing in something bigger than just keeping our small group alive. Alyssa had done that. She’d broken something open inside me that I’d kept locked for years.
“Speaking of things that can’t be trusted,” I said, deliberately changing the subject. “What’s going on with the worm in your head?”
Damon rolled his eyes. “Subtle as ever, brother.”
“I don’t do subtle. You know that.”
“I do know that. It’s one of your more charming qualities.” He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was more serious. “It’s quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Ever since Alyssa touched my mind back on the ship, the nightmare has been... subdued. It’s still there. I can feel it lurking in the corners of my head, watching, waiting. But it’s not pushing the way it used to. Not fighting for control every second of every day.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t know. It could mean that it’s weakening. That whatever Alyssa did damaged it somehow.” He paused. “Or it could mean that it’s planning something. Biding its time. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”
The wolf in my chest growled at that. The idea of the nightmare lurking inside my brother, waiting to use him as a weapon, made me want to tear something apart with my bare hands.
“We should have given you the bite already,” I said, and the words came out rougher than I intended. “We should have done it days ago.”
“We’ve talked about this.”
“I know. I just...” I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. “I hate seeing you like this. I hate knowing that thing is inside you and I can’t do anything about it. I’m supposed to be the one who fixes things. Who protects the pack. And I can’t protect you from something that’s living inside your own head.”
