Page 43 of In Violent Waves

“What problem is that?” he replied, regrettably taking his eyes off Lyra.

“She’s unusual, that mermaid,” Maelys jerked her chin in Lyra’s direction. “I like her.”

Wilder glowered at her. “She’s more thanunusual.” He shook his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts from his mind. “She’s incredibly powerful. I worry about the plans my father has in store for her.”

“You should ask Otto about that.”

Wilder shook his head. “His sight around her is not as reliable as we’ve grown accustomed to.”

“Since when?”

Wilder sighed and turned to look back at Lyra. “Since he didn’t see the wulvers until they were upon us.”

“What are our orders, then?” Ridge asked, materializing out of thin air on the other side of the tree. His appearance didn’t startle Wilder. If anything, he was curious about what took him so long. He was never a step away from Maelys.

“Don’t get too close. I don’t trust her. No one should have power like that.”

“There’s something good in her. I’m sure of it,” Maelys murmured. “And there’s always a balance.”

Wilder shrugged and stepped back into the clearing, heading for Lyra. “I’m not sure if there is—this time.”

Otto was standing beside her, offering her a hand up. The sight of it stirred something in Wilder. They had to stop helping her and being kind to her. It wouldn’t serve anyone well.

She had to become stronger, and to do that, she needed to walk. His father be damned. They’d make it to the Wilds when they made it to the Wilds.

“You’re walking on your own,” he said to Lyra in a way that brooked no argument.

She seemed resigned to his order.

“That’s fine,” she murmured, taking Otto’s hand and standing with a wobble.

Otto’s eyes darkened. “That will delay us two days.”

Wilder jerked his chin down. “Then we’ll be late.” He turned on a heel and walked out of the clearing and into the forest once more. Maelys and Ridge close behind him.

Lyra and Otto followed behind them, but at a much slower pace.

An acidic taste wet Wilder’s tongue. It was pain—her pain.

“Pinna is not too much further away,” Otto said to Lyra.

Wilder strained his ears for her response but heard nothing.

Ridge hummed a tune as they walked, a flower unfurling and furling in his hand.

The sun was low on the horizon, a light chill settling over the land.

Birds followed them, feeling a pull towards Maelys. Wilder found himself glancing back at Lyra. There was pain on her face. A tightness to her mouth and a divot to her brow. The flower that Ridge had given her was tucked in her fist. But the multitude of birds that swarmed was keeping and holding her attention. That small glimpse of wonder in her eyes had his chest aching. He didn’t like to be cruel.

But life was cruel. The quicker she learned that, the better.

They walked the winding path through the forest. Their footsteps were silent, and then there was Lyra’s. Newborn animals walked with more grace than she did.

“How far did you say it was to Pinna?” Wilder heard her ask Otto.

“We should be there by sunrise,” Otto replied.

Wilder could feel Maelys staring sidelong at him. He had ordered them to stay away—but that didn’t apply to Otto.