Page 49 of In Violent Waves

“She will need you.”

Wilder stared ahead, not daring to look at Otto.

“It will be your decision, of course. But your ability or inability to set your preconceived ideas aside will lead to great change or utter destruction.”

“Funny how you said this was about her,” Wilder snapped.

“You are tied together. There is not one without the other.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Otto smirked and shrugged. “Would you like to know?”

Damn him and his stupid riddles. He didn’t want to be tied toanyone. He was already tied to the court and his responsibilities. There wasn’t anything of himself left.

The thudding of hooves interrupted Wilder’s reply.

“We could only find four,” Maelys said, coming upon them astride a white mare. She tugged a black stallion behind her. Ridge sat astride a dappled gray mare and pulled along a golden mare.

Otto chuckled, and Wilder bit his tongue. Of course, they only found four. It was like the universe was doing everything in its power to continue to shove them together.

Wilder passed Lyra off to Otto so he could mount the black stallion. His body felt light, vacant, without her.

When Otto passed her back, he settled her in front of him so that she could continue sleeping. She didn’t stir once in the handoff. His brow furrowed. She must have been exhausted.

His heart fluttered in his chest, the space between his ribs squeezed tight. Something was coming. And it was not good.

They set off immediately. The horse’s speed jostled Lyra, but still, she did not wake. What pain she must have been in to sleep this hard.

Lyra woke to the clomping of hooves against stone and the warmth of a body against her face. She flinched, and the hands around her tightened their grip.

“Easy,” Wilder grumbled. “You’ll tumble off the horse, and then I’ll be forced to retrieve you.”

Her hips ached, and her feet were numb. They dangled over the side of the horse, and she flexed her toes in her boots. At least it wasn’t painful any longer.

Lyra glanced around at the path they were on. The trees were farther apart, but vast. This was a much older wood. It feltancient, like the names of the plants and animals had come from a dialect no one spoke anymore.

“Where are we?”

She gazed up at Wilder, and she was stunned by the sheer beauty of him. His dark hair waved in the wind, and there was a sharpness to his gaze.

His lips moved then, but she was so caught in his snare that she didn’t hear the words.

Releasing the reins, he flicked her forehead, and her mouth dropped open in shock. It didn’t hurt, but it was humiliating.

“Did you hear me, Legs?”

“How dare you?” she seethed.

Her eyes narrowed on his exposed throat. She should rip it out for that offense. As if sensing her desire, he tilted his chin down.

“Maybe you should listen to the answer to the question you just asked,” he said with a quiet calmness.

The fire within her raged. He was a stupid, abrasive elvish male. And she wanted to kill him.

She squirmed to get away from him. To put some distance between their touching bodies before she did kill him. But his grip on her tightened as he slowed the horse down.

“Oh no, you don’t. You are staying on this horse. We have to get to the Wilds as soon as possible.”