Page 130 of Bittersweet & Strange

He jerks backward, but I don’t release him.

His cooperation would make the journey easier, but it isn’t a requirement. Whatever patience I might ordinarily possess has been stripped away by the last twenty-four hours. It leaves only the need to get Boone away from this village and behind the castle walls before anything else can happen to him.

“Come.”

I pull him toward the door.

“Rhys, don’t.”

He grabs the frame when I drag him through it. I stop long enough to pry his fingers loose one at a time.

“Stop fighting me.”

“I just want to see my dad.”

I stop.

There is no gentler version of the truth waiting for me to find it. Judging by the desperation in his voice, some part of him still believes there might be something left to see.

“He’s dead.”

The sound Boone makes has him staggering backward.

My hand closes around the front of his shirt before he can get farther than a step. I hold him upright when his legs falter, watching his eyes immediately fill with tears. He shakes his head hard enough to send his hair across his forehead, then tries to pull away from me.

“Don’t say that.”

“There’s nothing left here for you.”

“Shut up.”

“Boone.”

“Shut up!”

He slams both hands against my chest. I barely move.

“Take me to him.”

“No.”

“I want to see him!”

“It’s not a good idea.”

“Why?” His voice breaks apart. “Why won’t you let me see him?”

Because I saw what was left in that road after Boone finally allowed me to pull him away. I watched men cover his father when Boone could no longer bear to look. I know there is nothing waiting for him there except another image he’ll end up carrying for the rest of his life.

I don’t tell him any of that.

Instead, I pull him toward Étoile.

Boone fights me every step. He twists his arm, digs his heels into the road, and grabs at my wrist. But grief has left him exhausted. I outweigh him enough that the struggle accomplishes little beyond making the journey across the yard more difficult. When we reach Étoile, I keep one hand twisted in the back of Boone’s shirt, put my boot in the stirrup, and mount.

He realizes what I’m about to do.

“No.”