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Everett

“Home is wherever she is.”

Everett Gathin, An Observation

T ime passes in a blur—I am not even sure what day it is. All I know is that it is another day wasted without her . I have tried to keep myself busy. Having the lads here helps, but the nights stretch on forever, empty and lonely, and there is no hope of it ever getting better.

That is why I have made a very important decision.

Maddox crests the hill, his boots slipping on his way down to where a rare patch of sunlight breaks through the trees. He comes to a stuttering stop, his nose wrinkling as he takes in the state of my trousers. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I am doing?” Sometimes Maddox asks the most idiotic questions.

I am kneeling in muck, there is a dagger in my hand, and a dead stag by his boots. Not the kill I had hoped to make this day, but at least we will not starve while I try to collect as many furs as possible.

The Seelie love furs, especially in winter. If I spend every waking moment hunting, I will have enough pelts to pay for a small house across the canyon. Kerris deserves a castle, but if she was willing to stay in my barrel-top, she would not mind some place small until I can afford to give her something larger.

I will resign myself to living the rest of my days being hated in her sun-drenched world if it means I get to share a life with her.

He cards a hand through his hair, his bare chest heaving as if he ran all the way here. “You have not heard?”

Gryffin jogs into view, his feet sure as they eat up the distance between us. “What the hell are you doing?” he bellows.

“He does not know,” Maddox throws over his shoulder.

Gryffin skids to a halt next to Maddox, perspiration dripping down his furrowed brow.

Looks like I am the one missing something here. “What do I not know?”

All they do is grimace, which tells me fuck all.

Maddox nudges Gryff with his elbow. “You tell him.”

“You are such a fucking coward,” Gryff mutters with a roll of his eyes.

“I prefer to give good news instead of bad.”

“Will one of you tell me what the fuck you are talking about?” Or else I am going to stab them both with this blade and leave their bodies for the scavengers prowling this forest.

Gryffin blows out a breath. If he is hesitating, it must be very bad, indeed. “Kerris is getting married.”

Kerris. Kerris. Kerris.

He says more words, but all I can seem to focus on is the fact that they are speaking about her . The two share another look, one that makes my heart stall.

The rest of Gryff’s sentence hits me like a hurricane, knocking me back a step.

Kerris is getting married?

It feels like I am being held under water, my next breath nowhere to be found. What did I expect? That she would remain unattached?

I hope she finds happiness. I hope she?—

Fuck. No, I do not wish any of those things. I want to drop everything, race across the canyon, and beg for her forgiveness. Explain that I am ready to make the move.

But now it is too late.

She found someone else.

The dagger’s hilt bites against my calloused hands. “To whom?”

They trade a look, and my stomach sinks even lower.

This time, it is Maddox who stabs me with his words. “Prince Ronan Reve.”

No . No fucking way is Kerris marrying him. Kerris would never tie herself to that arrogant prick. “When is the wedding?”

“Tomorrow.”

No. No. No . “I need to go to her.” I stumble to my feet, the ground like quicksand, threatening to swallow me whole.

They both take a collective step back, their noses wrinkling, but it is Maddox who speaks. “You are covered in blood.”

“I do not care.” After I speak with her, she will call off their mating just as I did to Leah. Then we can start our lives together.

Gryffin catches my arm in his unforgiving grip. “Take a minute to think this through.”

How can I think when my mind is in tatters? I fill my lungs and force out a breath. Two. Three.

They are right. I cannot show up to her home looking like I sleep in the dirt. Her family will never accept me then. “How did you find out?”

Maddox lifts his chin. “I have my ways.”

Gryff snorts. “River overheard some Seelie guards talking about it.”

“Dammit, Gryffin.”

I leave them to their squabbling, running back toward our small camp. When I reach the river, I leap straight in and scrub the blood and dirt from my body and clothes.

Water sloshes as I wade back to shore, goosebumps breaking across my skin. Not from the cold, but from fear. Fear of losing Kerris forever.

Gryffin hands me a towel from the line, and I mutter my thanks as I dry off and stomp into my barrel-top to throw on some clean trousers. When I return, both of my friends are waiting for me.

“What are you going to do?” Maddox asks.

“Stop the wedding.” Is that not obvious to him? I am hardly going across the canyon to ask to be added to the list of guests.

“Then what? Are you going to stay there? Because you know she cannot live here.”

“I know.”

Gryff stands up straighter, his expression growing grimmer as he realizes my meaning. “Maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe it is for the best? The prince can give her a good life. A safe life.”

If that is what Kerris wants, then I will let her go. But I need to know for certain that what we shared no longer lives in her heart.

I take Nyx to the bridge, but cross on foot. When I reach the other side, four burly men stand guard, swords drawn as if expecting a wolf to emerge from the mist at any moment.

If they are startled to see me, they hide it well. The only movement between us is their hands flying to the hilts of their swords. Not the short daggers usually favored by the men who patrol this territory.

These are weapons of war.

“Turn back,” the one in front growls, a head shorter than me but nearly as broad across his shoulders.

“We have orders to slay anyone who crosses,” another bellows through whiskers as dark and thick as the west wood.

Slay me, will they? They will have to catch me first?—

I hear the telltale creak of someone at my back a split second before a hand clamps on my elbow. Gryffin and Maddox glower at the guards, but after a tense moment, they turn those glowers back on me.

“Getting yourself skewered and tossed into the canyon helps no one,” Gryffin says under his breath. Maddox nods his agreement.

They should have stayed away and minded their own business. I cannot fight men on both sides of this fucking bridge.

Although I yank my elbow from his grasp, I turn away from the Seelie guards and stalk back toward the mist.

One way or another, I will make it across this bridge, even if I have to run someone through to do it.