Page 91 of Hunt Me

‘Faun’s back!’

‘Who took you?’

‘I’ll gut them. Tell me where they are—’

‘I’ll track them down.’’

The girls bombard me with questions the second Ruaridh guides me through the door. Amelia and Luna had been guarding it behind strategically placed desks, and I know Elizabeth is somewhere in the shadows with her bow without needing to spot her.

‘I’m fine, stop fussing.’I playfully slap them away.‘Where is Isla?’

Ruaridh doesn’t wait for them to respond as he barrels through them all, dragging me behind him as he keeps a hold of my hand.

‘Vish!’He shouts,‘Vishrut where the fuck are you. I swear if I find that my sister isn’t—’

‘Isn’t what?’Isla muses from an open door not far ahead of us.

She looks tired, made worse by the two black eyes blooming against her pale skin and a trail of blood-stained skin below her nose. She looks awful, but at least she’s standing.

‘You okay? Feel like anything’s off?’I ask, worry clear in my tone.

Isla runs a palm across her bump,‘Baby’s been kicking.’She smiles softy,‘So for now, I’m hoping he’s okay.’

Hope blooms inside my chest.‘He?’I ask. She’s never spoken about a gender before.

‘Yeh, something about it now feels like he’s a little fighter.’Pride shines in her expression as she looks lovingly at her bump.

‘Wee man was raging at his ma being hurt wasn’t he, darling.’Vish leans against the doorway beside where Isla is standing, something shining in how he looks at her that I can’t quite decipher.

I’m about to ask what the whole darling is about when a male voice cuts me off.

‘Princess?’

We all turn towards the voice and find Liam standing there looking like he can’t believe his eyes.

‘Please tell me you’re real, and I’m not dreaming,’he gapes, taking hesitant steps towards us. But his eyes aren’t on me or either Skull. They are glued to the woman behind us, Isla.

I look back at my best friend, who has a look of panic in her eyes as she looks over Liam’s frame. Her lips part, but no words come out.

‘It’s me. You remember, right?’His voice is pleading as he passes where Ruaridh and I are standing.

A glance Ruaridh’s way shows he’s as lost as I am.

‘What… I don’t… ‘Isla fumbles.

Liam tugs something from his pocket, pulling the fabric over his head, and Isla brings a shaking hand to cover her mouth.

‘Recognise me now, princess?’

Oh fuck. He can’t be, can he?

‘How. How are you here?’Isla’s eyes are wide and in shock.‘You can’t be here right now.’

‘Someone tell me what the fuck is going on,’Ruaridh interrupts from beside me, and I try to tug him away. He ignores me, pulling Liam’s shoulder so that he can stand between them.‘What is going on here?’

‘Ru, maybe we should—’

‘Shut the fuck up, Vish.’