Page 131 of Scavenger's Oath

Chapter 43

Zane

My mask feels heavier tonight.

I run my thumb over the rough weave, staring at it like it might give me answers. But all it gives me is a tight feeling in my chest I can’t shake.

Phoenix insisted on a detailed perimeter sweep tonight. All of us. No exceptions. First time we’ve left Ivy alone since we found her. He says it’s to check for weak spots and ensure every trap and trick is in good working order.

But we can do that in shifts.

Beside me, Phoenix adjusts his gear with practiced movements, untouched by anything as usual. As if he’s not thinking about what I’m thinking—Ivy, left in this place… alone.

“Myles is downstairs waiting. He’s playing calm but he’s losing his shit about leaving her,” I mutter, buckling my knife to my thigh.

“He’ll live,” Phoenix says without looking at me. “If we’re gonna keep her in a bubble, then we can’t keep delaying. You know what comes next. This town needs to be Fort Knox before we leave.”

The headhunt. The farm. Those cult fuckers. Spending days away from here. From her.

When we leave… she won’t just be alone. She’ll bevulnerable.

That thought? It carves me hollow.

Phoenix finally looks at me through the eyeholes of his mask. “Think of it as practice,” he says. “See how she handles it.”

“Handles what?” My brows pull tight.

“Being without us.” His tone is blunt, but the meaning is a fucking sledgehammer.

He’s planned this to test her. To prepare her for the possibility of us being gone for days hunting the cult. She’s found comfort in us… maybe more than comfort. Something none of us are ready to admit.

I nod once, even though my chest feels like it’s wrapped in barbed wire. “Yeah. Practice.”

We head for the stairs, boots heavy on the old floorboards.

“What if we just left?” I murmur.

“What?”

“What if we moved? Took her somewhere else?” I throw it out there like nothing. As if I haven’t been chewing on it since the second those cult bastards proved our ‘safe zone’ wasn’t so safe.

Phoenix stops, blocking the hallway with his shoulders tensed like a brick wall.

“The road is too dangerous for her,” he growls.

I scoff. “It’s no safer here.” Rubbing a hand down my face, I exhale. “Look, I’m not saying don’t get revenge. But we can’t keep Ivy inside forever. Eventually she’s gonna wanna go outside. And then what? What are you gonna do when she steps in a bear trap? Or triggers a tripwire, huh?”

“We’re not discussing this now,” he deadpans, continuing down the stairs without another word.

But he knows I’m right.

My fingers brush the hilt of the blade strapped to my thighas I follow him. Down into the main hallway. Toward the sitting room where Myles is lighting a fire in the fireplace for Ivy.

The door’s cracked open just enough to allow a clear voice through.

“Fuuuck,” Myles groans, breath ragged.

I freeze, hand halfway to the door.