Chapter 57

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Ellery

He took a deep breath before grasping my finger. I yanked it away from him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

My eyebrows shot up. Did he really say he was sorry? I was sure that word didn't spill from his mouth often.

"It won't happen again," he continued.

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond; I hadn't expected it. "Good."

Without another word, I brushed past him and continued toward the river. I didn't look back; I was curious about what had happened since the last time we met, but I wouldn't ask again.

I'd kept my secrets, and he could have his.

I was almost to the river when Ryker caught up to me. He didn't explain why he was so grumpy, and I didn't expect him to. I suspected it was his father, as he could ruin a sunny day full of rainbows, and Ryker hated him more than I did.

Before I ended things with him and all my secrets came out, he probably would have told me, and he never would have been mad at me because of it, but our relationship wasn't the same. It never would be again.

The water's fresh scent and rippling sound drifted to me before the river came into view. It had a swift current but wasn't so bad I couldn't wade into it.

A large tree trunk had fallen across it to create a bridge over the twenty-foot expanse. Sandy shores, speckled with some trees, lined both sides of the river.

The darkness was so complete, I could only see the first row of trees across from us. The rest of the forest remained hidden in shadow.

Stopping beside the river, I knelt to splash some cool water on my face. The night was about ten degrees colder than the hot summer day, but my face wasn't burning because of the warm temperature; my blood still boiled over Ryker.

I'd just finished washing my face when Ryker grasped my shoulder and moved to stand a little in front of me. I didn't know what had caught his attention until a mountain of a man emerged from the shadows of the trees.

The behemoth held a staff he'd planted in the ground. More men and women emerged from the shadows behind him; they held bows and arrows pointed directly at us.

No, not men and women… kids . They were only teenagers.

What the hell?

"No one crosses our river," the massive man declared.