Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Josie

The rush back to the cabin only increased my adrenaline. I'd been on cloud nine when the guards showed up to ruin the first release I'd had in ages.

Everything about Kellan's touch had broken down all my insecurities. I felt wanted. Beautiful. The longing look in his dark eyes seared me in half, leaving ashes on the ground.

Now we were on our way to the cabin, praying we made it back in time to warn Ernest. To be honest, I thought Deidamia would have already burned us all to the ground.

Sending the guards to kill Ernest meant she was insecure.

There was something stopping her from being as powerful as she wanted to be, but as I clung to Kellan's shoulders was not the time to figure it out.

Twigs and branches tore at my skin even though Kellan attempted to take the blow of it. "Are we gonna make it?" I whispered.

Kellan's dark gaze shifted toward mine. "I hope so."

I didn't appreciate his lack of certainty.

Kellan took us near the edge of the woods and walked us around to the front door. He was drenched in sweat from running through the forest. I was sure carrying me made it harder, but he didn't complain.

Kellan swung me to my feet in the yard and pounded on the front door. Ernest opened it with wide eyes. "Dear Lord, Kellan. Break down my door—"

Kellan grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the house, slamming the door shut. I sat down the herbs Ernest needed on the arm of the chair by the doorway. "The guards are on their way. Deidamia sent them to arrest you for dark magic. She's scared of you."

Ernest smiled softly to himself. He looked pleased that she was afraid and unbothered about the guards.

Kellan stormed through the house and looked out the back window. "They're here."

Ernest lifted his gaze to the hallway, where an attic door sat. "Help me up."

Kellan grabbed the swinging string and pulled it down. The stairs unfolded, and Ernest took his time climbing into the small space.

The guards pounded on the back door as Kellan stopped the string from swinging. Fern looked over her shoulder to make sure we were set and opened it.

The guards looked like what I figured they would with old-timey armor, stern faces and healthy builds. The tallest one spoke first; his long blond hair was tied at the nape of his neck, while the other had short, ebony-colored hair that matched a set of soulless eyes.

"Is this the residence of Ernest Killway?"

Fern nodded silently.

"Is he here?"

"No," she said.

The guard didn't look like he believed her. His gaze shifted around the room to Kellan and I. "Mind if we take a look?"

"Where is your warrant—"

Kellan wrapped his palm around my face to stop me from talking. "Wrong realm," he whispered.

The guard gave me a crazy look as he walked inside the cabin. The spacious room suddenly felt small.

Kellan backed me into him as they walked around the home, searching for Ernest.

Kellan's rough palms slid up and down my forearms in an attempt to calm me. Fern sat at the table, bouncing her legs and biting her bottom lip.

"Where is the old man?" one of the guards asked, stopping in the middle of the living room. "Where did he go?"

"To get herbs from the forest," Kellan said.

The guard's gaze shifted toward the herbs sitting on the arm of the chair in the corner. "Like those?"

"He sent us this morning, and we grabbed the wrong ones."

Kellan's ability to lie made me do a double take. Maybe being around for decades helped him because I sucked at it.

The other guard stopped in the hallway, the attic string hanging above him by a few inches. I felt my heart pound in my chest the longer he stood there.

"We should wait around," he said, shifting his weight. "The king told us not to come back without him."

Fern cleared her throat. "Why are you taking him?"

The tallest one shot her a look. "That's confidential."

I guess not all things were different from realm to realm.

A low groan in the wood of the ceiling creaked into the house. The guard underneath the attic glanced up. Seeing the string, he pulled it.

My heart stalled. Maybe Ernest had hidden. Though the crawl space didn't look big. "I think someone is up there," he said, turning to walk up the stairs.

The taller guard walked over, and I heard Kellan mumble under his breath. I watched in awe as he shoved me back onto the couch, making Fern gasp from the kitchen table and wield his sword from the air.

The guard on the ground turned and drew his sword, while the other backtracked down the stairs.

Fern gave me a worried look that mimicked the feeling of dread in my gut. Kellan stood tall, waiting on them both to ready themselves.

"I suggest you put down that sword, boy and surrender the old man."

Kellan's chuckle slid over my skin like silk. "I don't think that's going to happen. In fact, I don't think either of you are leaving this cabin alive today."

The shorter guard with the buzzed hair laughed.

Kellan took the opportunity to launch forward and knock his sword from his hand. It clattered onto the floor, drawing silence on the cabin.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. The silence that drew over us split in half like broken wood and Kellan sliced the shorter guard across his face.

Blood splattered onto the dining table where Fern sat. She jumped up and put her back against the wall. Blood droplets hit her hair, and I watched as it stained the blonde strands.

Kellan spun around seconds later and slashed the other guard in the side, right at a break in his armor.

My mind stalled, watching this big man gracefully serve these guards their own ass on a platter. The quickness. The elegance. It looked unnatural for a man of his size, but it sent butterflies up my spine. It drew me into a trance. The way he dodged the guard's sword, only getting hit once on his shoulder, but he never missed a beat.

In reality, it'd been seconds, but I felt like I'd watched him fight for hours. Both guards fell to the floor with a thump, drawing me out of my stupor.

"Oh my gosh," I said in a hurried whisper.

Fern's eyes were large, watching Kellan check the men's pockets for weapons he could use. When he turned to face me, my stomach tightened. He was hardly sweating, but blood soaked his T-shirt, where he'd been nicked in the shoulder.

He breathed in deeply, his mouth open as he panted for breath. The stairs to the attic creaked, and Ernest stumbled down. Missing the last one, he twisted his ankle.

Kellan jumped forward, catching him as he hit the wall beside him. "Are you okay?"

Ernest nodded. "I think I twisted my ankle. I'm sorry the ceiling creaked—"

"It's fine," Kellan said. "We need to leave. When the king realizes the guards aren't coming back, he'll send more. We don't need to be here when that happens. Gather your things. I'll dump the bodies, and we have to go."

He gave Ernest no time to disagree. He grabbed both bodies and began dragging them out like he was made of steel.

"What do you need me to get?" I asked Ernest.

He pointed toward the herbs on the chair and a small wicker basket in the corner. "Put all my herbs in there. Some food. Water. Clothes. Anything we'll need for a few days."

Fern began helping me gather the things we'd need. For some reason, I grabbed more because I thought we'd be gone longer than a few days. I wasn't sure how long Deidamia would chase us before she got tired and just faced off with us.

The front door slammed ten minutes later, and Kellan walked inside. The distant look on his face stopped me in my tracks.

The longer he stared at me, the more sadness I saw in his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded, walked around me and grabbed the bag of our belongings that Fern had in her hands. "We don't have long."

Ernest stood against the wall then Kellan wrapped his arm around his waist and began helping him out of the back door. I glanced around the cabin to make sure we didn't leave anything behind.

Kellan stood in the back yard when I reached the back steps. A sense of fear hit me square in the chest.

It was his. I circled around. Stopping in front of him, I stared up at his handsome face. He was dirty from our time in the forest, his clothes torn and his muscles flexed from overuse.

"Kellan," I said softly, reaching up to touch his jaw.

He closed his eyes and cupped my hand with his. "We need to leave," he whispered. Turning away from me, he tried to open a portal.

It slammed shut like a vault door. The noise rattled my eardrums.

Kellan braced himself and tried again. The portal fizzed out like a candle, leaving a cool gust of wind around us.

Kellan's shoulders slumped, and he dropped to his knees. At first, I thought he was overwhelmed. Lost. But a sense of failure settled inside of me.

I walked around him and dropped to my knees in front of him. "What's the matter?"

He turned his face away from me, but I pulled him back, so he faced me. "Kellan. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just—I don't know where to go. I've failed to bring you back to your father." When those dark eyes met mine, my heart ached at the sadness that he hid there. "I've failed you."

"You haven't," I argued. "You saved me from Deidamia's castle. Brought me here. We are going to get through this together."

Kellan groaned in frustration of my positivity. "I have no idea where to take us. I can't get you home. Deidamia is going to follow us everywhere we go. They know we're here. That damn bird watches everything. It's only a matter of time before the entire kingdom comes after us. She's a witch and is manipulating everyone—"

"She's a witch that is scared of another person with power. She wants Ernest gone for some reason. Why? Because she's all knowing? No. Because she's scared. We just have to find out why she's scared."

Kellan nodded, though the realization that we could win didn't reach his eyes.

"Get up." I stood, waiting on him to follow. He stood up, looking down at me with an annoyed look. "Take us somewhere."

Kellan shifted. "Where?"

"Wherever the portal will take us. It doesn't matter," I said. "Take us away from here. We'll go from there."

Kellan took a deep breath and looked back at Ernest and Fern.

He closed his eyes and opened a portal. The whooshing sound drowned out his voice as he gestured Ernest and Fern inside.

I went to step in, but he stopped me.

His dirty blonde hair twirled around his head as the wind grew, and his sharp features shadowed in the sun. "Thank you. Even when you're pushy and crazy, you make me better."

I smiled at his honesty and the vulnerability he laid out for me. "Yeah, I've been told how awesome I am."

Kellan rolled his eyes, wrapped his arm around my waist and nose-dived us into the portal.