Heart's Desire

Chapter 40 - Kit

My heart beats faster with every mile as we near our destination. Martin and Julian are quiet, Julian singing softly to Luna and Luca, and Martin staring out the window at the growing dark. When the car slows and leaves the paved road, turning onto another rough, dirt track, he breaks the silence at last.

"We're on Hunter land, now," he says. "Probably headed for the ridge."

Julian leans to look out his window. "Where are the houses from here? I don't think I've been out this way before."

Martin gestures. "Over that line of hills; east, and south a bit."

Reaching to touch my leg, Julian whispers, "Kit — when you run, head that way, if you can. Back towards the houses, then northeast from there. That's where I sensed a thin place, before."

"Is that what you told Dane?" I whisper back, trying to keep my teeth from chattering as I fight the rising fear. "To get the Fae?"

He shakes his head and glances at the front seats, but our captors are busy watching the road, which seems barely passable. "That was the idea, but Dane didn't answer his phone. Probably broke the damn thing after Ferrault called, if I know him the way I think I do. The only other number I have memorized is Monty's, from all the babysitting. I just hope he got the message, and that Dane or Astrid understands it."

The car hits a large pothole, jostling everyone, and Luna and Luca begin to fuss again. Julian soothes them, rubbing their little backs.

He sighs and chews his bottom lip. "The Fae saved me from a Hunt once already, though. I don't know if we can count on the same luck twice."

His words remind me that if anyone understands my fear, it's him.

"You're not Prey, this time," I remind him, grasping for reassurances. "You and the babies will be safe, as long as Dane wins, and I promise..."

I stop myself, not wanting to make promises I can't keep.

"I'll do my best to make sure he does," I finish. "As Prey, I have no choice but to run until I'm caught; but I can choose who catches me."

Julian looks up sharply, and frowns. "Don't even think about it, Kit," he murmurs, with another glance at the men up front. "Dane wouldn't do that anyway."

I glance at Martin, unconvinced. Every alpha I've ever known would kill for a lot less than his children and Mate, and while Dane is different, I'm not sure he's that different.

"I'm serious," Julian presses. "Just run as fast and as far as you can, in the direction I told you, okay?"

Reluctantly, I nod. From his description, it sounds like I'll be headed for the area where Monty brought me to the hot springs, and there was certainly a kind of magic there, Fae or not.

Seemingly satisfied, he returns his attention to the twins, and no one speaks again as the vehicles toil slowly up the steep, pitted road to the top of the ridge. My fear increases with every turn of the wheels, and my mouth burns with a dry thirst. Memories flash through my mind: darkness beneath tattered clouds and a veiled moon; the scents of the forests surrounding me — leaves and dirt, trees and blood; my racing heart and blinding fear as I ran, pursued by Wolves.

I startle as Julian rests his hand on my back, rubbing it in a slow circle, the way he soothes the twins. Letting myself absorb it, I shut my eyes and imagine it's Monty's touch, which I don't expect that I will feel again.

Finally, the car comes to a halt in a flat clearing atop the ridge, and our captors order us to get out. Martin and I help Julian with the twins, and then the three of us stand in a huddle as the rest of Ferrault's people climb from the other two cars and approach.