Soul (Chaos #1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I kept moving, thinking about that bow Brendan had been carrying. If Deorad was coming after me with a bow, then I wanted to be a moving target. After all, he was half-human, too. Maybe he wasn't quite fae enough. Then again, neither was Brendan as long as he was in Drake's body. Maybe I still stood a chance at surviving the fae's messed-up games.

I entered a clearing and looked up at the hillside. I spotted the cave. Whether the cat woman had been truthful or not didn't matter. I just needed someplace to go.

I sprinted across the clearing, my sides aching, thankful I was in good shape. I heard footsteps behind me and upped my pace, but a firm hand caught me around my waist as another smothered my curse of indignation.

"Hush," Brendan said. "Why are you wet?"

He let go, and I whirled around to face him, but he was too close, and there was a tree at my back.

"I didn't go willingly," I said.

"I take it you didn't get off the horse voluntarily either."

"No. A cat... pushed me."

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Did she? Brave cat. Where is she? She was supposed to lead you to the cave."

"You sent her?"

"No. She would have followed you regardless. I just made sure I knew her plans."

I stared at him, still panting. I couldn't read a thing in those green eyes. "She said the cave was a way out. For me to leave."

"She didn't lie. Go. I'll keep him off your back."

"But you have me. You won."

"You think Sadler cares about any of this? They gave you a way out. Take it."

"But what about-"

"I still have a chance. Now you have a chance to be free." He hesitated. "You should take it, Cara."

"But what about Grim and... and everyone? I just-"

"I'll make sure they're safe. No matter what happens, they're free, too. You can start a new life. No fae to wreck your happiness this time. No Sadler coming after you again."

He moved aside to let me pass. I couldn't believe it. The entire time he had forced me to stay with him, and he was just letting me leave. I shook my head.

He gently pushed me. "Go. Before it's too late. You don't belong here."

Drake had said the same words on that very first night. That made up my mind. I walked away. If the fae didn't pester me, knowingly or not, everything would change. Everyone around me would be safe. I could let myself feel like a normal person again.

I took a couple of steps and looked back one last time, to steal one last glance at the fae who had changed everything. Whether he looked back at me with green eyes or violet, that fae had turned my life into something completely different.

He was still staring after me as though he couldn't quite believe I was going, and I couldn't bring myself to take one more step away from him. So I took a step back toward him instead.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black leaping across branches. The cat's yowl registered before I really heard the sound, but my brain recognised the warning. I didn't even realise I was moving until I had almost reached Brendan. Deorad stepped into the clearing, an arrow aimed at Brendan's heart. I shouted a warning, but Brendan only stared at the near-perfect reflection of his own face.