Alpha Faye

Chapter Twenty One

"Stay back," I hear him say through rushed breath. "Go and get your guards, and I will try lead her back."

At his words, I fall back, knowing that's the best option right now. He doesn't turn back, continuing to run through the forest after the fleeing girl. I don't hesitate, knowing the job that I need to do. So, I weave through the branches as quickly as possible, finding my way back to my guards that are waiting for their orders to approach.

The moment I'm back, I'm send them to guard the edge of the forest, not to go in. I trust that Cal can do this himself. He will hunt her down until she is brought back here ready to answer all or questions about T.

I keep this mentality until I'm sitting on the steps to the garden, cold from the night, waiting for Cal to come back.

When he does, the solemn look on his face looks tells all.

"What happened?" I ask, struggling to my feet. Sitting in the same place for perhaps over an hour on concretes steps has locked all my limbs into place. "Where's Tayten."

Cal doesn't have his bow, or his arrows, meaning he left them in the forest. The sight of that alone makes me increasingly nervous. For all the time that I've known Cal, he hasn't left his bow and arrows anywhere that isn't safe and guarded. Sometimes I believed that while he was my personal guard, he cared more about their safety then mine.

"Something happened," he says solemnly, sweeping his hand back through his slightly too long hair.

"Clearly," I breathe. "But what?"

Cal beckons me to follow him, which I do, apprehensively. My nerves have heightened, and since he hasn't brought Tayten back with him, I already know he did something stupid. Did he kill her? If she is dead, everything is ruined, once again, even for T. It would be a hit to both of our plans if she is in fact, dead.

He leads me quite far into the forest, leaving behind the guards at the edge of the forest, along with all hope that I had left.

We don't stop for a while, traversing through a path Cal clearly created. I brush past broken branches and step over disrupted grass and leaves. Her pursed her through here, clearly, and as he pauses in front of me, I see where it all ended.

Right by a tree, Cal must have made his shot. At least, that's what I assumed happened.

On the ground by our feet, is Ash, spilled everywhere. It sticks to the tree, the bushes and long grass around it. It's everywhere, like dark soot, staining every inch of this place. It's not a mortal occurrence, that's all I know, but T told me himself that she is a time traveller. It doesn't take long for me to put two and two together.

"You shot her," I say, unsure on how to sort all the emotions that are coming at me at high speeds. "Why?"

"I had to, she was going to get away. I targeted her leg, but she exploded into ash. This is the last thing I wanted to do Faye," Cal says, turning to me as if to come off sincerer. I sigh deeply, unable to take my eyes off the ash on the ground.

Everything is gone. Everything.

"We have to take the ash back home. To get it tested, before we can properly lay her to rest," I say softly. Not only is our plan ruined, she's actually dead. Cal took her life from her, and although I don't blame him for this, it clearly hurts the both of us.

"You can't tell T about this," Cal says, picking his bow up off the ground, from where he had left it.

I frown. "He needs to know. If we tell him, he will realise his plan is over. We have no other choice but to tell him."