Witchy Sour(78)

“How can I deserve a job when I can’t explain what happened?”

“You’ve prepared for months. Years, even. If you hadn’t, you’d never have been able to save my life, even if someone had guided you into The Forest and handed you a map on a silver platter. The only thing preventing you from accepting the Candidacy is the belief that you can do it.”

“You believe I can do it?”

A smile curved my lips upward, and I reached for her hands. “More than anything.”

She stood up, pressing a hand to her forehead in shock. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it! Ranger X mentioned when I came in here that he wanted to talk to me about the next cycle.” Her black eyes now tinged with gold locked on mine. “I can’t believe it’s happening.”

“Go talk to him,” I said, nodding outside where Ranger X and Poppy were shamelessly staring at us through the window. Based on the tilt of Poppy’s head, she was trying to eavesdrop. “It sounds like we’ve got a lot to celebrate.”





Chapter 28



Later that evening, Ranger X and I set out for a walk. Poppy and Zin had spent the rest of the afternoon at the cabin, and together we played card games and chatted about nothing in particular. Poppy prepared food while Zin babbled on and on about her training with Hettie.

The smile on her face only grew as the hours stretched on, and the gold in her eyes didn’t fade for a second. We didn’t discuss Thomas, or the events of the previous evening. We didn’t even bring up Zin’s hopes for Ranger status. The four of us were merely content to while away the hours with happy chatter, good food, and a bit of wine.

It wasn’t until the night began to creep in, cloaking the sun in darkness, that Ranger X’s glances in my direction became more frequent. His eyes would lock on mine with a sudden intenseness before he looked away, back to his hand of cards or at the plate of food in front of him.

Eventually even Poppy noticed the pattern, and without further ado, she cleared her throat and excused herself and Zin. When Zin protested, Poppy elbowed her cousin and gave a very obvious head tilt in my direction. Zin’s sharp eyes took in Ranger X in a flash, and before she could argue again, Poppy had dragged her out of the room with promises to return in the morning.

Ranger X’s cabin-like home was just inside the edges of The Forest. I shivered as we set out, the dark tree trunks shooting me back to a less than pleasant time. Without asking, Ranger X reached over and took my hand. My fear all but disappeared as he squeezed it, and when he turned his eyes on my face, the rest of my worries vanished. Before I knew it we were on the beach, the full moon providing plenty of light as I kicked my sandals off and dug my toes into the cooling sand.

“You look beautiful tonight.” His words broke the quiet lull in the air. Even the backdrop of waves faded to white noise as he cleared his throat. “Then again you always do, but there’s something about the moon that brings out your eyes.”

I looked up in surprise. “Are you feeling okay?”

He laughed, the sound a low rumble in the night that sounded like nature. His voice blended with the waves and the breeze as if he were part of the outdoors himself. “I’m fine.”

“You’re usually not so…” I hesitated. “Expressive?”

“Let’s just say that I understand what people mean when they argue that sometimes, it takes a tragedy to bring two people together.” His eyes softened, the intensity of his expression disarming. Extending a hand, he brushed it through the hair at the base of my neck. I’d showered at his place and left my hair down to dry in natural waves, and as he pulled the locks tight, my eyes fell shut. As he pulled me close, his words floated out on a breath of air. “I’m one of the lucky ones.”

“Lucky?”

“Lucky,” he repeated roughly. “I can’t explain what I felt when I thought you were gone. Zin dragged you here and you were scraped and bleeding and breathless. Your chest was still when I said your name...” He fell silent for a moment. “I said your name, and your eyelids didn’t so much as flutter. I thought you were gone.”

His lips pressed against my forehead as I leaned into his body and wrapped my arms around his waist. I squeezed. “I’m here. I’m alive, thanks to Zin and you. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I hear I’m pretty hard to get rid of—a few people have tried, and that’s the general consensus.”

My humor missed the mark, but my arms around his waist were right where they needed to be. Ranger X gripped me tight, his hands grasping my arms as he placed a gentle kiss on my head. When he spoke, he pulled back enough to make eye contact. “Lily, I care so much about you. I think—”