Page 169 of First Ritual

“It means go,” he snarled. “Walk. Slowly. Away from here.”

I crawled backward, then managed to stand on shaking legs. My dress was in tatters, and I banished it, summoning shorts and a T-shirt even as I moved to establish space between us. I may not know what was going on, but I did trust Wild’s judgment.

“Will you be okay?” I called softly.

“Yes.”

“Do you promise?”

“I do. Go now.”

The knot of tension in my gut eased. When I was a few feet back in the wall of sunflowers surrounding where we’d been, I walked slowly away.

Huxley and Corentin were waiting where Rooke and I had entered the sunflower field.

I lifted a hand. “Hey.”

Corentin wrinkled his nose. Huxley didn’t seem fazed by anything other than my hair.

“Took him long enough,” Huxley said. “And apparently it’s taking Sven longer.”

A low-pitched cry rent the air. Rooke’s.

I grimaced. “Sound really carries out here, huh?”

Corentin grunted. “Yep.”

“I’ve heard enough darlings, my queens, and Wilds to last me a lifetime,” Huxley muttered.

I grinned. “Your fault for listening.”

“You’re welcome for making sure you were safe during—” Corentin blanched. “—whatever that was.”

“That time was different,” I mused. “I blacked out at the end.”

My insides quailed. My experience with blacking out often ended up with me at the base of the north mountains. I felt super unsettled. Restless in an anxious way.

“Where’s Wild?” Huxley asked.

I frowned. “He was struggling with the creature. Me being there was making it worse. He promised he’d be okay, though.”

The magus nodded. Wild didn’t make rash promises. Somewhere along the line, I’d learned that, too, or I wouldn’t have left.

“What the fuck?” Corentin blurted.

I squinted at him in the near darkness. “Wild wouldn’t lie like that.”

“No. There’s an echo here.” He cut me off.

I grabbed him. “Where?”

He gestured over to the right. “On the edges over there. That means someone here set a retell.”

Corentin and Huxley scanned the area.

“It was Rooke,” I said, already moving off to the right. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll see you guys later.”

Huxley appeared by my side. “Good try.”