Page 58 of Renegade Queen
“It was nothing,” she told him honestly. “What will you do now?”
He shook his head, and I didn’t blame the guy. Where did you go after going through something like this?
“I was taken to the camps when my town was swallowed by the wildling forest. The Endless were waiting for us and gathered up any survivors. I don’t really have anywhere left to go.”
No one said anything. He couldn’t exactly come with us. So what were we supposed to do, leave him here?
“Maybe Rhidian...” I started, but Fizzle hissed at me, and I quickly snapped my mouth shut.
He might be small, but I definitely didn’t want to be on his bad side.
“Don’t worry about me,” Ezra said, an uncertain smile on his face. “You were right that it’s time to get angry, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one. I think it’s time to raise some chaos, and hopefully, it will help you with what you need to do.”
“It could be dangerous,” Alyssa warned him.
Ezra just shrugged in response. “I figure I should be dead right now. What else can you do when you get a second chance at life, if not to get a little payback?”
Chapter 26
Alyssa
The only reason why I wasn’t peeing my pants right now was because I didn’t want to give Fizzle the ammunition to use against me. I could already hear it, and it would go on forever!
Thankfully, the whole swamp and maiden issue had meant I’d escaped the cave before anyone could bring up the whole running to my death argument that seemed to be coming. Although, from the look in Tank’s eyes, I didn’t know if I was actually grateful about that or not. Not to mention that from how Ryder had held me, it seemed he wanted to join the party as well.
I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Tank was so on board about the other guys being part of our… family? Group? There was no way I was ever going to declare them my harem.
Surprisingly, none of them had seemed bothered when Rhidian had suggested it, though. I’d half expected them to burst into denials, but if anything, the moment passed suspiciously too quiet. And I didn’t know if that bothered me.
Was this what I really wanted?
I’d spent so long dancing around the issue with Tank that jumping into a relationship with four guys now seemed like madness. But I couldn’t deny that there was something between us.
My eyes moved between the guys who’d strategically clustered around me like they didn’t think I would notice, they tried to shield me in the middle of our group. Tank’s bear wouldn’t do us much good in this situation. Becoming entangled with the maiden wouldn’t end well for any of us. The others barely knew one end of a sword from the other. Which had me doubting the middle of this mess was actually a safe place to be.
We’d discussed our best strategy before leaving the cave, and Ezra’s plan had seemed the best. We didn’t know if the rumours were true, but it was a good place to start. He’d stayed at the cave with a few of our supplies, intending to gain more strength before he went to find allies in Nymeria. From the look in his eyes as we’d left, I had no doubt he’d become a force to be reckoned with.
And here we were, trekking across the hissing swamps with the barest of plans in place. Essentially, avoid the maiden at all costs. Which had Dean looking so smug, I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or slap him.
Because we were basically going with his exact plan.
Move quickly, quietly, and punch straight through.
And then we reached the edge of the swamp.
It was like a wall of moisture slapped us in the face out of the blue. An ominous fog rolled along the ground as it grew soft under our feet. It wasn’t long until the smell of stagnant water filled the air, together with that smell of rotten flesh that you wouldn’t quickly forget.
The silence in this place was going to be our first problem. Nothing came here if it wanted to live. And that included the wildlife. Unfortunately, that meant there was no way we could wade through this place without drawing attention. And wading we were. The water was up to my thighs before I’d even realised. Urgh, this smell would linger for days.
“You should cross first,” I started, intending to make enough of a distraction for them to reach the other side. It wasn’t the best plan, but if they could get across, maybe I could take out the maiden.
Dean slipped his hand into mine, his grip tightening to just under pain. “Don’t start that again. We’re not about to agree to you using yourself as bait, and I’m not letting you run off on your own again.”
Surprisingly, it was Maddox who took my other hand. I’d assumed he’d be the easiest to persuade to my side.
“We cross together,” he murmured. “Not every problem is solved by throwing your life at it.”
His words were like a slap in the face. Because he was right. That was exactly what I was doing. And now that I was aware of it, I had no idea why that seemed to be my go-to answer to all my problems.