Page 93 of The Heir

I cannot lose anyone else.

I will talk to you the entire time, unless I am in some battle; then you will need to wait for me to fill you in, right after.

I moved back to glare at him, and he raised his hands from around me.

“You both need to stop doing the whole soul-talking thing for a moment so that I can hear,” Mary called to us.

“Shad will give us a play-by-play, he says.”

“Yes, I will let you all know what I am doing and when I find them.” He walked to his tent and took out a small metal stick. He flicked it open, and it became a large black and silver sword, similar to the one Keil had carried. He quickly grabbed some black cloth. After he clipped the fabric to his arms, shoulder, chest, and torso, the fabric became hard. He flicked his sword back into the small metal stick that it had been before, and heplaced it in a slot on his built in belt. It was some kind of packable armor, which looked very similar to Keil’s armor.

“I will return.” He looked at both of us, locking his eyes upon me after glancing at Mary.

“Shad, please—”

He walked over to me in four steps and touched me softly on the cheek, and I burned with disappointment and anger. I pulled his body to me, desperately not wanting him to go. He slowly pulled away, leaning his forehead against my own.

“I will return. I will come back to you—no matter what happens—” He paused and placed a hand on my heart. “Your soul and my soul belong together. Remember that. No matter what, our connection is strong enough to conquer anything.” He became silent as he touched my nose with his.

I ached for him to kiss me.

There is so much I still wish to tell you and explain to you, so I will come back, and I will tell you everything.

I think I will hate you if you leave me, Shad.

I will find them. I will bring Ryker back to you. But I will not leave you—ever. We are a part of each other, darling,his soul sang to me.

Come back to me; please, come back to me.Tears started to drip down my cheeks.

I will always come back to you, Emma, no matter what happens—remember that.

I nodded. He turned his head away from me, and before I knew it, he was jogging in the same direction that Keil had gone, only hours before, and then he was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ihad to follow him. How could I sit at camp like some frightened little child, waiting, while he put himself in danger? What if he died out there while rescuing Ryker forme? I couldn’t live with that. I grabbed a small backpack without giving it much thought, and while Mary washed out some dishes in the stream behind our camp, I made my way down the dirt trail and continued all of the way to the opening of the cave. I knew that the closer I came to Shad, the greater the chance was that he would sense me—hear that my melody was close, so I tried to be as quick as possible. I hoped that he would be distracted enough by his task that he would not focus on my melody.

Just as I approached the opening to the cave, I saw Shad duck inside of its mouth, disappearing into the dark depths within. I held my breath. There were two large men, guards I assumed, standing on either side of the cave. They wore black, leather uniforms. I watched them as they stood there, masks covering their faces and gloves on their hands, holding large guns.

I gulped.

During the split-second when Shad darted into the cave, the guards had turned away. They stood near the cave opening for a few minutes; then they made a circle around it. For about a minute, then, their backs faced the cave. That was the opportunity. Shad had used that weakness in the guard’s defenses. He had timed it perfectly, and I would do the same. I watched the guards double-back, and I was ready to take advantage of their flaw. I watched for a few minutes as they circled and came back around, making sure they did the same thing each time. I crawled closer to the opening and hid behind a bush. Shad’s voice entered my thoughts:

I am inside the cave. I am traveling down a corridor now to see where Keil and Ryker are.

I was silent on my end as I broke from the bush to take my only shot at getting into the cave. I was quicker and quieter than I thought I would be, and as I descended into the dark, damp cave, I leaned against a wall and tried to steady my breathing. My breaths came in rapidly, and I was afraid that they would give me away.

You there, Emma?he asked.

Here, just fine,I responded back into his mind, trying to hide the spike of adrenaline that I felt within me.

Emma, you didn’t—His voice was angry, and I knew that he had heard the nearness of my melody. It was only a matter of time until he would have found out anyway. But, I'd made it inside, and I couldn't turn back. He could not send me back.

I am not letting everyone go looking for Ryker without me.

Stay where you are. I am coming back. We should, at least, stay together.His voice was sharp. I knew he wasn't thrilled with me at that moment, but I needed to be there. I needed to help.

I am a bit past the mouth of the cave. I just got past the guards.