Vanish (Firelight #2)(65)

The snap is subtle. There are so many sounds around me that I don’t pay it much attention. Noises are part of the woods.

And then it comes again.

Without actually stopping, I listen, angling my face. Several twigs and leaves break beneath the pressure of something heavy. It’s no small animal. No squirrel running through the undergrowth. Not Cassian.

The flesh at my nape quivers. I stop, hold my breath, and scan the ghostly shapes of the trees on every side of me. Releasing the breath I hold in my lungs, I ease down, squatting low, making myself as small as possible.

My fingers graze the ground, preparing to push off, bolt if needed. My bones begin the familiar pull, skin straining, itching to fade out and make way for my tougher draki skin.

The sound grows louder, stomping through the foliage.

Holding myself still, shrinking small, I become part of the landscape as I wait.

At last, I see the source of the noise.

A magnificent black bear lumbers between two trees, his shiny nose snuffling low to the ground as he makes his way. The creature lifts his shiny dark head, ears perked, nostrils working as he sniffs me out, scenting the air. He detects me.

With a huff the massive bear takes several aggressive steps in my direction. I rise to my feet, hold his stare, let him sense the animal in me . . . that I’m a creature like him, ready to fight back. He dips his head, ready to charge. Our stares lock for a breathless moment. Adrenaline pumps through me fast and hard.

Suddenly there’s another sound. Cassian crashes through the trees, shouting my name as he arrives at my side. He grabs my hand. A rumbling growl erupts from Cassian’s chest. A quick glance at his face reveals that he’s half manifested. The vertical slits of his dragon eyes shudder with menace. His raw power feeds into me, makes me feel stronger. Together, we face the bear, a united front.

A moment passes as the bear continues to size us up. With a grunt, his dark, intelligent eyes slide away. He turns and continues on his way, foraging for more interesting material. I breathe easier watching him depart, admiring the ripple of his muscles beneath his thick coat of fur, relieved that neither one of us had to destroy the beautiful animal.

A smile curves my mouth as I turn to face Cassian. And that’s when I see Will. He stands just beyond us, watching us with a look I’ve never seen. Doubt. Hurt. It’s all there, passing over the carved lines of his face.

I tug my hand free from Cassian and slide it against my thigh, as if I could rub out the sensation of his touch. “Will—” I stop myself just short of asking him how long he’s been standing there, watching us. That would sound guilty, and I’ve done nothing wrong. Nothing except hide the truth.

Will points at Cassian. “How did you know she was in trouble? You were barely in the campsite for five seconds before you took off, shouting that Jacinda was in trouble . . . you knew. How?”

I stare back and forth between Cassian and Will. Cassian looks at me, conveying that this is for me to explain.

“Jacinda,” Will says my name with heavy emphasis, waiting for an answer. For the truth, as much as I don’t want it to be.

Closing my eyes, I fill my lungs with air. I knew I would have to tell him what happened at some point. “Something happened when I went back home.”

Wariness glimmers in Will’s eyes and I think he probably has a good idea of what I’m going to say. Or at least that he’s not going to like it. “What?”

“They decided to clip my wings.”

A muscle flickers in his jaw. “Did they hurt you?”

I shake my head. “No, but Mom protested and they banished her.”

“And? What else?” he prompts, knowing there’s more, that I’ve left out the hard part. “How come they didn’t go through with it and clip your wings?”

I rush out with the rest, thinking the faster I say it, the better, the less painful. “They changed their minds when Cassian offered an alternative.”

“An alternative?” Will no longer looks at me. He just locks gazes with Cassian. His profile hardens, as though he’s bracing himself.

I swallow against the lump in my throat. “Yes. As an alternative . . . he suggested that we bond.”

“Bond?” His gaze whips back to me. “As in marriage?”

“For the draki, yes, it’s much the same thing.” Only the connection can be more, can run deeper than that, can link a couple emotionally. . . .

None of this I say. Not yet. Let him digest one thing at a time.

He swings around and walks a hard line, stopping near a tree. I stare helplessly at the rigid line of his back, jump as he suddenly moves, slamming his fist into the rough bark.

I move forward, grip his arm with desperate fingers. “It was either a fake bonding or the wing clipping.” I take his hand, examine the torn and bleeding knuckles with a hiss. “Please understand, Will.”

He blows a deep breath and nods slowly, turning around. “I understand. I do.” Only he doesn’t stare at me. He looks beyond my shoulder at Cassian. “And I don’t blame you, Jacinda. A fake bonding,” he echoes with a sharp nod of his head. “It’s not real.”

My chest eases, feels less tight. Will understands. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to be fine. I believe this. Until Cassian’s deep voice intrudes and the smile slips from my lips.

“Since you’ve started, why not tell him everything, Jacinda?”