Clanless (Nameless #2)(4)
Until Zander and Chief Barnabas captured him or met their own end, Gryphon and the people he cared for would never be safe again. Their only chance for survival now was to follow the initial plan: warn the Raven. He’d promised Zo that he would help them evacuate the elusive Nest before the Ram raided and destroyed the clan.
He’d keep his promise and pray that those he loved were kept safe while he led his mess away from them.
From now on, Gryphon was a hunted man.
Zo scrambled out from under the tree to find Eva on the ground and a dripping gash on the intruder’s arm. In the darkness it looked more like spilled ink than blood.
“Gabe!” Zo flung herself at the bleeding man. Gabe was more than a fellow Wolf fighting to bring down the mighty Ram—he was Zo’s childhood friend and self-proclaimed protector. He’d gone to scout the wall for Ram movement before Gryphon was taken, but when he hadn’t returned, Zo had assumed the worst.
“Where have you been?” Zo grabbed the front of Gabe’s shirt, as if he’d somehow disappear if she let go of him. “Tess, bring me my kit,” she called over her shoulder.
“It’s not bad, Zo,” said Gabe. He pulled her into a tight embrace.
Was she crying?
“Shhhh,” he said, clearing her wild hair from her face and tucking it neatly behind an ear. “I’m here now. Everything will be fine.”
But it wasn’t fine. “The Ram took Gryphon,” her voice cracked. “He tried to lead them away from the tree and they took him.” She collapsed into a puddle at Gabe’s feet. “I couldn’t help him. The Nameless … Tess and Joshua … ” She knew the words spilling out of her mouth didn’t make sense. She’d made the right choice by staying hidden when the Ram captured and beat Gryphon. Too many people depended on her to help them reach the Allies.
It was the right choice. So why did it feel like betrayal? How could she survive the guilt of knowing Gryphon’s death was on her hands when he, a Ram, had saved her? He was supposed to be her enemy.
“I’m going to go check on Joshua.” Eva dusted herself off, scowling at Zo and Gabe down her long Ram nose. Her lips pursed together enough to accentuate her defined cheekbones.
In her excitement at seeing Gabe, Zo had almost forgotten Eva was there.
“Sorry about your arm. Decent block, by the way,” Eva added over her shoulder, and then ducked back under the boughs of the tree, likely escaping their affectionate reunion.
Zo offered Gabe an apologetic shrug before Tess crawled out from under the tree carrying Zo’s kit. Gabe ruffled Tess’s hair and tapped her nose like he always did when they saw each other. Tess rewarded him with a beaming grin.
“I need to talk to Zo. Will you be all right if I take her for a minute?” he asked.
Tess offered one of her brave nods. “I’ll stay with Joshua.”
Gabe pulled Zo under a low-hanging shelf of rock, out of the rain. Blond stubble dotted his chin and the want of sleep hung heavy under his eyes.
“Take off your shirt,” said Zo. She searched her satchel for the proper remedies, sniffing away a runny nose brought on by tears. When she looked up, Gabe stood half naked before her. His shoulders and arms were mounds of lean muscles, his stomach two neat columns of definition. Zo caught herself staring, blinked, and went to work repairing his arm.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen Gabe without a shirt before. When they were younger, he and Zo used to steal away to swim in a pond in the summer, when the sun made the cold water refreshing. He’d looked different then, more gangly than anything. His time training under Commander Laden had changed him. She didn’t see that same scrawny boy now. At nearly twenty years old, Gabe was suddenly a man. Somehow Zo had missed the transformation.
“I saw what happened.” He rubbed his hands into his forehead and let them melt down his cheeks. “When Ajax came back, I hid in the nearest tree with an arrow aimed at his back. Lucky for him, he spared you. I followed Gryphon and his mess to the Gate.”
“And?”
“And the Ram didn’t let them in. The ladder was up and there was no movement on the wall.”
Zo looked up too fast. A rush of cold prickled along her cheeks and neck, and dark splotches invaded her vision. It had been like that since healing Joshua. She held her head in one hand to fight the dizziness. “So Gryphon’s not actually inside the Gate yet?”
Gabe frowned and stepped closer to her. His blond hair fell into his eyes as he scanned her face, looking for the source of her pain. “No, but … ”
“We have to save him! We have to try!”
Gabe leaned away. Uncertainty lanced across his face as he regarded Zo. Whatever he discovered seemed a disappointment.
“I did try,” he said.
He hadn’t said he would try. He’d said he did try. Past tense. Zo’s hope for Gryphon’s survival shattered in those three simple words.
“Tell me,” she whispered.
“No.” He shrugged an apology. “You’ve been through too much. The Ram soldier helped us, but that doesn’t change our goals. Our future. You and Tess need to get back to the Allied Camp.”
Zo pushed Gabe’s hands away when they rested on her shoulders, suddenly furious. “Tell me what happened to Gryphon!”