Clanless (Nameless #2)(9)

That was the cruelty of life. No matter his efforts, he couldn’t make the wind blow a different direction or the waves stand still or the mountains part. So many of his problems could be solved with a little more force, an extra training session, or sheer strength of will. But Gryphon couldn’t control this, couldn’t fight it away, not even with all his substantial strength.

He collapsed on the ground, grabbed two fistfuls of hair, and wept like a child with Gabe at his side and the Raven warriors watching in confused, silent awe.

Zo was dead. Nothing but his grief mattered.





When morning finally came, Joshua opened his eyes for the first time in days.

“He’s awake! He’s awake!” said Tess. She knelt next to him, bobbing up and down on her knees like a bumblebee tethered to the ground.

Joshua groaned and pushed up to rest on his elbows. “What happened? Where am I?” His wiry chest was bare. The scar on his abdomen was still crusted over, but the skin around the wound bragged a healthy peach hue. “Where are Gryphon and Gabe?” He looked at Eva then over to Zo. “What is Eva doing here?”

Zo and Tess didn’t bother answering any of his questions before wrapping him into a hug. Tess openly wept, and Zo found herself jealous for the chance to express her relief without falling apart.

She pressed her forehead into Joshua’s and held it there as she looked into his eyes. “I see you, Joshua.”

“Umm.” Joshua grinned. “I see you too. Quite well, actually.”

Tess rolled around in a fit of giggles.

“What am I missing?” said Joshua.

Zo pulled away and tapped the end of the boy’s nose with the tip of her finger. “Sorry. It’s an old Wolf custom. Eyes are the windows to the soul. I was greeting your inner light. Acknowledging your spirit.” Zo shook her head and smiled. “It has been so long since I’ve been able to be a Wolf. I couldn’t help myself.”

Thirteen-year-old Joshua fingered the two-inch scar on his stomach and a violent shiver rolled over his skin. “All I remember was fighting you in the ring, Zo. I didn’t know how to protect you.” He paused and swallowed a lump in his throat causing his Adam’s apple to jump. He’d stabbed himself in the stomach to save her life, a rash decision made because only one person could leave the ring alive. “Why didn’t I die?” He reached out and held Zo’s hand. “How did you save me?”

Zo didn’t really understand everything herself. After Joshua tried to take his own life in the ring, Zo had been desperate to use her skills as a healer to save him. In the healing blessing, heat like fire formed beneath her hands and rolled up her arms and into her chest. If someone hadn’t helped her sever the connection, she might have been consumed by the heat.

For Joshua, Zo was willing to take the risk, but it had cost her something that went beyond simply feeling dizzy all of the time. The muted energy she relied on to heal others didn’t seem to hum beneath her skin as it once had. She’d never realized the energy was there until, after healing Joshua, the heat was gone—leaving only emptiness behind.

Zo held Joshua’s hand as she explained their flight out of the Gate. She pushed away the image of Gabe half-carrying Joshua while Gryphon stayed behind to disable the Gate’s pulley system. She’d trusted Gryphon completely—he didn’t know how to fail. It had made Zo feel invincible knowing Gryphon was on their side.

Zo cut off the train of thought before it grew into something she couldn’t control. She told Joshua about the hundreds of Nameless refugees that now roamed the dangerous hills without resources and without a guide to the only place they would find safe refuge—the Allied Camp.

“So Gryphon and Gabe are off to warn the Raven?” said Joshua.

Eva said, “Actually—”

“Yes,” Zo cut in, ignoring Eva’s stern expression. Gryphon was Joshua’s mentor and the closest thing he had to family. She couldn’t bear to watch him suffer, not after everything he’d endured. They’d tell him the truth eventually, but not yet.

“I should be with them. They’ll need my help evacuating the Raven,” said Joshua. His voice frequently changed octaves despite his efforts to prove his Ram manhood.

“I’m sure Gryphon,” she stuttered his name, “thought we’d need you here.”

Joshua nodded, his pale skin a little too translucent for Zo’s liking. “You’re probably right.”

Zo checked his pulse and listened to his heart. Her vision tilted to the right and then the left, as if she were on a rocking ship. Meanwhile Eva began rolling blankets and securing packs. “What are you doing?” said Zo as she pinched the skin on the back of Joshua’s hand to check his hydration level.

“The boy’s awake. We’ll be leaving soon,” said Eva.

Joshua raised a hand in question. “Did she just call me a boy?”

“He just woke up. He needs more time.” What Zo really meant was, I need more time. This tree was special. Under these boughs Gryphon had held her. Kissed her. It was her last connection to him and she didn’t want to give it up.

Lock your heart, Zo.

“I don’t need more time,” said Joshua. “I actually feel kind of amazing.”

“You’re sure?”

Joshua turned over and did a quick set of push-ups on his fists to illustrate his point. “I just hope you ladies can keep up.” His grin spread the length of his face.