Nameless (Nameless #1)(66)
“How does Sara feel about your decision to stay?” Gryphon whispered.
Ajax didn’t answer. Both men walked back up the road that led to their family homes. “I’m hoping we can convince an official to help us after your healer does the surgery. That is, if you will agree to keep her here until then.”
Gryphon shook his head. “What if the officials aren’t lenient, Jax? What if the Seer discovers your son beforehand?”
The muscles in Ajax’s neck leapt with tension. “I’ll find a way. I will not lose my son.”
The road came to a fork and Gryphon and Ajax stood before the divide.
“Abandon this plan. Stay and help me work things out. You say you are my brother. Prove it. Choose me and my family over these Wolves.”
Gryphon’s hands and feet felt cold and a chill crawled up his spine. “Do you know what will happen to that girl if she stays with the Gate Master? Do you know what kind of torture the Seer has in store for Joshua?” Gryphon fought to keep his voice down. “Joshua is family. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.” He tried not to think about what the boy was going through at this very moment. “I can’t help you both unless you agree to leave with them tomorrow morning.”
All hope drained from Ajax’s face. “So, you will follow in your father’s footsteps.”
Gryphon grabbed Ajax by the shirt and growled. “I’m am sorry that you feel betrayed, Jax. But you are wrong about this.”
Gabe didn’t flinch as Zo examined his shoulder. He also didn’t let his hands fall from her waist. Zo understood how he felt. Like they’d found something lost and cheated death to have it back.
“I’m not going to disappear, you know.” Her lips hitched into a half smile that, given the circumstances, felt strange on her face. She peeled away the bandage to reveal Gryphon’s neat stitches. He really was good at stitches. What surprised her even more was the healthy coloring around the wound. Gryphon had a natural healer’s touch.
Zo had trained for several years to find her own abilities. Her mother used to lecture her on finding compassion for those she healed.
“The more you open your heart to the patient the faster they will recover. Love can heal even the deepest wounds if you let it.”
Some thought healing was witchcraft or magic, and in a way, it was. Healing required giving a portion of one’s self. A small sacrifice to bring about a greater good. Wasn’t loving someone more than yourself—when survival dominated the human mind—a form of sacrifice?
But even in healing you could love too much—try too hard to override the ailments of the human body. Zo had seen it happen.
Zo wondered if her mother’s last thoughts were compassionate when the Ram entered their home five years ago. She wished she could remember everything that had happened that day, but no matter how hard she tried to fight through the veil protecting her from her own memories, she just couldn’t remember.
Zo wondered if love could have saved her and her three-year-old sister had the Ram soldiers found them hiding in wicker baskets only a room’s length away.
Zo snorted. Unlikely.
“What are you thinking?” Gabe used his rough fingers to brush away a tear on her face. Zo hadn’t realized it was there. She’d been doing that a lot lately.
A hard spring rain beat upon the ill-constructed barn roof. A chill rolled up her arms.
“We’ll get Tess back,” Gabe said, guessing her thoughts.
But would they be too late? And even if, by some miracle, they did succeed, where would they go? The Ram would track them and kill them like dogs before they had a moment to enjoy their freedom.
Gabe must have sensed her despair. He cupped her chin and forced her to look into his light-blue eyes. “I promise.”
She pushed his hand away, but the conviction in his fierce gaze didn’t waver. “This Ram, Gryphon. I’ve seen what he is capable of. If he fights to help us tomorrow we will be successful. I know it,” he said.
Zo turned toward the corner of the dusty barn. The flickering light of their meager candle danced along the splintered walls to the subtle rhythm of the rain outside. “You’ve been living in a barn, Gabe. Your wrists and ankles are worn raw from ropes. Look at your hands!” She held up his hands for him to see. As if the loss of his pinkie fingers wasn’t apparent enough. “How can you trust Gryphon or any Ram? How?” she demanded.
Zo had been counting on Gabe’s cynicism to break the spell Gryphon had cast over her, but he only made it worse. A frown sagged on Gabe’s face as he studied Zo. “How can you not trust him?” He bent down to kiss her forehead. She leaned into the kiss, needing any comfort she could get. Gabe was alive! That pillar of hope was all that kept her from crumbling.
Gryphon yanked open the door just as Gabe pulled away. He carried his sword and shield under a damp cloak. Rainwater drizzled from his dark hair, banking as it rolled off his square jaw. “I’ve got some news.” He pulled a dusty three-legged stool from the corner of the room and set it down heavily in front of Zo. “Sit,” he said.
Zo eyed the stool like it had teeth but eventually inclined her head. Perhaps sitting wasn’t a bad idea after all. Gabe stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. For some reason, Zo was more self-conscious of Gabe’s touch in front of Gryphon. “What’s going on?” she asked.