Nameless (Nameless #1)(68)

Chapter 35





Gryphon and Gabe traveled through the dark brush with weapons in hand. The devil in Gryphon resisted the urge to turn around and disfigure the Wolf’s face. He had no good reason to feel that way.

But he did.

“Why don’t you just say it?” whispered Gabe.

Gryphon ignored him. They still had another half mile before they reached the Gate Master’s property where Tess was being held.

“You’re in love with her.”

Gryphon snorted and pushed on.

“Don’t be ashamed. I don’t think I could respect you if you didn’t care for her. She is as mysterious as she is beautiful.”

Gryphon almost laughed at the understatement. She was unearthly and dangerous. She made him lose touch with all rational thinking. She was both wonderful and terrible in one delicate package. More intimidating than any man could ever be on a battlefield.

“It gets worse,” the Wolf continued to whisper. “Just wait until she’s gone. Wait until you have to go to sleep and wonder if she’s still alive. If she ever, even for a moment, felt for you the way you feel for her.”

Shut up, Wolf!

“I don’t envy you that,” Gabe said.

Gryphon sheathed his sword, whipped around, and with both hands shoved Gabe in the chest. The Wolf stumbled but didn’t fall.

“Be quiet or go back. I’m good with either.”

The Wolf showed his hands in surrender. “Sorry.”

Gryphon had the impression that Gabe was apologizing for more than his words. He didn’t want or need the Wolf’s pity. Zo was just a silly girl, and in a few hours she wouldn’t be his problem any longer.

All was quiet as they crept through the forest. Only the lonely song of a nightingale accompanied them. The bird trilled into a great crescendo then carried its song into a deeper, more somber tone. Melancholy prose flitted into Gryphon’s mind. A song of things that would never be.

They reached the road that led to the Gate Master’s land. Gryphon met Gabe’s stare as he pulled out his sword. In that moment both men lost themselves to the soldier within. Only their objective mattered now. Find and retrieve Tess without being seen.

Gryphon and Gabe kept to the shadows of the path until the large house came into view. The building was twice the size of Gryphon’s home. It divided into two distinct sections in the shape of an arrow with a large wooden door at the point. A small stable stood fifty yards away from the house attached to another building that he assumed was the Nameless’ quarters.

Gryphon pointed to the mud-walled stable. Gabe nodded and crept through the field to skirt the building from one direction while Gryphon approached from another. Under the cover of night, he could barely see the Wolf’s form as he moved.

There was only one door to the building. The Wolf nodded to Gryphon then slipped inside while Gryphon crouched at the corner outside, studying the property for any signs of life. But by this hour, even the crickets had abandoned their songs to sleep.

A minute later the door to the Nameless quarters clicked open as the Wolf slipped out. He shook his head. “She’s not in there.”

That meant only one thing. Tess was inside the main house.





When she was sure Gabe and Gryphon were gone, Zo slipped out of the door to the barn to warn Stone about Eva. The night was as still as it was dark. She silently crept through the fields of sprouting wheat to the edge of the forest. The walk took a lifetime. When she finally found the path leading to her destination, a man stepped out from behind a night-black apple tree.

His giant hand covered her mouth before she could scream. “It’s me,” said Stone. His massive Kodiak frame cut a terrifying figure in the dark. Zo sighed, grateful to know this cunning man was a friend and not an enemy.

“What is on your face?” Zo gestured to the black and brown smudges covering his face and hands.

“Extra cover. Tonight is an important night.”

Zo didn’t have time to get involved with Stone’s Nameless rebellion. “Listen. I’ve come to warn you about Eva.”

“What’s happened? You’re still planning to escape the Gate in the morning, right?”

The anxiety in his voice made it hard for Zo to continue. “Ajax has forbidden her to leave with us.”

Stone literally growled like the bear his likely-ancestors were named for. “The hell she isn’t.” He took both of Zo’s shoulders and shook her so hard her teeth rattled. “You listen to me. I will make sure Eva is near the gate in the morning. I’m going to try and help you all escape. Give the stinking Ram something else to worry about besides a few innocents leaving the Gate.” He shook her again, the whites of his eyes glistening wild in the blackness of his complexion. “You will take her with you. Do you understand me?”

Zo nodded, wincing under the pressure of his hands as his fingers dug into her skin.

“Take her and whichever Nameless leave with you to your friends, the Allies. I will find you both there.”

“But—”

“I’ll find you!” he nearly shouted then shook his head and sighed. “She is carrying my child, healer. My flesh and blood. Nothing can keep us apart. Nothing.”

Zo pulled away, her face flushed.