Nameless (Nameless #1)(80)
Gryphon the deserter, son of Troy the deserter, was in love with a Wolf. A fitting end to the tragedy that was his life.
Chapter 42
Zo awoke with a start to a large, calloused hand cupping her mouth. The sky outside was too dark to be considered morning. When her eyes adjusted, Gryphon’s face came into focus. His breath kissed her ear, their bodies sandwiched together, as he whispered, “Ram scouts.” He put a finger to his lips and removed his hand. His words barely travelled over the breeze of the night. “They must have stumbled upon some of our tracks. Gabe went scouting. He said not to expect him back until dawn. I’m going to try to lure them away from the tree.”
Zo grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to whisper in his ear. “We can’t all outrun them.”
Gryphon nodded, his jaw flexed. “But I can.”
Zo shook her head over and over. But what option did they have? “When it’s safe to leave, I’ll take Eva, Joshua, and Tess to the Allies. We’ll find the Nameless on our way. You and Gabe can go help the Raven.”
The footsteps outside moved closer. Rock ground against rock in a chorus of danger. Gryphon cupped his hand around her ear to block his words. “The mountain isn’t safe for you to travel without protection.”
She sighed. “Gabe can’t go alone. Too many people will die if he doesn’t make it. Please promise me you’ll help the Raven, Gryphon.”
Gryphon pulled away, shaking his head. A shiver of steel rang in the early morning—a blade being drawn from its sheath not far away.
“Please.” Zo mouthed the word.
The footsteps stopped just outside of the tree. Zo made out the fur-lined boots of three Ram. She worried her pounding heart might give them away if nothing else did. Tess … Joshua … How could she protect them when these men attacked?
Gryphon pushed Zo behind his back. More boots came. More crunching gravel—a sound that, if Zo survived, would forever haunt her nightmares.
Zo looked back to Joshua, Eva, and Tess sleeping around the trunk of the tree. Helpless.
Gryphon turned back to her, pain etched into his face. He must have realized that Zo’s plan was the only option they had. He drew Zo close to him. This time Zo met and held his eyes. He pressed his cheek to hers and Zo felt her stomach drop to the ground. “Track the Nameless. Be careful with fires. Don’t try to be a hero. Just do what you have to do to stay alive. I’ll meet you at the Allied Camp.”
Zo nodded. Tears sprang to her eyes. A rigid fear seized her, making her limbs stiff and breathing a chore.
Gryphon silently picked up his shield and turned to leave, but Zo caught his hand. She couldn’t let him go.
He looked down at their connection in disbelief, like he didn’t trust it.
Zo placed her charred hands on either side of his face and suddenly Gryphon’s hand was at her back, a firm support. It belonged there, somehow. The Ram outside the tree walked the perimeter like starving wild dogs sniffing out a kill. At any moment someone would bend down to look under the heavy skirt of the tree and they would all be dead.
“Come back to me,” Zo whispered. She leaned into him and hesitated for a thin moment before touching his lips with hers. His hand traveled up her side until he cupped her neck. The kiss turned urgent. His lips demanding and yielding all at once. In that short blink of time, something within Zo changed, an earthquake that shifted everything she believed. They rested their foreheads together and Gryphon brushed away one of her tears.
“They’re here, Zander. I can feel it,” someone whispered near the tree.
Gryphon stiffened at the mention of his mess captain’s name.
His hands fell to her shoulders. “No matter what you hear in the next few minutes, promise me that you’ll stay under this tree with the others.” He didn’t wait for a reply. On hands and knees he crawled to the opposite side of the tree, away from the guards and crept out into the darkness.
Gryphon carried his spear in one hand and his shield in his other, but still his arms felt empty. He doubted they would ever feel full again without Zo.
Outside the tree, Gryphon slowly gathered his feet, careful not to make any noise. He would alert Zander and the others to his location eventually to draw them away from the tree, but it wouldn’t be wise to do it yet. Apart from his mother, everyone he cared for was under that tree. Suddenly the Historian’s story made complete sense. He would do anything to protect the people he loved.
Gryphon scanned the area for Gabe but he wasn’t supposed to be back for hours. He knew the Wolf was out here hiding somewhere. If they could somehow work together they might make it out of this situation alive. Though the odds of two lone men against a Ram mess unit weren’t ideal, Gryphon felt like he could do almost anything at that moment if it meant protecting his “family.”
He held his breath then darted behind another tree to give him the angle he needed to view the enemies he’d once called “brother.” It was too difficult to know for certain, but it looked like his entire mess unit, including Ajax, stood scattered about, studying prints in the ground and discussing strategy. He wasn’t surprised that Barnabas had given his brothers the task of finding him. The chief would see it as a way for his mess to prove their loyalty.
Gryphon turned to put a little more distance between him and the tree, choosing each step with careful precision. He searched the woods for Gabe, but he could have been hiding anywhere in the almost darkness.