Chapter 217: Rhys
I knew where I was before my feet even hit the ground. How the hell did I get here again? We had begged Arlo for research, but he hadn’t told us if there was a way not to get sucked in. I froze. Last time I hadn’t been invited here. Last time, Grace had been the one to pull me in, according to the moon goddess. Was Grace doing it now? Where was she?
The forest felt more overgrown than last time. Branches and brush stuck out in all directions. If what Arlo had said was true, this was not the area I wanted to be in. Because we hadn’t seen what the creatures looked like, Arlo hadn’t been able to give us a definite answer, but I think it had most likely been the God of Death’s pets, since Arlo had told us that the protectors stick to the borders, and tend to be like literal Giants.
I reached for my bond with Grace, and for the first time since she had been ripped away from me, I felt it. I had to get to her. There was no other option. I pulled at the bond, and let it lead me toward wherever she was.
Relief flooded the bond, and I knew she felt I was close, even if physical distance seemed to be a problem. I fought my way through all the vines, trees, branches and bushes as quickly as I could. I had no tools. I had nothing but my own two hands and no idea how long we would be here this time. All I knew is that I had to get to Grace, wherever she was.
Maybe I could rescue her that way... Maybe she could just come home with me. Maybe she could find a way to bring Leon and Caleb with her. Yea, that was possible, right? I mean we had both been injured here, so we had been physically here, right? Isn’t that how that worked? It had to be. That would be the easiest answer. We could bypass everything else. Maybe that’s why we were here!
I pulled at the bond again, and I knew I was getting closer. She had to be nearby. The idea that she could come home with me, made me move with urgency. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her. To feel her touch again. To kiss her lips. I couldn’t wait.
I came out of the trees, and scanned wildflower field. The Moon Goddess was nowhere to be found, but just when I was about to give up, when I found the one person I was looking for. Grace.
Her eyes met mine across the field. I breathed a sigh of relief and raced toward my mate. Goddess knows how fucking much I’ve missed her.
As soon as she was in arms reach, I grabbed at her. She felt so small in my arms. She was smaller than the last time I had seen her. I could feel her ribs poking at me as she gripped at me desperately.
“I missed you.” I whispered. “I missed you. I missed you. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She whispered. “And I don’t think we have a lot of time.”
She pulled away from me, much to my dismay, but it gave me the chance to look her over. My goddess... I had been so excited to see her, I hadn’t noticed how terrible she looked. Her deep blue eyes were surrounded by bruises. Her face was pale. Her skin was littered with cuts and bruises and burns. There was no part of her that wasn’t touched.
“Hey, hey it’s okay.” She whispered, as I fought for air.
“You’re so broken.” I sobbed.
“It looks worse than it is,” She told me, but I didn’t miss her slight grimace as she reached up to touch my face.
“Grace...” I wanted to touch her, but there didn’t look to be a single spot that didn’t look to be painful.
“I’m okay.” She murmured, but we both knew she was anything but.
“How can I help?” I asked, my voice breaking.
“That’s why we’re here.” She answered, looking around in a bit of a panic. “Come on, this way.”
I followed her out of the field of wildflowers in a direction that I hadn’t been yet, but she seemed to know. If I was remembering right, we were walking toward the Moon Goddess’ territory. The trees looked and life forms looked like they had been set on fire, but yet they were still alive which sort of surprised me. Last time, I had been sure they were dying, and maybe they still were... Maybe they were just dying slowly.
“Where are we going?” I asked as she led me deeper into the Moon Goddess’ territory.
“The Moon Goddess asked us not to talk anywhere but in a certain place.” She said,
“Did you talk to the Moon Goddess?” I asked.
“Briefly.” She answered shortly as a small clearing and cottage came into view with a little winding path leading us to it.
She reached for a frog statue as we approached the door and pulled out a key.
“How did you-”
“Shh.” She cut me off. “Come on.”
I stopped questioning her and allowed her to lead me inside. She grabbed a pot of tea off the stove like this was her house and brought it over to the small two-person table that sat by the window. I wondered why she chose the hard kitchen chairs over the comfy, velvet, couch just a few feet away, but I didn’t question it.
I pulled out a chair for her and then took my own, my fingers drumming anxiously on the table. I wanted nothing more than to just pull her onto my lap, but with how beaten she looked, I wouldn’t risk hurting her more, so instead I just reached for her hand, which she took with a bit of a grimace again.
“Now can we talk?” I asked hesitantly.
She looked around before giving me a single nod, and boy, did I have questions.