Vera had every right to be angry with him. He didn’t blame her at all. Actually, if she stayed upset, he’d have a better chance of not doing anything moronic.

Goddess. And you call me a bastard.

You know it’s true. My self-control is not at its best.

Yeah, but planning to keep the girl angry at you? That’s low.

I’m doing it for her.

Oh, you’re so selfless. Ferrox snorted. Let me do something for you in return.

And with that, Ferrox cemented himself into the back of their mind and walled himself off. Kale beat at the shield. Come out here.

But Ferrox didn’t respond. Likely, he couldn’t even hear anything. Sometime in the last months, Ferrox had moved over to team Vera. Kale had no idea how long the horse would be gone. Or what he would do if he lost control with Vera and couldn’t retreat. All the more reason to keep her at arm’s reach. If Ferrox didn’t like it, he’d have to come out and do something about it.

A roar broke Kale’s thoughts. Damn me. He hadn’t been paying attention. They’d walked right up to him without him even noticing. Vera looked back and forth between him and Idan with panic in her wide eyes. He’d let himself be seen by someone who recognized him. Blast it all.

Idan stood beside an arca that carried a fragile nymph. The arca’s long tail secured the nymph to its bear-sized back. Arca fur was the softest and most coveted in the world. They’d gone into hiding after their populations had been devastated by poachers. Somehow, Idan had come to earn one’s trust, though. The beast let out another roar to warn off Kale. Idan patted the arca and muttered words Kale didn’t recognize. The creature fell silent but still watched Kale closely. Horns curled down from the sides of the beast’s head near his beak-like mouth.

“Nice to see you again, Guardian.”

Kale fought the urge to inform the man that he was not, in fact, the Guardian. He despised having people attribute the title to him when it was no longer his. Nor did he deserve it.

“Vera says you two can keep my daughter alive without having to revert, which she seems determined not to do.”

“The meadow can heal her,” Kale confirmed.

“Good to know it’s still standing. People were starting to wonder.”

Oh yeah, it was standing. Just standing in Earth is all.

Vera steered clear of both Kale and the owly-bear-thingy. She’d accidentally brushed up against it earlier and thought it was going to remove her head for the offense. Too bad too. It was the softest thing she’d ever felt. Owly-Bear noticed her attention and narrowed its keen gaze. The intelligence in those eyes was unnerving. Since Kale trailed behind, Vera sped up to take the lead.

“You know where you’re going?” Kale called to her.

“Noble Valley,” she said shortly.

“And you know where that is?” he asked.

“North.” She picked up her pace when Owly-Bear’s breath warmed the back of her neck.

“Whenever you need a break, let us know,” Kale said. “It’s a long walk from here.”

“We don’t know how long Airlea has,” Vera pointed out.

“Long enough for you to set a more reasonable pace,” the nymph answered for herself. “Although, I’m not sure how you plan to get us through the world-gate.”

Vera was relieved to see her awake. “Is walking not an option?”

“I guess walking would be fine,” Airlea said. “But the hydra guarding the gate may have better odds of catching us that way.”

Vera turned to Kale. “No one said anything about a hydra. That’s a snake with lots of heads, right?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “But cut off a head and two don’t grow back. It just gets so angry that it seems like the heads multiply.”

“So, we cut off all its heads?” Vera asked.

He absently picked at his thumbnail. “We’d never manage before the guards came.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Set fire to the city and break in when the guards are distracted. Run like mad through the gate.”

“Set fire to the city?” Vera gawked.

“It was a joke,” he backtracked.

“I know three months is a long time, Scotchie, but my BS meter is still working just fine.”

Kale winced. “I hadn’t thought about the fire plan in terms of innocent lives until I saw your reaction,” he admitted. “I’ll think of another distraction.”

Then we just have to make it past the multi-headed snake. Awesome freaking times.

“We’ve been traveling for hours,” Kale pointed out. “We should probably stop and rest.”

“We don’t need to stop. I can keep going,” Vera assured.

“You’ve been limping for the past hour,” he said.

Vera stiffened. She’d never let that toe heal right, and then she’d stubbed it on her trip down the mountainside. “I’m fine.”

“We don’t have to stop for long,” he persisted.

“We don’t have to stop at all,” she retorted.

“You cannot walk all night.”

“And you can?”

“I can walk and carry another’s weight all night.”

Vera stumbled. He isn’t offering to let me ride, right? Because that would involve a crap-ton of touching. Although, being off my feet sounds glorious.

“Stop being stubborn,” he fired out.

She straightened her back and swung around. “You want to talk about being stubborn?”

The arca shuffled out of her way as she charged up to the infuriating man, who at least had the decency to stare at the ground. She jabbed a finger into his sternum—it was the highest she could reach. “You tell me you love me and then, poof.” Vera threw her hands in the air. “You leave.”

“That was a mistake.”

“Ya think? We’ve been killing ourselves to keep humans and magical beings away from the meadow. Plus, save Mimi’s baby and stop whatever else Suzie has planned.” She clenched her jaw because she refused to cry when she was that angry. “We needed you.”

“When I’ve checked in, you’ve been doing perfectly fine without me,” he replied. “That wasn’t the mistake I was talking about, though.”

Vera felt like Kanaloa just ripped out her heart again. “What do you mean you checked in? You surfaced?”

“Only to make sure everything was okay.”

“How did I never know?”

Kale fidgeted.

“You made sure I wasn’t around, didn’t you?” she guessed. “Do you know how worried I was?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“You didn’t care?”

“I knew you’d eventually get over it. And I knew that would be easier if I wasn’t popping in and out of your life.”

“I never wanted you popping in and out of my life. I only wanted you in it. I still do. I lost my best friend when you abandoned us. Except I still had to look at your face every day, only it wasn’t you.”

“I never thought about that. I’m sorry.”

Vera tilted her head angrily. “I swear if you’re planning to run away for good so I don’t have to see your face, I will send Mimi after you…. Did she know you were checking in?”

Kale didn’t react.

“Of course she did. I was the only one who didn’t, right?”

“It seemed kinder not to tell you since I was leaving again.”

“What was the mistake, if it wasn’t leaving us?” Vera asked.

“Telling you that I loved you.”

Vera struggled to breathe normally. “Did you miss me at all?”

“No.”

That truth crushed her.

Ferrox? She called the demon horse. Get out here and make him go away. I don’t want to be around him. Ferrox?

He’s locked himself away, so I have to stay here, Kale replied instead. He can’t hear you.

Vera recoiled from Kale’s intrusion. She’d gotten used to Ferrox in her head, but having Kale there was unacceptable. She wove a wall around her thoughts as Marianna had taught her. Layer after layer until she’d encased her mind in a magic cocoon.

Kale looked at her strangely and then seemed to understand. “That’s good,” he said aloud. “You’re getting stronger, which means you don’t need anyone but you.”

Vera opened her mouth to argue when Owly-Bear turned abruptly and began scaling the side of a tree. Kale bumped into her as he spun around, scanning the area in a way that filled Vera with dread.

“Come out,” called Kale, sword already in hand. Good thing Ferrox knew how to pack.

At first, Vera wondered if the arca had actually sensed something, but then there was a rustling. A craggy creature, her skin a mass of splitting calluses, slithered out into the opening. She was a hideous woman above the waist, but her lower half was ten times more disturbing. She was half snake. Her long snake part glittered like silvery rocks. Her hair hung in thick unwashed clumps around her. A forked tongue flicked between her lips—she was less humanoid up top than Vera had first assumed. When she spoke, two curved fangs protruded from her bottom jaw.

“I thought I smelled a nymph.” Shimmer Snake drawled out the s sound with a hiss.

“Do we look like nymphs?” asked Kale.

“No. But you smell like one. Either you are hiding one, or you know where to find one. You are going to take me to her.”

“Lady, get bent,” retorted Vera. “We’re not taking you anywhere.”

Red rippled across Shimmer Snake’s eyes. Vera whimpered. Around her appeared hundreds and hundreds of spiders. Some were tiny and squishable. Others were as big as her head, with fangs that dripped venom. Kale shook his head, his chest rising and falling quickly while he stared at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked strangely.

“Not for long if you don’t get over here and help me with these spiders.”

“There aren’t any spiders,” he said.

“Umm. I beg to differ.” She stamped a few that came too close.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked tensely.

Vera turned to curse at him and stopped short. Her throat clenched. His eyes glowed red with malicious delight while the spiders overtook her. He didn’t move a muscle to help her. She’d already lost him. A rough finger brushed aside her hair, but Vera barely felt it as she watched Kale fall to his unnatural. Something whispered into her ear.

“Vera, fight it,” instructed Kale. “If you let her freeze you in fear, she’ll break into your mind. The nymphs will be lost.”

“Make it stop,” Vera pleaded.

“I can’t,” he said. And then Kale’s own sword pierced his chest from behind. Kanaloa was there to take his heart too. Except it wasn’t real. Shimmer Snake had messed up by conjuring the Infernal because Octo-lord didn’t leave Po. Vera wished he would, though. So she could kick his tentacled ass for what he’d done to her. Anger seethed in her chest, overwhelming the fear. She roused her nymph and directed it through the grass and flowers. Stop the gorgon, or she’ll destroy the nymphs.

Shimmer Snake screamed and lurched away. Vera’s vision flickered from a bleeding Kale to one who watched her with fear of his own. As soon as she met his gaze, his uncertainty melted away, and he turned a dark look on the snake.

“You’re a nymph,” accused Shimmer Snake. Her sides bled from thousands of tiny cuts where the grass and flowers had become blades.

“I guess so.” Vera swiped a foot through the last of the spiders as they dissolved into thin air. The blades continued to swipe at the gorgon’s serpent tail no matter where she slithered.

“You should be bound to a fountain,” cried the gorgon.

“Well, I’m not.” Vera pushed out her kargadan horn and scorpion tail.

“You’re an abomination,” spat the gorgon.

“Yeah, coming from you that doesn’t hurt so much,” Vera said.

“Vera,” began Kale, “not that I mind, but I figure you will later.” He pointed at the lashing grasses. “You do not need to draw out her suffering. I can end it quickly.”

Vera puzzled through his words until the gorgon stumbled. The plants were killing her slowly and painfully—torturing her. Vera pulled back on her nymph, but the plants didn’t stop.

“I can’t control them,” she said. “My magic isn’t directing them anymore.”

Kale raised his sword. All it would take was one swipe to end her torment. The plants had other ideas, though. Vines restrained Kale’s hand. In a few moments, they’d bound the snake in greenery too. Vera knew from watching the rabbit that was how they’d break her down to digest her. The nymph magic had called to the plants, woken them, but once they were alert, they were sentient until sated. There was no stopping them. That meant Vera could not afford to call on her nymph frivolously.

Kale reached out like he intended to brush aside Vera’s hair but pulled back. The strands flared dully.

“You okay?” he asked

“Yeah.” She rubbed her arms and looked for any stray vines. The grass had absorbed every bit of the blood.

“I think we should keep going,” he said.

She nodded. An emptiness settled in her chest. Owly-Bear descended from the tree, and Airlea blinked sleepily.

“Guess that means there aren’t any more gorgons lurking around,” Vera said.

“That will change soon if one picks up our scent,” Kale replied.

“Aren’t there a couple of small valleys between here and the Alchemist Academy?” Vera asked. “What if a gorgon finds us when there aren’t any trees to hide behind?”

“The price would be even greater to call plant life again so soon,” warned Airlea. Her eyes slid closed.

So I was right about the cost of using my nymph magic.

“Then, we’ll move quickly,” Kale said, throwing a long side-eye at Vera’s short legs.

Her whole being rebelled against the idea of riding. She couldn’t stand the idea of being that close to him if he really didn’t want her anymore. Gah, I hate that I’m being such a twit about this. So he didn’t miss me. Big whoop. He’s an idiot bound to a demon and filled with evil. What did you expect? You knew this would be hard…maybe not exactly how hard, but still. She clenched her hands by her sides. And then remembered his face at that moment when she’d broken out of the gorgon’s trance. That wasn’t the face of a man who’d stopped caring. It wasn’t the face of a man who was lost to her. There was only one explanation for how he’d been able to say those things before, without setting off her bells.

“What’s it like when you go away?” Vera asked, carefully modulating her tone and facial expression into genuine concern. “How bad is it for you?”

Her sudden change of subject seemed to throw him. His brow pulled down, but at the same time, he didn’t get upset or avoid her question. He clearly didn’t understand to be wary.

“It’s like falling asleep. I don’t realize what’s going on or how much time is passing. So you don’t have to worry about me.”

Vera folded her arms. “That’s why you didn’t miss me. Because you took a stinking nap for three months.”

And then dawning flooded his eyes, and his scowl reappeared.

“And telling me that you love me makes it difficult to convince me that you don’t care anymore, doesn’t it? No wonder you regret that. Unless you’d like to tell me flat-out that you don’t?”

Kale’s jaw jumped.

Thought so, buddy. “I would love a ride,” she informed him. “Thanks for offering.”

Vera wondered if he’d change his mind about that, but he didn’t. He looped an arm through hers and swung her around onto his back.

“By the way, I am sooo pissed at you.” She took a breath to keep from railing at him. They’d need to have a long chat soon and figure some things out. “But I’m also glad you’re back.”