The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (22 page)

Ryker looked back and forth between us. “No. No way.”
He threw the book back on the table, like it was burning his
hands.

“The only other way is we find the stone and pretend
to trade for Regnus. He is the only one with the power to
possibly
get your powers back with both of you
unscathed.”

“Then we get him,” Ryker stated. “Even if it’s a slim
chance. It’s the only option.”

“Ryker?” I stepped to him. It wasn’t the only
one.

His head jerked up. “No.”

“Ryker...”

“No. Stop right there.”

“But—”

“I said no, Zoey. There is only one route here.”

“I’m already—”

“I am done with this conversation.” He stomped for
the door, whacked at the canvas entry, and stormed out.

I stared after him, a lump choking my windpipe.

Amara took several steps toward me. “He is in danger
the longer he is without them.” Amara moved to my side. “You want
to do the best for him? Either you help me convince him to get the
stone, or he kills you. I am sorry it has to be this way; I really
am. But this is bigger than you or me.” Her dark eyes challenged
mine. “I was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for him. Are
you?”

My frozen toes sank into the snow, causing me to
falter as I ran after Ryker. Even if I weren’t already dying, I
probably would have been willing to sacrifice for him. Too many
people had died because I couldn’t save them. I could help
Ryker.

“Ryker!” My screams pierced the high snowy peaks,
bouncing back to me. His form in the distance stopped, but he kept
his back to me. At least running warmed me a little. The high
altitude rendered me breathless in no time, and I stumbled to him,
gasping for air.

“What are you doing out here? You’re going to get
hypothermia.” He swung around, rage thumping off him. “Again.”

“Needed...” I struggled to breathe. “Talk... to
you.”

“I told you I’m not discussing it. Now go back before
you freeze to death.”

I shook my head violently. “No, not till you...” I
gulped in air. “Hear me out.”

“Zoey!”

“Ryker!”

His hand crashed into his forehead, rubbing
furiously. “You are so fucking stubborn.”

“Yeah, and you’re so compliant.” I snorted. Then
seriousness settled back in. “Before you start saying ‘no’ or tune
me out completely, please listen to what I have to say.”

“Not with you trembling like that.” He only had his
T-shirt and cargo pants on, but he ripped off his shirt and shoved
my head through the hole. The warmth of his body heat clinging to
the shirt felt like heaven. It wasn’t much, but it was better than
my thin tank top. But now I had to talk to his bare chest.

“We both knew this was coming.”

“Zoey,” he warned.

My feet wiggled under the white ice covering them.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed, shifting to the side. “You couldn’t do
anything about it. Why put extra pressure on you?”

“That’s not the point.” Someone could write
“hypocrite” on my forehead. I was hurt he’d kept this from me, but
I was keeping the same sort of information from him. My tongue
curled around the vowels, ready to confess my own secret, but
nothing came out.

“What
is
the point, Zoey?” he exclaimed;
frustration crimped his face.

“I want you to talk to me.”

“You want to talk about the fact that you having my
powers is slowly killing me? That when you take them completely, I
will grow weak and be vulnerable to both human and fae deaths? Is
this what you want to hear?” He shook his head. “No. There is no
reason to dwell on something
we
can’t change.”

He was right, I didn’t want to hear it, but I needed
to. His declaration only solidified the reason I ran after him.

“There’s no other choice. We have to barter the stone
for Regnus.”

“You don’t have to,” I declared.

He opened his mouth to argue.

“And what if he can’t help us, anyway?” My hand went
up. “There is no good side or way out of this. I’m not saying kill
me right this moment, but if we don’t get Regnus, promise me you
will.” I took a quick breath before he interrupted. “We have a
limited window of getting them back to you.”

He put his hands on his hips. His lashes fluttered
closed, and he squeezed his lids shut.

“Ryker, you know it has to be this way.”

His head tipped back and his eyes shot open.
“Absolutely. Not.” Fire burned through his gaze as his lids
narrowed. He took a step back, his pectoral muscles twitching. “No.
And we are done talking about this.” He turned to leave.

“Wait.” I grabbed his bicep. It tightened under my
grip. I could feel the anger raging under the surface.

“
No!
” A bellow hurled out of his mouth. “Do
you grasp what you are asking of me? I am
not
going to kill
you, Zoey.” He shoved my hand away from him and swung around,
stomping through the thick snow. There were few times I had seen
him yell or let his emotions come to the surface. Usually his fury
was contained—rumbling underneath.

“I am dying anyway,” I screamed at his back,
desperate for him to understand, to hear me. I didn’t feel the cold
any longer.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his back still facing
me. “What?”

“I am dying, Ryker. There was more on the video
Daniel left. Seers are immune to fae blood.”

“But you are starting to heal faster, and you can
jump.”

“I know, but it did not affect my DNA. They tried it
on us when we were babies. None of us responded to it, and all
except two of us are dead.”

His head shook back and forth. “No. My powers changed
you.”

“They definitely changed me. You changed me. But not
the flaw in my genes.” My words hit his back. “Nothing you can say
or do is going to stop it. You can’t pretend it away or deny it’s
not happening. Because it is.”

He lifted his hands to his face, rubbing it
furiously. His shoulders curled forward. I could sense my words
finding their way in. “How can you ask this of me?” he mumbled
under his breath, slowly twisting back to face me.

“What if roles were reversed?” I inquired. “Wouldn’t
you want me to do the same for you?”

A low growl rose from the depths of his chest. He
knew I had a point. We both stood in silence, neither of us ready
to give in.

“I can’t...” His voice broke, and he blinked rapidly,
shaking his head. “I don’t want to lose you. I won’t...”

Without thought, my feet moved to him. I reached up,
cupping his cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you either, but this is
no longer about what we want.”

A choking noise came from Ryker’s throat, his
forehead knocked into mine, his hand skirting the back of my neck,
holding me closer. We stayed like this, halting for a moment in
time.

“I want you to kill me, Ryker,” I whispered. I heard
another sound come from him. “You have to promise me you will do
it.”

“A promise is binding. I will have to do it no matter
what. I can’t... I won’t.”

“You must. Before it’s too late. You heard her. If I
died now, they go back to you. But if we wait and they become
mine... Either way I won’t survive this. You need to get away, jump
far from here, and protect yourself and the stone.”

His head stayed still
,
but his grip on me
constricted.

“Promise me.”

“No.” His head rubbed against mine. “Not yet. There
is still the hope of getting Regnus.” His hands rubbed up and down
the goose bumps on my arms. “Not giving up yet. Don’t you either,
okay?”

Breathing out a heavy sigh, my shoulders fell in
agreement. “For now.”

His only response was to bring me closer against him,
crushing me to his chest. I tucked my head into him and for one
moment let everything disappear. There was no one chasing us, no
one trying to kill us, no DNA fuck-up, no magic stone, and no
ex-girlfriends waiting back in a tent.

Nothing but him and me.

“Is it okay to come out now? Getting a little
smooshed in here. Like a sandwich,” a voice came from my bag. “A
peanut butter and honey sandwich or maybe a panini with melted
cheese. Ohhh, a peanut butter and honey panini.” A giggle burst
from me. Hell. I totally forgot about the little fuzzball. “Is it
lunchtime yet? Please,” he begged.

My happy place was right here with Ryker and Sprig.
The rest of the world could disappear.

Especially Amara.

When we returned to the yurt, Croygen had joined
Amara inside, and they were searching maps. Hiking gear sat in a
pile on the rug near the stove.

“What’s going on?” Ryker folded his arms, his torso
probably only slightly chilled from the cold. On the other hand, I
was beet red, stiff, and shivering. The heat of Peru sounded like
heaven. Sprig stayed in the warmth of my bag with Pam. I could hear
him jabbering to her.

Amara glanced up from the table, her eyes darting
back and forth from Ryker’s shirtless frame to me. His shirt was
thin but covered a lot of my exposed legs. Her eyes narrowed, lips
pressed, before peering at the map. I couldn’t blame her. As far as
she knew, she and Ryker were still together and happy. She probably
never imagined a human coming between them.

“Good. You’re back. We don’t have a lot of time. We
need to retrieve the stone as soon as possible.” She waved Ryker
over. “You said in Mongolia close to the China border, right?”

My head turned to Ryker. He kept facing Amara, but I
saw his jaw twitch. “We are heading back to Peru first. We will
devise a rescue plan there.”

“What?” Amara placed both her hands on the table,
gaping at Ryker. Croygen stayed quiet, but watched Ryker
skeptically. “Why? We are in the perfect location to go get it.
It’s why I picked this place. We need to go now. There is no reason
to wait.”

“There are plenty of reasons to delay.”

Amara shook her head, coming around the table to the
Viking. “I don’t understand. We need to get it before Vadik
does.”

“Believe me, it is safe.” He shifted when she placed
her hands on his crossed arms, tugging them loose. When they fell
to his sides, she laced her hands with his.

“We are here. Now.” She squeezed his fingers. “If you
had your powers, it wouldn’t matter, but you don’t. Do you want to
risk coming through the doors again to get all the way back when
we’re already here?”

“Amara.” Ryker tugged away from her, his voice
growing hard. He turned for the door. “We are going back. Zoey is
not dressed for this climate, and we need more time to plan.”

Why was he not telling her the truth? There was no
reason to go traipsing through the countryside for this stone. It
was always with him, located in the heel of his boot.

“Do you understand the importance?” Amara threw up
her arms.

“Yes!” Ryker whirled around, bellowing. Amara
stumbled back. “I get the urgency, Amara. Believe me, I do. You can
stay here if you prefer, but
we
are going back.”

She jerked back as though slapped, her face contorted
into a shocked expression. “What?” she whispered.

“That came out wrong.” He glanced at the ceiling.

“No, it didn’t,” Sprig’s voice burst from my bag.

Amara’s head whipped around, glaring at me. “What did
you say?”

Sprig’s head poked out of the top, waving. “It was
me, Medusa.”

Amara screamed and jumped back.

“Now that was rude. A simple hello would have
sufficed.” Sprig climbed the strap to my shoulder, his tail
wrapping around my neck.

“What is that?” Amara pointed at him.

“Haven’t you ever seen a sprite-monkey before?” Sprig
pointed back at her, mimicking.

“No.”

“Of course not. I am one of a kind. There is only one
of me.”

“Thank the gods,” Ryker scoffed.