Chapter 45:
He carries me past the house.
Not toward it. Past it.
"Kael. Where are we going?"
"Shut up."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting." He shifts me in his arms. "Put your head down."
I put my head down.
He walks past the driveway and past the truck and past the corner of the house where the plywood's nailed up, and then he turns onto a path I didn't even know was there. It's narrow and it goes down through the trees and his boots crunch on the gravel and after about two minutes I hear water.
"Kael."
"Almost there."
"What is this?"
"It's a river."
"I can hear it's a river. Why are we—"
"Elara." He stops walking. "Do you trust me?"
I look up at him.
"Yeah," I say. "I do."
"Then shut up and let me do this."
He carries me the rest of the way.
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