Hestian couldn’t stop a scream from escaping him, his fingers fumbled at the air where Thea’s hand had been. Her body dropped through the air for a couple of agonizing seconds and he heard the rebel grunt in surprise as she took Thea’s weight.
“Hestian,” the rebel yelled. “Grab her!”
He stretched, trying to grab her flailing fingers. “I can’t reach her!”
Thea was deathly pale, and her panicked eyes found him as he struggled. Her knuckles brushed against his fingertips and she whimpered. A few more inches and he would be able to grab her fingers. He made the mistake of looking down at his wrist. The sight of the arrow buried deep in the flesh of his wrist made his head spin.
“Hestian!”
Her mouth opened in a scream and she tumbled through the air. He saw the rebel shoot vines out of the corner of his eye, but she was falling too quickly for them to wrap around her in time.
“Hestian, do something!” the rebel grunted. “I can’t hold both of us and grab her at the same time!”
“Thea!” Hestian screamed, his heart battering in his chest like a broken drum. “Thea!”
She closed her eyes and even from afar, he could see her wrap her arms around herself and brace for the hard landing. He froze as he saw a shadow dart out of the trees. A hunter. Bitter disgust filled his mouth, and Hestian swallowed thickly, glaring at the tall man.
The hunter caught her easily, but the momentum from falling caused her to bounce out of his arms and onto the grass. Hestian held his breath and waited for Thea to leap to her feet and run.
Hestian sucked in a breath as she remained motionless on the ground. She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t be. He knew his thoughts were selfish. She was better off dead than captured. She was tough, but they would break her in an instant. They always did.
Hestian glanced at the rebel. She was turned away, her head in her hands. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or upset.
“Are you okay?”
Silence.
“We need to help her.”
The rebel didn’t move a muscle as his voice shifted an octave. “Listen to me!”
No answer.
It was getting harder to breathe, and he was dimly aware of how fast he was hyperventilating.
Hestain’s gaze shifted back to Thea. The hunter was standing over her, blocking her limp body. Anger surged through his veins as he watched the man grab Thea’s wrists and fit them into some kind of metal contraption. He did not doubt that it was to suppress her powers.
He swallowed and gauged the height from his place in the trees to the ground. It was far too wide to jump. Thea must have been closer to the ground when she had fallen. The hunter had also helped break her fall.
He couldn’t climb down, either. The bark was too smooth, too slippery. There weren't any holes or ledges that he could stick his foot in.
Hestian held his breath as the hunter hoisted Thea over his shoulder like a sack of flour. She stirred and her head lolled against the man’s back.
“Thea! Wake up!”
It wasn’t as comforting as he thought it would be to know she was alive.
“Thea!”
“Quiet,” the rebel demanded. “We’re too close to the ground, and in range of their arrows. They can’t know we’re here.”
He spared her a glance. She had stood up and was tying her hair tightly, her mouth pressed in a grim line. Her eyes were still slightly red, but he didn’t draw attention to it.
Hestian gestured frantically at the disappearing figure. “He has her! He has Thea!”
“I know. We need to go,” the rebel whispered. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have much time before they come after us. She is our only distraction.”
He twisted his head to face her. “We can’t leave her!”
The rebel sighed. “Hestian, don’t be rash.”
“But-”
“Let’s go. Now.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can!” The rebel hissed. “And you will.”
Her voice made him feel like he was a young child being scolded, and though the look in her eyes was deadly, he shook his head. “No.”
“Come on,” the rebel said, ignoring him. She flicked her fingers and vines instantly intertwined around his body.
The girl hadn’t batted an eye after letting go of Thea, and she barely looked at him as she focused on wrapping the vines tighter around his torso. He grabbed the tendril and pulled it away from him, though he was no match for her ability. “Enough. We need to go back.”
“We can’t,” she muttered, her forehead creased in concentration. “There’s nothing we can do, I’m sorry.”
“We can try,” Hestian protested. “Please.”
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“And get ourselves killed?” The rebel hissed, her hazel eyes flickering to him. The determination and anger in them were enough to make him flinch. “I made a promise to the General and the Uniques back at the safe house. I’m going to try to at least keep half of it.”
“If you won’t help me, then let me go. You can’t take me against my will.”
“I can’t?” The rebel glared at him. “Try me. I’ll do what I need to do.”
“That’s illegal.”
“And?” the girl whispered, shaking her head. “Hestian, if you go, you will get killed, or worse, captured. I won’t be able to help you then. No one will.”
“I know. I’m okay with that,” Hestian replied. “But, I won’t be able to ever forgive myself if I abandon her without even trying.”
“You will get both of us killed.”
“I don’t need you to come with me.”
“I can’t let you go alone.”
“Why not?”
“I made an oath,” the rebel huffed, and the vines dropped as she glared at him in frustration. “I serve the Alliance. If I disobey direct orders again...I could lose my place. I won’t let that happen. I can’t.”
“I thought the Alliance was created to help Uniques, not order them around,” Hestian hissed. “If that’s so, then I don’t think it’s much different than the government.”
“It’s very different. In more ways than your shallow brain can handle,” the rebel shot back. “We need to go before the hunters start the chase again.”
“No,” Hestian refused. “I’ll fight you if it comes to that.”
“You couldn’t beat me even if I let you,” the rebel scoffed. “Grow up. Things happen and you need to learn how to adapt.”
Hestian glared furiously at her. She had no right, no idea what Thea had meant to him. He had never felt what he had with her before. Just because the rebel didn’t know what love was, didn’t mean she had to condemn him to the same fate.
“I get it, okay?” the rebel whispered, realizing she had struck a nerve. “You just lost your girlfriend, and I know how it feels to lose a loved one, but-”
“She wasn’t my girlfriend.”
“Hestian….please just stop this. We don’t have the time,” the rebel hissed. “If you’re going to act like a child about it, that’s fine. Just bear with me until we get to the safe house, then you may do whatever you like.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until we save Thea.”
“Hestian, I-”
“You don’t understand, so don’t you dare say that you do. Have you ever loved someone? Or have you always been cold and emotionless?” he finally snapped.
The rebel stared at him in shock, her mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
He turned his back on her and started to scale down the tree. He felt a little guilty, but if she was going to be stubborn about it, he was going to have to be too.
Hestian recoiled as a coil of vine snaked around his wrist and yanked him upwards, sending him crashing into the trunk. Stars danced across his vision, and he groaned. Shaking his head, he tried to gather his bearings. When he opened his eyes, he was staring right into the face of the rebel. He hissed in surprise and pushed his back against the branch, trying to get away from her as possible.
“Let me go.”
He wasn’t asking and the girl knew it. She studied him for a moment before shaking her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Thea was wrong to trust you,” Hestian growled. “You never wanted to help us, did you? You just blindly follow your leader’s orders, regardless of the consequences.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Really? Do you think it’s right to leave Thea with them? They will torture her until she gives them what they want. And then they will kill her in the most inhumane way possible. Is that what you call help?”
“I never meant for-”
“She would have been fine if it weren’t for you.”
The rebel bit her lip.“I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
“You’re acting like a child. Don’t let it come to this, Hestian. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
“I’ll kill you before you try.”
The rebel raised an eyebrow. “You are too cowardly to carry that out.”
“I’ll sell you out,” Hestian threatened. “I’ll tell the hunters about you.”
“You don’t know my name.”
“I know where you’re from and what you’re here for. That is enough.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I-what?”
He looked down at his wrist. Blood streamed down his arm, staining his tunic a deep crimson. He grimaced as it started to sting.
“It’s fine.”
“Here,” the rebel offered, digging through one of the pockets in her skirt before producing a roll of gauze. He gingerly accepted it and inhaled sharply before pulling the arrow out, closing his eyes at the wave of pain that followed. It only took a few moments to collect himself and wrap the wound tightly.
“Thanks,” Hestian muttered.
The rebel hesitated, and after a moment she dipped her head. “Come with me back to the safe house. We can piece together a rescue team. There will be more of a chance of succeeding with more people.”
Hestian glanced at her doubtfully. He didn’t trust her sudden change of mind. “How do I know that you’ll help me?’
“You don’t.”
He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Let me be clear about something. This isn't a joke. It’s not funny or something that should amuse you. You act like you are so much better than everyone else, but in reality, you’re just as vulnerable.”
The rebel snorted. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t like you,” Hestian stated, bluntly honest. “I don’t trust you either. You say you’re a rebel, but you couldn’t pull off a simple rescue mission. How do I know that you’re even capable of helping Thea?”
She flinched as though she had been slapped. He felt a pang of guilt, but he forced himself to keep an even glare at the girl. She met his eyes with equal fire, her hands shaking slightly with anger.
“I saved your life. Don’t act like your girlfriend wouldn’t have been dead if I hadn’t come!”
“She isn’t my-”
“At least I got you out!” the rebel whispered loudly and the vines that were loosely wrapped around his stomach wilted, turning brown. “I saved your life! And you didn’t offer as much as a ‘thank you.’ Don’t talk to me like you’re perfect and unflawed!”
“I never said I was!”
“You’re sure acting like it! You’ve blinded yourself, Hestian! Have you ever thought about the fact that you’re the one who let go of her first?”
“I…” he trailed off, the full meaning of her words hitting him. He had let go of her. The arrow...the pain...he had let go.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Hestian muttered, though he felt quite the opposite on the inside.
“I know that,” the rebel whispered sincerely. “But, it wasn’t mine either.”
“I’ll come with you,” Hestian decided. “But, if you break your promise-”
“I won’t.”