We all know he’s lying. There’s no way he has soft baby feet.
I turn my attention to the gravel road in front of us.
From the drive in yesterday, I noticed that, although the terrain’s a beautiful shade of green with rolling hills, there is a lack of trees. Not one in sight, and along the rocky edge of the coastline are black rocks with jagged tips. The kind of rock you don’t want to be washed up on. But the water, it’s such a beautiful blue, and the crash of the waves gives me some peace of mind, reminding me of home.
“You’re falling behind,” Keller says, pulling my attention back to the current state of misery I’m in.
I pick up my pace and don’t say anything, because not only can I barely breathe, but I don’t know what to say.
I don’t even know what to think. This isn’t what I expected. Any of it. I truly thought I was coming here to meet my grandparents and find out more about my mom, but the moment I stepped on that plane, everything has been hush-hush. No one is telling me what’s going on and . . . oh . . . my . . . God . . .
I stop dead in my tracks as the last twenty-four hours of events flash through my mind.
The secrecy.
The weird castle.
The whole not leaving me alone thing . . .
“What are you doing?” Keller asks as he annoyingly jogs in place.
“Am I . . . am I a captive?”
“What?” he asks, stopping now and resting his hands on his hips.
“I’ve been captured, haven’t I? That’s why I can’t be alone in the castle, because you’re afraid I’ll run away.” It’s all making sense now. “Well, guess what, buddy, we’re in the middle of fucking lava land, my cell phone is conveniently not working, and I have nowhere to go or anyone to call. I’m in my worst nightmare. I’ve been stolen!”
Keller pinches his brow and mutters, “Jesus Christ.” He then looks at me and says, “If you want to leave, tell me the word. I’ll get you on a plane quicker than you can change out of that outfit. We are not holding you captive. This isn’t a fictional storyline you’ve created in your head.”
“This isn’t what I signed up for.”
“Me either, but we’re fucking here, so make the most of it,” he huffs out, and can I just take a moment to admire the way he said fucking? It sounds so delicious with his British-sounding accent. And it pains me to admit that, given our disagreeable nature, but it did sound really nice.
“Fine,” I say as I walk up to him. “But you need to slow down on your pace unless you feel like giving me a piggyback ride all the way back to the castle.”
“Fine,” he shoots back at me. “You set the pace . . . a running pace.”
I tap the side of my head. “Smart man, adding running in there because I would’ve walked.”
“I figured.”
I set out in a comfortable jog. I’m sure it’s more of a bounce up and down for Keller, but he can deal, and together, side by side, we say nothing as we exercise.
Timmy wouldn’t believe his eyes if he saw me now. Running around in a field with what I can only assume is a Viking next to me, not talking, but sweating enough to look like one of my wet T-shirt contestants.
After what feels like forever, Keller asks, “How are you feeling?”
“Like death,” I answer as I slow to a walk and put my hands over my head. “Can you tell . . . by my . . . lack of breath?”
In an untaxed voice, as if he’s been out for a leisurely stroll, he says, “Your breathing seems labored.”
“It is. How far have we gone?”
“Half a mile.”
“What?” I grip his arm, his very stiff, muscular arm. “Half . . . a mile? How is that . . . possible?” I ask, still catching my breath.
Half a mile? No freaking way. Easily two miles by now.
“Would you like to turn around?”
“Yes,” I pant out, still gripping his arm. “But walk. Let’s walk.”
Sighing, Keller turns me around, and we walk back down the path we came from, the castle in the far distance. Huh, maybe it has been only half a mile.
Once I feel like there’s sufficient air in my lungs, I ask, “How come there isn’t a single tree around here? That seems really odd. I mean, it’s green everywhere, but no trees.”
“The Vikings stripped the land when they first found Torskethorpe. They used the wood for boats, houses, fuel—they used trees for everything. When they left, a few settlers stayed and developed the country from the rubble left behind. Those settlers found that the soil wasn’t rich enough to support tree growth due to the lava fields.”