Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Trisha’s P.O.V:

Neema was almost exhausted by the time we arrived at the Sanctuary. I’d forgotten that other than his escape from the Rudolf manor and our escape from my home, he’s never been out in the sun before. So he took his time admiring his surroundings and soaking in all that he saw. Sometimes, Lucas and I took short breaks to let him wander off into the woods chasing butterflies or to just take in the fragrance of the wild flowers that grew with careless abundance all around us.

Sometimes it was Lucas himself who’d stop and take us on a different route to show us something he was sure Neema would love, like the small tree houses built by the patrol guards on smaller trees which even Neema could climb up on. And even though it meant we would be late to the Sanctuary, it was worth seeing the smile on the boy’s face.

I’d never seen Neema so happy until now and I realized just how much fear had crippl