Chapter 35
Snow flurries drifted aimlessly in the air as Manu waded through knee-deep snow. Every name on the list of people who had left the city had been interviewed, their movements checked and verified, leaving him just as bewildered as before.
Rhi and Con hadn’t returned yet, and Manu hadn’t been able to stay inside a moment longer. He didn’t go to where the avalanche had occurred. Instead, he headed toward Jalall and his team. Their tracks were easy to follow in the thick snow.
He looked up at the clouds and blinked the flurries from his lashes.
Chanda and Tahmine had lived their entire lives in the Peaks.
They knew when to take shelter if they were out overnight.
Every Mountain Elf did. Manu wanted to find them, but he also dreaded what could come to light once he did.
They could have been victims of an attack, or they could be Inej’s would-be murderers.
There was also a slight chance it was a mere coincidence that they had left the mountain when they did and weren’t involved in anything.
Manu wanted answers. Yet whatever he found had the potential to destroy Navara’s tight community.
Breath puffed from his lips as he kept moving. He had grown up knowing his role and what was expected of him. Today, he hated it. Mostly because he didn’t know what to do—about anything. A leader who couldn’t make a decision wasn’t a leader at all.
Did he stay in the city by Inej’s bed?
Should he have allowed Con to heal her? He would’ve been able to talk to her, but he would’ve also had to keep her locked away.
Could he trust those around him?
Who in the city had been swayed by the Masters?
The only thing he knew for certain was what he would do to any individual who tried to kill Inej. And how he intended to avenge those who had died in the avalanche.
He paused and looked up when he heard what sounded like a shout. That’s when he made out a form in the distance, waving their arms. Jalall’s whistle sounded quickly after. At least he had found them. Manu raised his hand to let his friend know he had seen him and continued onward.
The group was somber when Manu reached them. He looked around at the soldiers, some of whom were standing guard while the others looked at the ground. Manu altered his direction and headed to where Jalall stood.
“I was about to send someone for you,” his friend said.
Manu pulled down his fur to expose his face. “What did you find?”
Jalall stepped to the side. That’s when Manu saw the body half-covered with snow. He recognized the dark fur coat with the white fur collar.
“Tahmine,” he said.
Jalall’s shoulder brushed his as they stood side by side. “It looks like she was struck in the back with magic.”
Manu didn’t want to look, but he had to. He moved closer and peered down to see the burnt fur that exposed the scorched flesh. She had been running away. But from whom? Ever since he’d learned of Inej’s attack, he had suspected Tahmine. He’d even condemned her in his mind.
“Where is Chanda?” he asked.
“We’ve not found her yet.”
Manu turned away from Tahmine. He had yet another slaying to solve. The weight of all he carried was crushing, but he refused to buckle beneath it. He lengthened his spine and looked at Jalall. “Mark this location so we can retrieve her body when we return.”
Jalall motioned to one of the soldiers, who marked the area.
“Any movement?” Manu asked.
Jalall shook his head once. “Nothing. Chanda could have found cover.”
“Or she could be dead.” Manu scanned the mountain slope. “Tahmine fell facing south.”
“I’ll fan the guards out so we can search the mountainside,” Jalall said.
Manu looked at the sky again, wondering where Rhi and Con were. They would be able to find Chanda, but they were already helping in other ways. It didn’t seem right to ask for more.
Jalall slapped him on the shoulder after he’d finished giving the orders. The soldiers spread out. Manu headed toward the peak, following a hunch. He knew the mountains surrounding Navara well, especially where someone might go if they needed shelter.
The gravity of the situation hung in the air, as foreboding as the gray clouds above them. They were silent as they continued the search. The wind whistled softly through the evergreen branches laden with snow as their feet crunched on the ground. There were no tracks to find, no trail to follow.
He had no idea when Tahmine had died. She could’ve been murdered yesterday morning, giving her killer plenty of opportunity to get away and the wind and fresh snowfall time to cover their footprints.
Manu drew up when he reached the cave. He used one of the bird calls he had mastered to get Jalall’s attention. When his friend looked up, Manu pointed to the cave. Jalall came around and up so they could enter it from either side.
Since he didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence, Manu moved slowly toward the entrance. He reached his position before Jalall. It gave him time to stand and listen for any sounds coming from within. He couldn’t hear anything, but the cave stretched back a bit. They could be farther inside.
Finally, Jalall reached him. Manu entered first, hands up and magic at the ready.
Two steps in, and darkness consumed them.
He kept to his side of the cave while Jalall took the other.
They crept forward, one measured step at a time, moving farther and farther from the entrance and light.
It was impossible to see anything. The only way they could pick their way forward was by using the walls.
Manu was about to turn them back when he heard something.
A few steps later, he saw the soft glow of firelight dancing on the walls and the ceiling ahead of him.
He glanced at Jalall, who gave him a grim look.
The tunnel curved to the left. Manu leaned forward and tried to see around the bend where the light grew brighter.
“Manu,” Jalall whispered.
He knew his friend’s restrained, controlled tone meant danger was near. Manu tensed and slowly turned to look behind him. Standing in the middle of the tunnel was the alpha wolvite that had gone after Inej. If he was here, that meant the sounds Manu had heard ahead must be the rest of his pack.
But wolvites didn’t light fires.
Manu and the animal were locked in a staring contest. The wolvite’s head was lowered, his yellow eyes fastened on Manu. He hadn’t growled, but that didn’t mean anything. Manu and Jalall were trapped, and the beast knew it.
“Fuck me,” Jalall murmured.
Manu kept eye contact with the wolvite. “What is it?”
“I just looked around the corner. The rest of the pack is in there. And they, uh…” Jalall cleared his throat. “They’re eating.”
“Is it Chanda?”
“I can’t tell.”
The alpha apparently didn’t like them talking, as he finally issued a low, warning growl. The only way out was past the animal, and the beast didn’t seem keen on letting them pass.
“We can take him,” Jalall said. “If we attack together. We can probably get out before the others attack.”
Manu looked at the wolvite, who was doing nothing but protecting his family, just as Manu had been trying to do since the day his father had died.
He knew the animal’s strength, just as the beast knew his.
The wolvite could’ve attacked them from behind, but he hadn’t.
Maybe that was because he didn’t want to. Or maybe he was waiting.
“Manu,” Jalall urged.
He dropped his hands to his sides and inclined his head to the animal. “We’re not here for you or yours,” he told the wolvite. “We’re looking for those like us.”
The wolvite tilted his head slightly.
“You’re fucking talking to it?” Jalall asked incredulously.
The animal swung its huge head to Jalall and bared its teeth.
“Ignore him,” Manu said to get the wolvite’s attention again.
Yellow eyes trained on Manu once more.
“We’ll leave if you let us pass. And we won’t come back. Your family will be safe,” he promised.
There was no way he and Jalall could retrace their steps as they were. They needed to be on the same side of the tunnel so they could give the wolvite a wide berth. Since the animal didn’t seem to like Jalall, Manu would have to cross to the other side.
He took a deep breath and slid his right foot out.
The beast didn’t pay it any attention. Manu then shifted his weight to that foot.
The wolvite still didn’t react. He pulled his left foot against his right.
Jalall remained silent. Manu darted a glance at him to see that his attention was focused deeper in the cave and on the other animals.
His heart thudded against his ribs as he skated his right foot out again.
Manu moved slowly and deliberately. Before he knew it, he stood in the middle of the tunnel with the wolvite just ten feet in front of him.
When he continued toward Jalall, the animal sidestepped away from them.
They repeated the dance until Manu was with his friend, and the beast was against the far wall.
“We’ll leave now,” Manu said and tugged on Jalall’s jacket to get him to move first.
Jalall backed away a few steps. Manu lingered for a moment. He and the wolvite shared a look, and what he thought was mutual understanding. They were both trying to survive in the unforgiving, merciless Peaks.
Manu bowed his head, and to his surprise, the wolvite trotted off to his pack. Manu didn’t wait around to see what would happen. He spun and ran out of the cave to where Jalall was waiting.
“Let’s not do that again,” his friend said, breathing heavily.
Manu moved them away from the cave. “Agreed. I wish we could’ve gotten to see who their dinner was.”
“I didn’t spot Chanda’s fur. I saw several packs, though. It looked like whoever it was intended to set up in that cave for a long period.”
“Which is too close to Navara for my liking.”
Jalall twisted his lips. “Could be more mercenaries.”
“Could be.”
“They could be the ones who attacked me or caused the avalanche.”
Manu adjusted his fur to cover his lower face. “Any of it is possible. We can’t find out now. Everywhere we turn, we still come up empty for answers.”
“Inej didn’t say anything?”
He glanced at Jalall as they caught up with the others. “I didn’t want to lock her in my room, and since the herbs were working, I left her unconscious.”
“Where are our other…guests?”
Manu pointed at the sky. “They’re taking a look at the avalanche sight.”
“She can keep a…I mean him…veiled, too?”
“She said she could.”
Jalall whistled softly. “A Fae. Who knew such a thing existed? I wonder what else is out there?”
“Right now, I’d settle for knowing where Chanda is.”