Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Everyone gathered at the top of the citadel, staring into the dark city below. Lights twinkled in and out, the expanse of the bridge lit by enough braziers that it seemed to glow.
“What’s going on?” Cassius’s words were as cold as the wind blowing from the top of the mountain.
“We thought you’d like to see this.” Lady Decima stepped forward, her face hard. She nodded down toward the bridge.
Cassius stiffened, and Thalia followed his eyeline. At first she didn’t see anything. But then—a flash of white hide gleaming among the flames.
The creature. Or one of the spawn, if she wasn’t mistaken, given the size.
Thalia sucked in a sharp breath. How the hell did it find its way out here?
“What’s it doing?” Keegan asked, his features shadowed.
“A guard told us that it crossed the bridge thirty minutes ago. It’s just been pacing there. They weren’t even aware it was there until it let out a howl,” Lady Decima supplied, her golden eyes flickering.
“Why would it be way out here?” Thalia murmured. Even though they were high above the creature, she could have sworn it turned its eyeless head up toward her. An earthly howl rent the night sky, leaving gooseflesh in its wake.
“Shall we shoot it?” Lady Decima asked.
Two guards standing near drew their arrows, the tips wrapped in oil. Another stepped forward, carrying a torch.
Cassius’s fingers clenched around his sword, his jaw tipping—
“Wait!” Thalia blurted out, stepping forward.
Cassius whirled toward her and the soldiers faltered.
“Wait,” she said again, staring back down at the creature, its hide gleaming like moonlight.
“That creature needs to be burned,” Cassius warned. “It’s a threat to us all—”
“I think it came here for something,” Thalia said lowly. Once more, she could have sworn the creature lifted its oblong head, focusing on her.
“The teeth,” Camilla cursed.
Thalia shook her head, taking a few more steps forward.
Even in the darkness, the creature stared, its snout lifting as if it could scent her on the coasting air.
“No. I think it came here for me.”
They all gathered in the same chamber they’d first met in. The only person not present was Larellia, although Thalia had a feeling she was deep in the mountain trying to deal with the pockets of magic.
“What do you mean, it came here for you?” Camilla asked as soon as they’d all sat down.
Thalia shook her head, realizing how utterly insane she sounded.
“I—I think I saw it near the lake at the manor. It was on the edge of the barrier, and I told myself it was nothing but the trick of the light. Then everything else happened.” Cassius’s jaw flickered, but she plowed on.
“But that’s not all. When I first encountered the creature in Irenbis, it touched me. ”
“Where?” Lady Decima asked, brows narrowed.
Thalia pointed to her chest. “Right here. And when we tried to extract the teeth, the jaws wouldn’t open for anyone, but it opened when I touched it. Then I woke up to it on my chest—”
“Are you saying the creature we killed in Irenbis is the same one down there?” Cassius asked.
Thalia swallowed. “The creature can regenerate; we already know that. When I was leaving the castle in Irenbis, it … protected me.”
Cassius shook his head. “It was trying to kill you, and Julian just happened to be in the way.”
Thalia looked to Lady Decima, who seemed the most inclined to listen to her asinine theory. “I don’t think so. It had plenty of time to kill me, and it never did. I don’t know why it would be following me, but I think it’s here for me.”
Lady Decima studied her a moment longer, then her golden gaze slid to Camilla. The two of them shared a look.
“What is it?” Keegan asked, ever watchful.
“You can’t be serious.” Camilla’s eyes widened, turning back to Thalia.
“What?” Thalia shifted, nervous at all the sudden attention.
Lady Decima ran a hand through her curls. “Long ago, the Mages had more of a connection with the creatures of this land. Some even said there were those who were soul bound to certain animals.”
Thalia shook her head. “But I’m not a Mage. I don’t have any magic.”
“I know,” Lady Decima continued. “Which is why it is interesting that this creature has decided to soul bond with you.”
“Explain what the fuck that means,” Cassius said, his voice lethally sharp.
Lady Decima straightened, her golden eyes flaring slightly. “It means, Lord Cassius, that this creature has decided Thalia will be of some use to it. It will serve as a protector to her.”
Thalia’s stomach churned. “But it tried attacking me in the forest.”
“Yes, but after it touched your chest, it stopped. It protected you from Lord Julian. It went to stand watch over you while you slept,” Lady Decima said.
“So what does this mean, then? How is it even possible? I thought the soul-bonded creatures and Mages needed to have magic in them,” Keegan asked, just as equally confused and horrified as the rest of them.
Lady Decima raised a well-groomed brow. “Perhaps this creature has magic in it.”
Thalia glanced at Cassius. They didn’t know where the creature had come from, only that it’d appeared in the woods. Chaménos was said to have the same types of pockets of magic as the mountain …
“I need to go down there.” Thalia stood.
“Absolutely not.” Cassius’s harsh gaze met hers.
“If it’s soul bound to me, then it won’t hurt me, right?” She turned to Lady Decima.
Lady Decima inclined her head, hesitating slightly. “Yes.”
“That doesn’t seem very reassuring,” Cassius growled out.
“The soul bond is a capricious thing, but magic is still fickle. I admit it intrigues me that this creature has chosen Thalia, given she has no magic in her.” Lady Decima pursed her lips.
“Larellia would know more about this than I do. She’s the last Mage who was soul bonded to a creature of magic. ”
“Where is she?” Thalia asked.
“In the mountain, but she’s deep below the surface; it will take a couple hours for her to resurface.” She nodded to a guard standing watch by the door. He bowed, presumably to go find the head Mage.
“I’m going down there,” Thalia said, standing.
Cassius’s chair scraped as he rose. “No.”
Thalia’s brows narrowed. “Step aside.”
Cassius’s eyes flared, his irises near burning. “I will not let you put yourself in harm’s way.”
“But you’ll allow these people to be put in harm’s way?” Thalia said low, stepping into his space. “It is here for me.”
Thalia felt it deep in her bones. An inkling she didn’t know the origin of; only something deep-rooted inside her told her it was true.
“And what if you’re wrong?” Cassius said with equal quiet, harshness clipping each syllable. “What if it’s not soul bonded to you? What if it merely got a scent for human blood and tracked you down so it can kill you?”
Thalia lifted her chin. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Cassius chuckled low. “You have to be out of your mind if you think I’ll let you leave this room.”
Thalia’s anger flared, and she could have sworn she heard the creature howling in answer. “Move out of the way, Cassius.”
They stared at each other, each unbreakable.
Keegan cleared his throat. “We’ll watch from the parapets. If it so much as looks at Thalia funny, we can shoot it.”
Thalia stared up at Cassius, finding the cracks in his granite mask. “Let me do this.”
Cassius swallowed, his jaw clenching. “I want fifty soldiers with their arrows trained on that thing.”
“That’s a bit excessive—” Thalia cut off at Cassius’s sharp look.
“We can oblige,” Lady Decima said.
“And I’m going out there with you,” Cassius said, turning his attention back to Thalia.
“What! No—you’re a Vampyr, it will try and kill you. If it bites you—”
“And if it’s soul bonded to you, then it will listen to your commands,” Cassius countered.
Thalia felt her anger rising, her rage poking its head up. She stepped back into his space, planting a finger straight against his chest. “You stay twenty paces behind me. Don’t interfere, not unless it’s about to rip my throat out.”
Cassius flashed an arrogant smirk. “Of course, Princess.”
Thalia stepped back, allowing some of that anger to center her. “Then let’s go see what this creature wants.”