Chapter Twenty
Emilie
Jade wasn’t kidding about the lack of civilization in the north.
It took three days to reach an abandoned border crossing in the mountains.
Hidden between two snow-capped peaks, the tiny trail wound down one side and deep into a canyon hidden by fog.
It was the kind of place you could only find if you knew what to look for, and thankfully, Jade did.
From the look that Cyrus and Ladon exchanged, I wasn’t the only one wondering how or why she knew.
But as I stared up at the menacing mountain on the opposite side of the chasm, it became clear why the post had been abandoned in the first place.
The trip across the border was miserable—some might even say impossible.
Anyone brave enough to cross here deserved to reach their destination.
“How are we supposed to get up that?” I asked, praying my nerves weren’t obvious. Had I taken on more than I could handle?
“Climb,” Jade said matter-of-factly.
I waited expectantly, thinking there had to be more to it than a one-word directive. Ladon and Cyrus both looked apprehensive as well. Our group wasn’t prepared to scale a mountainside.
Just as Ladon was about to say something, a frown on his face, Jade extended her arm and flexed her fingers.
A bluish hue danced around her fingertips like mist, and I watched as it glided toward the base of the mountain.
Slowly, a rectangular prism formed. The top was flat and a little more than shoulder-width.
It raised about a foot off the ground before it solidified.
Another formed, and then another. Soon, a dozen steps jutted from the side of the mountain, completely made of ice.
I’d never bothered to ask what Jade’s magic was, but here was the answer. She was an ice wielder like Bianca, and in this case, it had come in handy.
“Does that work for you?” she asked once her stairs had climbed farther than I could see.
I nodded, and so did Ladon and Cyrus.
Jade went first, strengthening and creating more stairs as she went.
I followed her, while Ladon and Cyrus climbed behind me.
The ascent was still dangerous even with her magic.
It was ice, after all, and one slip would be deadly.
I didn’t even chance a look over the edge of the ice block under my feet, because I knew it would make me dizzy and nauseous.
Instead, I focused on my breathing and counted my steps until we reached the top.
I lost track more than once and started again at zero each time.
Who knew how many stairs it actually took before we reached the peak again, this time in Murvort territory. I released a heavy breath. We had visited this place more often than I would’ve liked, but it was for a good reason.
“How do you know your way through these lands?” Cyrus asked as we headed west. The mountains turned into hills and eventually melted into flat ground and a sea of trees.
The trunks were dark, almost black, the canopies so thick that they blocked out all sunlight.
It was as if we were traveling at night, even though I knew it to be mid-afternoon.
Jade pushed through tree branches, not bothering to check if we made it through before she sent them flying back toward us. Thankfully, Cyrus switched places with me after I caught one too many stray branches with my bare hands. Thorns had sliced through my skin, but I’d live.
“I was born in the wilds,” she said.
For some reason, I expected her to share more than that, but I should’ve known better. She was a woman of few words, and she’d likely never detail her life story for us. Still, I tried to break her icy exterior a little further.
“At what point did you move?” I asked. At some point, her family had to have rejoined society if they’d been part of an early rebellion.
It was one of the few details Ladon had shared with me about Jade and her brother—that their parents had been slaughtered in a public square for their criticism of the Lemaires.
Jade sighed with annoyance. “I don’t know. When I was fifteen or so.”
“What was it like?”
I second-guessed my curiosity when she turned around and squinted.
The combination of her dark green eyes and the jagged scar through her brow was unsettling.
There wasn’t anger or hatred in her expression, but skepticism.
An innate distrust of the unknown. Had spending half of her life in the wilds instilled that in her?
She certainly wouldn’t have had much opportunity, if any, to socialize during her formative years.
Or had someone or something else made her so wary after she’d reentered society?
I tried again. “It must’ve been difficult living out here. Without easy access to food, water, and supplies. What did you do for fun?”
She faced forward again and pushed another branch out of her way. “We lived close enough to a spring for fresh water. We had an abundant garden, and everyone in the family knew how to hunt.”
When she stopped speaking, I assumed she wouldn’t answer my last question. Perhaps I’d pressed her enough for one day.
But then she added in a hushed tone, “We didn’t have fun. Every day is work when survival isn’t guaranteed.”
“It must’ve been hard,” Cyrus said.
“Yeah.”
Quiet fell around us as we carried onward.
My arms began to ache from holding back tree branches, and my feet dragged on the forest floor.
No one else showed any signs of fatigue, so I pushed myself to keep moving.
We likely still had hours ahead of us, though it was difficult to tell the time when the sun couldn’t pierce the trees above.
Finally, Jade came to a stop. “We can set up camp here tonight.”
It was the largest space we’d come across all day long, and that wasn’t saying much. It was still less than ten feet in diameter and surrounded by thickets and tree trunks wider than a horse.
Ladon pulled off his backpack and dug out a separate bag of food while Cyrus cleared a space to build a fire. There wasn’t enough room to set up either of our tents, so we’d be sleeping on the ground tonight.
I grabbed a few sticks without leaves to use as skewers for our peppers and potatoes and then took a seat on top of my sleeping roll.
Somehow, the sky grew darker, and I knew that night had fallen. The fire flickered long after we’d finished our meal, and it warded off the chill that lingered in the air.
“Do you remember the last time we went camping?” Cyrus asked.
Ladon grinned. “That wasn’t camping, Cyrus.”
“What would you call it, then?”
Ladon smiled, toying with his stick in the fire. “Two spoiled kids whose parents made a campsite in the middle of the gardens because they wouldn’t shut up about sleeping in a tent.”
I listened while the two brothers recounted stories of their childhood. They were as devious as they were adorable.
“I wish my brother and I had half the childhood you two did,” I said.
“My parents never would’ve made the effort to see us so happy.
They were far too concerned with their own pursuits.
I sometimes wonder why they even had children, but then I remember it was to keep their legacy alive.
To use us for their gain. Like selling off a daughter for financial gain… ”
I trailed off and felt everyone’s stares on me. My cheeks heated, but miraculously, there was no wave of nausea and panic that usually accompanied uncomfortable attention.
“Well,” Jade said. “This has been a blast, but I think I’ve had enough chit-chat for one evening.”
I felt for her. My parents weren’t the greatest, but at least they were still alive.
I stood, grabbing a mage lantern and making my way to the exterior of our campsite.
“Where are you going?” Ladon asked.
Turning back to him, I crossed my arms. “I need to relieve myself. Is that okay with you?”
He glared at me before nodding.
I rolled my eyes and tramped through the weeds and overgrowth until I found a spot far enough away that they wouldn’t hear or see me. It was amusing to watch Ladon act so territorial over me. Did he even realize how he sounded? Hopefully Cyrus and Jade hadn’t seen the protectiveness in his eyes.
When as I finished my business, I pulled my pants up and buttoned them.
A branch snapped nearby.
My heart sped up. Even with the mage light, it was difficult to make out the figure hidden between the trees.
“Hello?” I whispered.
There was no answer.
Fuck. I felt around my waist, checking for my daggers and pulling one free.
“Who’s there?” I demanded, bringing the dagger back and ready to throw if I needed to. “Show yourself.”
Ladon stepped into the light. “Were you going to kill me?”
I released the breath I’d been holding and sheathed my dagger. “What are you doing? Have you been there the whole time?”
“You were gone for too long. I had to make sure you were all right.”
“I’ve been gone for five minutes,” I said, shaking my head at him. “You shouldn’t have followed. What if Cyrus suspects something?”
Ladon moved closer, and I found it hard to resist his allure. “Cyrus is already asleep. Jade too. They were both out the second their heads hit their mats.”
He took another step toward me, placing his hands on my hips.
“Ladon?”
He gently pushed me backward until my foot hit a tree root. I stepped over it clumsily and found my back against the thick trunk.
Ladon kept approaching until there was no space left between us.
I sighed. His body against mine just felt right. My legs separated naturally so he could fit between them, and then his hands were crawling up my sides, teasing the underside of my breasts.
With one hand, he massaged my breast over top of my shirt while the other traveled down to pull my shirt out of where it was tucked into my pants. His fingers slid across my stomach with the gentlest touch until they came to a stop, splayed out over my abdomen.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked in a husky tone.