21. Evanee
Evanee
Dimitri seemed unsettled since his confrontation with Aiden over the springs. He stayed in his wolf form, saying beforehand he wanted to be ready for anything that came our way. It was clear he was avoiding us.
My head jerked around constantly, watching for signs in the still forest of our shadows and wondering when they’d show themselves to me again. Anticipation coiled tight inside my body from my eagerness to see them. To see him. Even though he infuriated me. Bastard.
Restlessness clung to me like rot as I waited for another memory to trigger.
Snippets flashed through my mind—glimpses of bright colors from the sky—a freedom deep within my soul, but I couldn’t keep hold of them.
The images slipped through my fingers like oil, disappearing as fast as they appeared.
I was ready for the dam to burst. I wanted to see everything that was missing.
To know what had happened—how I'd survived, and if there were any others like me out there. A deep instinct told me that my memories were more likely to surface if I were with Aniah and Ryker. More than that, I felt like I needed to be with them. I wasn’t safe here—and it had more to do with who I was with, than where I was headed.
“Concerned about something in the woods?” Aiden asked over his shoulder. “That’s the fifth time you’ve looked behind us.”
He had me ride behind him this time, so that he could shelter me from the northern wind blowing head-on. I held on tightly, my arms wrapped around the hard plane of his stomach.
“Just… bears. And whatever else could be out here.” Liar.
Aiden hadn’t said much to me since the springs, either, which made me uneasy.
He couldn’t possibly know they took me, unless he had come to check on me during that time and found me gone.
I’d also been very careful not to expose my markings.
He'd have said something by now, right? Though he knew I tried to make a run for it on the beach that night, and had waited—made a game of it. Great.
He questioned the herbs again when we returned to camp, asking where I’d found them growing, even though the snow had smothered everything. I gambled saying it was before the snow—his face said he believed me. For now.
The wind shifted, its speed violent as the cold sliced through all of us from every direction as the sun began to set. Even Dimitri shivered beneath the thick, brown coat of his wolf form.
Snow whipped around, obscuring our view of the path ahead. Aiden held up a fist. His back became my shield from the onslaught of weather.
“Malachai, ride ahead!” he yelled.
I could barely hear Malachai’s horse clomping down the path.
Luna came up and nudged me from behind. I turned to pet her muzzle, hand shaking from the cold, but she pulled her head out of reach and nudged me again.
Squinting through the snowy night, I peered around Aiden’s shoulder in time to see Malachai returning.
He shook his head, stopping next to us, the bottom half of his face hidden beneath thick fabric.
“The path is clear, but there’s fear beneath the storm. I can taste it.”
How the hell do you taste fear?
Aiden observed the darkened path, but even with his weird eyes, the snow blew too thick and wild around us. Luna nickered and nudged my arm harder. Dimitri paced beside us, little whines escaping him, his ears perked.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing at the moment,” Aiden said tightly, still scanning. Searching. Shadow whinnied beneath him and began to move. Luna pranced side to side.
“Why do the horses seem nervous?” I asked, not sure whether or not I wanted the answer. Aiden ignored my question anyway.
“What do you think?” He directed at Malachai.
Malachai wheeled his head toward the trees to our right, then again toward the mass of fog and clouds ahead of us, his long braids jostling with the movement.
A roar tore through the air, so loud I clamped both hands over my ears.
Shadow reared.
I slid off his back and hit the ground hard enough that I half thought the impact would leave a small crater. Impossible with the frozen dirt, packed hard like rock. Pain splintered through me, jarring my bones, but I scrambled up as Luna hit her muzzle against my back.
“Shit!” Aiden yelled out, holding the reins. His head swiveled my way, eyes wide. Dimitri hunkered down, haunches in the air. His ears pinned back as a bone-curdling growl of his own released toward the dark.
“What was that?” I shrieked as I stood and dusted snow off my pants.
Malachai, ignoring me as usual, focused ahead. His eyes lit up like torches as he kicked the side of his horse and took off at an unrelenting pace—a predator locked in on its prey—Dimitri was on his heels, a howl tearing from his throat that was quickly swallowed by the ferocious wind.
Aiden hesitated.
“Go!” I yelled.
His lip curled, something warring in his gaze. Then his eyes took on the same otherworldly glow as Malachai’s, before he took off after them. He didn’t look back.
My loose hair whipped all around me. I quickly worked it into a braid, then pulled my coat close as I turned to comfort Luna. The Empyrean ducked away from my touch.
“What’s wrong, girl?” I asked, searching her large, blue eyes.
She raked her hoof against the ground and bowed before me.
“What do you want?”
She neighed, bowing further. Understanding hit me.
“I can’t get on your back!” My wrists had that faint burn already, but nothing more thanks to Aniah.
Luna was lying on the ground before me. The wind cut at my cheeks like thousands of small blades. The males were gone, the path obscured by the blizzard. A frustrated cry tore from me as I looked down at the Empyrean.
“Shit,” I hissed.
My hand ran down her mane until I found a good grip and carefully swung a leg over.`
As I adjusted my grip and anchored my thighs around her—careful not to touch her scars—my unease dissipated. Sitting astride her felt natural. I’ve done this before…
Another roar vibrated loudly through the air, closer now, raising goosebumps along the back of my neck. Luna huffed, a cloud of smoke coming from her mouth. Without warning, she wheeled and bolted—her senses quickly picking up on the danger I still couldn’t see.
My yelp was swallowed as I nearly fell off from the sudden movement. Despite the familiarity, I could barely ride a horse in a saddle with someone behind me, much less bareback.
Luna bounded through the trees with grace, not hitting one branch or fallen tree. Pretty impressive for a large horse that used to have wings.
My eyes watered, blind to our surroundings. Then, between one blink and the next, everything became clear.
It was as if the sun were shining bright. Every tree, stick, branch, boulder—I saw it all. A smile spread as I marveled at the clarity of my sight. Did Aniah’s spell unlock more than just my memory? Did it—
Bam!
I flew off Luna, my head and shoulder striking a fallen tree.
Luna hit the ground with a cry and rolled the opposite way.
My vision blackened on the edges, but I stayed conscious.
Blood flowed hot down the side of my face.
I blinked a few times before stiffly sitting up, testing out my shoulder.
It screamed in pain, but miraculously, it wasn’t broken or dislocated.
Luna.
Cradling my injured arm to my chest, I crawled toward her. She lay still on the ground, but the rise and fall of her chest made me breathe a sigh of relief. I wiped at the blood now on my face and hastily took in our surroundings.
What the hell was that?
My gaze snapped from tree to tree. Nothing.
We were in a small clearing. And even with my new night-vision, I saw nothing at all. No way something big enough to knock Luna over could hide here. The back of my neck prickled—we weren’t alone.
Luna still had the packs of supplies strapped to her.
Keeping my gaze on the trees, I blindly reached back to the flap and felt around.
My hand knocked into something hard. I curled my fingers around the smooth surface—a dagger.
It was small, but it was something. I pushed to my feet.
My body went taut as I strained to hear anything.
But between wind whistling through the thick trees and the rain that began falling, all other sound was blocked.
Crack.
My head snapped toward the trees ahead.
A low, guttural growl erupted from the pitch black, grinding against my nerves. I fell back a step, placing myself in front of Luna, holding the dagger steady. Water splashed on the hilt as freezing rain worked its way through the thick, overlapping branches above.
The growl loosed again, but this time, a large, horrifying shape came with it.
The outstretched dagger shook.
A massive form wove through the trees with ease.
Its gray, hairless body was as thick as three bears combined and towered above me, with numerous scars marring its flesh.
Black spikes along its back led to a tail with needle-point barbs on the end, which whipped side to side angrily.
Thick, muscular legs connected to paws as big as my face.
Razor-sharp claws raked through the dirt in front of it.
I slowly lifted my eyes to its bald head and pointed, bat-like ears.
Its lips peeled back, revealing rows of jagged teeth, beneath pitch black eyes—soulless eyes.
Saliva dripped in large green globs down the sides of its mouth as it sized me up and lowered its long, extended snout to the ground, sniffing.
I held my ground, my hand slick as I tightened my grip around my weapon.
So this is how it ends. I ground my teeth as gruesome endings played out in my mind, a lump forming in my throat.
The monstrous thing sniffed some more, taking a step in my direction. White clouds puffed in front of me as my breathing picked up. I stepped back, keeping myself between him and Luna.
The demonic creature’s head jerked in Luna’s direction as the Empyrean neighed and lifted her head. My stomach lurched. No, no, no.