33. THE WITCH THREATENS THE WRAITH
If this was the place Verdi had taken Evander for answers, then we had no other choice but to face whatever was in the cave. With Skadi showing up, we needed information now more than ever.
“What did you see?” I asked Aremis.
He stepped closer, bringing us all into a tight circle. “Up ahead, the tunnel opens into a cavern with a fairly large water source. I didn’t see a physical being, but I could feel her. She’s hidden somewhere in the shadows.”
Auren chewed on her bottom lip, her face still pinched from the stench of the air we were breathing.
Nivelle remained oddly quiet.
“Anything you’d like to add?” I asked the witch.
She glanced around at the bones that littered the space. “I did not expect a wraith to truly be alive after all this time.” She shook her head. “It makes no sense. They all should have died long ago.”
“All?” Auren pressed.
“When Torin escaped to this world, she brought several clans with her. There would not have been much hope for the wraiths’ long-term survival, but I guess anything would be better than suffering genocide.”
“How many are in a clan?” I asked, not bothering to hide the tension seeping through my voice.
“A few dozen—fifty at most,” Nivelle answered.
“They prefer small groups. But they cannot live in the sun. Their skin is too thin, their coloring too pale to be able to withstand it. That is why they thrived on Skotos.” She paused.
“What I don’t understand though, is how one has managed to survive here for so long without its natural source of energy. ”
When we all stared at her, waiting for an explanation, she obliged. “The wraiths feed on chaos.”
“Chaos?” Auren repeated.
Nivelle nodded. “Remember, our world was nothing like this one.”
Another pitiful cry echoed down the tunnel, snapping our attention back to the darkness beyond.
“What is that sound?” Auren asked, calling her orbs closer to her.
“Sounds like an animal in pain,” I answered.
Nivelle stepped closer to us. “Wraiths can disappear at will. Do not underestimate what this one is capable of.”
Aremis shifted on his feet, then opted to take the lead. “Best we get this over with.”
I nodded.
It wasn’t long before the air grew cooler and became drenched with the damp aroma of wet, mildewed stone instead of rotting flesh. The gentle sound of a steady stream echoed from the chamber’s opening as we approached it.
Aremis held up a hand to slow us all to a halt as he leaned to peer around the corner.
“Wait!” Nivelle hissed. “If a wraith has lived here this long, she has laid claim to this cave, and if you do not make it known who you are, she will retaliate.”
“Not a problem,” I said, pushing past the three of them and stepping into the open with a pulse of my power. The shockwave shook the atmosphere, and the cavern shuddered. Rocks skittered down the walls, and the pool of water at the center of the space rippled with the disturbance.
Whatever creature had been periodically whimpering before, began wailing, its shrill voice piercing the room. I gritted my teeth. Then, I heard what sounded like the snapping of bone.
The howling ceased.
Aremis, Auren, and Nivelle fell into place at my side, all of us surveying the area.
The cavern was vast, with high ceilings dripping with glittering, black stalactites.
The glistening floor was the perfect mirror to what hung from above, covered in mounds of razor-sharp stalagmites shooting forth from the stone like pikes ready to skewer anyone who dared to enter.
Every square inch of the chamber was glazed with moisture, making the walls shimmer.
But what drew all of our attention was the pool of water.
The liquid swirled amongst itself, a dark, pearlescent blue, flecked with what looked like stardust. Strangely, it emitted a faint glow, casting the space in a gloomy light akin to an evening haze after the sun slips past the horizon.
Something moved along the far side of the cavern—a shadowed figure. I sent my own shadows into the room, coupled with another burst of power. A warning.
The figure flinched, halting in place. Then, it straightened, and stood eerily still on the opposite bank of the water, watching us. A soft female voice floated in our direction, her faint accent strange and foreign. “Who are you?”
My shadows spooled forth, curling around my feet like they were ready to strike, but I remained silent, assessing.
“You are a shadow,” the voice said. “Are you kin of Eathril?”
I felt Auren’s attention snap to me at the mention of my court interrogator’s name. I myself was taken aback as well.
“You are a stranger that has been dwelling in my territory, unaccounted for,” I said, “and yet you dare ask me the questions?”
The figure shifted, and my shadows marked it, twitching in response.
“I do not fare well outside of this place,” she finally said.
“So I’ve been told. Show yourself.”
She stayed quiet for a moment, then ignored my command altogether. “May I see them? Your shadows?”
Nivelle stepped forward, chin high, her hand out to her side, as if she would keep me from following her. “You are at the High Lord’s command, wraith. Obey.”
Slowly, the shadowed figure slunk to the ground, disappearing at the edge of the pool. The otherworldly waters stirred as whatever form she’d taken moved underneath, in our direction.
Nivelle remained where she was while Aremis and I stepped protectively toward Auren.
I’d expected a repulsive creature, but what emerged from the star-flecked waters was a very familiar-figured being. Human—at first glance. But the longer I looked . . .
Other.
She appeared to be in her prime. Still youthful, like we were.
Her body was small and slender, her skin as pale as moonlight and as thin as a veil—smooth as glass.
Her lips were a deep shade of purple, and beneath her long, dark, sodden hair were pointed ears.
Though, unlike the fae’s, hers drooped at the tip, as if they were soaked so thoroughly they were too heavy to stay upright.
She moved with fluid grace, like she was made of water, or air, or both, seeming as if she’d evaporate into the mist or dissipate into the darkness at any moment. A creature in her own right.
And she was . . . completely naked, though she didn’t seem the least bit shy about it.
A smile crept across her lips. “May I?”
She acted timid and meek, her voice leading me to believe she harbored no ill will. But I could feel her essence beneath her facade. And it writhed with mischief.
Despite what I had gleaned, I let a tendril of my shadowfire waft in her direction, curious as to how she would react. Her eerily blue eyes widened as it neared. She reached her delicate finger out to touch it, and when she did, it absorbed into her skin.
Auren stiffened beside me, and Aremis said my name low, in warning.
As if my shadow had given her pleasure, a long, satisfied exhale pushed past the wraith’s purple lips, and her eyelids fluttered. “Another,” she whispered. When I didn’t respond, her eyes snapped open and narrowed. “Another,” she commanded, this time crooking her finger at me.
I felt a prickling sensation against my mind, and a tendril of shadow stretched for the wraith’s open palm.
Everything moved in slow motion. I watched my shadow drift further away from me even though I tried to call it back with my mind. My head had gone fuzzy, my mental shield patchy and thin—easy to slip through.
My brows pinched. I had no control over myself.
Nivelle took an abrupt step forward and swatted the shadow away before it could land in the wraith’s grasp.
Then, the witch’s own hand was at the creature’s throat, squeezing.
The wraith shrieked, clawing at Nivelle’s arm, but the cuts left no mark on the witch’s skin.
Instead, blue light pulsed in place of every would-be gash from the wraith’s long, pointed nails.
The witch squeezed harder, digging her fingertips into the column of the wraith’s slender neck, threatening to cut off her air supply if she held on a few seconds longer.
Her facial markings flared blue, and the creature immediately stopped fighting.
My mind cleared as whatever spell the wraith had cast vacated, and I shook out my head, instantly craving revenge. I ground my jaw as I swung my gaze back toward the pale bitch.
Shadowfire shot through my veins, aching to burst forth and lash out, but I held my grip on it, willing it to stay calm, though it took more effort than I would have liked.
Nivelle tilted her chin back, somehow managing to look down on the wraith, even though they were roughly the same size and height.
The witch had a fiery spirit, and a heart that was hard as stone. She was strong, fearless. And damnit, this entire situation had just moved her up a notch in my favor.
“Use your spells again, and I’ll rip your heart out through your throat,” Nivelle threatened, her voice a low, seething rasp.
None of us moved.
The wraith forced a swallow beneath the witch’s death-grip, managing a shaky nod. When Nivelle released her, the creature sagged backward, gasping, blinking back tears as she coughed.
“Y-You.” She raised a shaky finger at Nivelle. “You are not supposed to be here.”
“Times have changed, wraith. Soon, these very mountains will be inhabited by witches once more.”
I didn’t try to correct her word to co-inhabited, as badly as I wanted to.
The creature took a wary step backward, glancing between all of us. “Why have you all come?”
“For answers,” I said. “And you will give them to us—freely. Or your excessively long existence will end today.”
Those blue eyes winced. She knew I spoke the truth, and could probably sense that my temper was on edge.
One more wrong move would spell her doom.
She nodded while she worked her fingers along the column of her neck, as if she were soothing it with magic while waiting for the interrogation to begin.
“First, cover yourself,” I commanded.
As instructed, she summoned a thin material and wrapped it around her chest like a towel.
Unfortunately, the fabric was as thin as wafer paper.
It clung to her wet curves, essentially covering nothing.
She had both obeyed my command and yet still managed to defy it, and the faint smirk that tugged at the corner of her mouth had my shadowfire boiling to the surface.
Before I could retaliate, Auren stepped forward.
She reached into her pocket in space, pulled out a blanket, and tossed it at the wraith.
The creature caught it and kept an eye on Auren while she reluctantly wrapped the fabric around herself, cinching it tight within her grasp just beneath her collarbone.
How thoughtful of you, I gritted a bit too sarcastically into my mate’s mind. The only thing I wanted to give the wraith was a slap across her insolent face. But at least she was now properly covered.
Auren didn’t reply. Instead, she dove right into questioning the creature. “Did a High Lord venture here once? Long ago?”
The wraith eyed her curiously, glancing from her, back to me, as if scenting our mating bond and piecing things together for herself. “Many foolish souls have dared to enter my domain.”
Auren gestured toward me. “The fae that I speak of possessed shadows, like his.”
The wraith hesitated. Then . . . “I recall a being with similar power.”
We waited for her to elaborate, but it was clear the creature was going to keep dishing out minimal information.
She wants something in return.
As if reading my mind, Nivelle slung the sack off her shoulder and flung it at the wraith’s feet. It hit the ground with a wet thud. Then, it moved.
The wraith’s eyes went wide with delight, and she stooped over the cinched fabric, ripping into it with her nails and catching hold of the thing within.
She withdrew her hand, and in her clutch was a large white hare with bright, red eyes.
Its feet kicked in protest, ears twitching as the wraith grinned and inspected her prize.
“In exchange for more elaborative answers,” Nivelle stated.
How she’d procured the animal—or when—I didn’t want to know.
The wraith peeled her greedy gaze away from the hare for only a moment to nod her agreement and thanks to Nivelle, before her eyes shifted to solid black, and fangs broke free from her gums.
She gripped the animal with both hands and tore it in two, sinking her face into its steaming flesh. Blood and entrails spilled forth, coating her face as she devoured and slurped from the animal until it was nothing but a fur-coated husk.
What. The. Fuck.
The wraith licked her lips, then each finger, seeming to have forgotten she had an audience.
“If you’ve had your fill . . .” I growled.
She gripped the gifted blanket, using it to wipe the blood from her mouth and chin before rolling out her neck like the animal’s innards had invigorated her. “My apologies. I tend to get ill-tempered when I’m hungry.”
You don’t fucking say.
I exhaled through my nose, tempering my patience.
The wraith looked up at me, registering the harsh breath.
“I prefer my food alive when I consume it.” She stood, drawing the blanket tighter around her, regaining her composure.
“Your little burst of power frightened my most recent catch, and fear makes the meat rancid. But it’s no matter.
” Her attention veered to the witch. “It has been made up for.”
Nivelle folded her arms over her chest, not the slightest bit perturbed with the spectacle she’d just witnessed. “Answer the questions,” was all she said.
With the dip of her chin, the wraith obeyed. “A High Lord and his companion did come here in search of answers. But as you said, times have changed.” She paused and turned her head to me. “And so too has the power that you carry, Son of Shadow.”