Chapter 12
Hannah
The light went wrong.
Not dim. Not fading. Wrong in a way that made the back of my neck prickle and my stomach tighten before my brain could catch up. The world stretched and warped like I was looking at it through water, the brightness sharpening instead of softening until it burned at the edges of everything.
The snow reflected it back twice as hard, blinding and relentless, and for a second, I thought maybe I’d finally lost it. Maybe this was what happened right before you died. Your brain just… short-circuited.
A dark circle had formed in the center of the sun. Not a cloud or something passing in front of it. It looked like something had taken a bite out of the center, leaving the inner edges uneven and wrong, like an evil donut.
My stomach dropped so hard it nearly took me with it. “The sun doesn’t just… get holes in it here, right?”
“What?” Kai snapped, his voice rough and strained. “How are you not wearing your visor? And are you really looking at the sun? Not even pure Aurora Fae can do that without consequences.”
“I’m not staring directly at it!” I dragged my gaze down before my eyes decided to stop working. “But the way it looks isn’t normal on Earth.”
"It isn't normal here either," he said, his voice tight. "But don't look at the sun. This isn't good."
That was the understatement of the century.
The sky was breaking, wolves were closing in, soldiers were trying to kill us, and I was currently clinging to a bleeding, shadow-wielding nightmare while riding a creature that clearly had a death wish.
If this wasn’t the start of an apocalypse, it was doing a really convincing impression.
One problem at a time.
Preferably, solving the ones with teeth first and then making sure the realm wasn’t dying.
I turned in the saddle, ignoring the way it threw off my balance, and looked back toward the ridge above us.
The fracture in the snow had deepened, splitting through the white in a jagged line that hadn’t been there before.
Fine streams of powder sifted down from the edge, drifting in thin, steady trails that caught the warped light as they fell.
The wolves were still pouring through the pass, gaining ground with movement, faster now that they’d found a clear path. The Night Court soldiers weren’t far behind, cutting through the same stretch to close the distance before climbing toward the ridge. Within minutes, they would be on us.
Unless something else got there first.
My pulse kicked harder as I glanced again at that ledge and the way it sagged just slightly more with every second, like the mountain itself was deciding how much it hated us.
Maybe an avalanche wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever had, which spoke volumes. It would cut across and wipe out the Night soldiers and most of the wolves, maybe all of them, depending on how broad the path was.
“But the answer is no.” Kai followed my line of sight even as his grip shifted again, just a fraction weaker than before. “There shouldn’t be a hole in the sun.”
I glanced up again. The hole hadn’t changed.
“Stop looking at it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Get your panties out of your crack. I’m not trying to go blind today. I’ve got enough problems.”
“Are you seriously bringing up panties again while we're in danger?” His voice rose as if in surprise. “And to be clear, I never wore them, so nothing went up my crack.”
I reached around him again, fingers slipping against leather and snow as I searched for the crossbow strapped behind the saddle. My glove slid once, twice, before I caught the edge and yanked at the straps until they gave.
His hand snapped around my wrist. “What are you doing now?”
“Saving our lives, if that’s all right with you?
” I yanked my wrist free and dragged the crossbow loose.
No matter how he answered, I was going through with my plan.
It was our best chance, and we were far enough ahead that the other Dusk Court soldiers and we shouldn’t be impacted by the avalanche.
The crossbow weighed far more than I expected and was solid and unforgiving in my grip. Crap. Maybe this wouldn’t work, but it was the only idea I had. If I did nothing, we were screwed. “We can’t outrun them, so not pivoting to another plan will get us all captured.”
“Put the crossbow down," Kai growled. "Just hold tight. You can’t shoot your way out of this. Do you even know how to use one of those?"
“I’m about to learn.” I twisted around to face Kai, sliding one knee onto the flat seat of the saddle and shoving my other foot harder against the leather, then kneeling chest to chest with him on shaky legs. Pain flared along my thigh where the cuts pulled, and the edges of my vision darkened.
The caribou lurched hard, and I pitched forward. My mouth slammed into Kai’s shoulder with enough force to make white explode behind my eyes. Agony shot through my teeth, and copper flooded my tongue when I bit down on instinct.
And yet, I didn’t drop the crossbow. That had to be a sign to keep going.
“Sit down!” Kai’s arm locked around me, hauling my chest against his. “For Fate’s sake, are you trying to get yourself killed?”
I spat blood. “Not happening. I’d rather not die.” Arms around his neck, I got one foot under me, then the other, and stood, knees bending to flow with the caribou’s strides.
Kai’s arm banded hard around my thighs, steadying me further. “You’re half standing on a moving mount while being hunted across a mountain! That’s not going to get you shot or anything.”
“I’d rather my death be fast than slow, like I bet those assholes were planning.” The world lurched with every stride, the angle wrong, the timing worse, but I adjusted, dragging in a breath that burned in my lungs.
“Hold me steady!” I braced one hand against his good shoulder while the other dragged the crossbow up and tried to level it over his shoulder.
The ridge tilted beneath us, and the caribou grunted.
Other caribou barked in alarm. The Dusk Court soldiers were mostly behind us to the right, with a few stragglers on the other ridge beyond the pass.
That ledge with the cracking shelf of snow wouldn’t wipe them out if they kept moving fast and steady.
The majority of the Night Court had moved into the pass, where they could run faster and shoot steadier.
Dozens of wolves were in the pass as well, fanning out and up and attacking whatever they reached first.
“Fate help me, you’re impossible—” Kai started.
“Let go if I’m such a pain. You like leaving me when it’s convenient anyway.
” I turned the crossbow over in my hands, my body braced against his.
There was a bolt situated in what looked like the equivalent of a loading chamber at the front, and a few other bolts attached farther down, but the bowstring wasn’t taut. The trigger was slack as well.
“Convenient? What about this has been convenient, you troublesome woman?” The words came through clenched teeth.
I bared my teeth at him. “Tell me how to use this stupid thing, or I’m throwing it away!”
“Take the goat’s foot lever—” he started.
“Goat’s foot lever?” My head tilted back. “What the hell is that?”
“The metal hook on the underside. Indentations on the right.” He jerked his chin, still holding me tight. “Pull it free, hook it under the string, and draw it back until it catches. It’s designed to make it easier.”
“Nothing about this is easy,” I muttered, but I followed his directions.
My fingers fumbled along the underside of the crossbow until I found the cold metal ridges.
I pressed into the indentations, and the lever snapped loose with more force than I expected, nearly slipping from my grip as the caribou lurched again.
I wobbled hard and leaned toward my right. Kai’s arm clamped tighter around me, anchoring me before I could tip too far.
“Whatever you’re doing, Hannah of Tennessee, do it now, and sit your ass back down!” The strain in his voice edged with something that sounded close to panic.
“I’m doing it!” I inhaled too fast, causing my lungs to burn. Then I hooked the lever beneath the string. My hands shook, slick with sweat and blood, but I forced them steady as I pulled back.
The mechanism fought me like it had something personal against my survival. “Are you kidding me—” I gritted out, bracing harder with my leg.
“Use your weight,” Kai bit out. “Lean, don’t strain.”
“I am leaning!” I adjusted again as the caribou scrambled over uneven ground. Pain flared along my thigh, and my vision flickered, but I shoved through it and hauled harder.
The string snapped back with a violent click that jolted through the crossbow and into my arms. “Oh.” I breathed. “Okay. That worked.”
I ran my fingers along the top, making sure the bolt was seated properly in the groove, forcing myself to focus despite the way the air felt wrong, like something restless was pressing against my skin.
“Good. Now aim for whatever insane target you’ve decided on and squeeze the trigger. Don’t yank it. Squeeze.”
Of course he had notes.
I lifted the crossbow again and angled it toward the overhanging ledge. The fracture had spread wide, and the entire shelf was sagging in a way that made my pulse spike.
This could work…or it could get us all killed faster. But at least we’d go out trying to save ourselves.
I squeezed, and the bolt snapped free just as the caribou stumbled over something hidden beneath the snow. The jolt threw me forward, and a startled yelp tore out of me as Kai’s grip on me slipped and I almost lost both my balance and the weapon.
Kai caught me again with his good arm and hauled me back against him while still managing to control the reins with the other hand. Blood continued to drip from his shoulder, soaking through the scarf, warm against the freezing air.
“Did you hit anything?” he demanded.
I squinted through the warped, washed-out light toward the ledge. The bolt had vanished into the white, swallowed whole, but—
There. Maybe?