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“I’ve been using those doors since I was basically a pup, Frostbite. They’ve never been a problem. But had we just used the doors, it would have been over so much faster. And the moment I knew you were stuck with me? Well, that was all the encouragement I needed to steal Bash’s horses.”
I drew backward. “You stole four horses from the Dark King?”
“I like to consider it ‘borrowing without permission’, but with every intention of returning if and when I can. Plus, it was technically five if you include the one I gave to the boy in River Coven. He’ll get over it. He’s really a pushover. Wait until you meet him.”
Tucking myself into the crook of his arm, I laid an arm across his chest. “How did you find me?”
“Team effort. Raven handled the blizzard. She’s kind of a badass with the right tools. Kir and Nym covered half the ground in beast form and Bash took to the skies. He spotted the corner of the tapestry you took from Enger’s place. Speaking of which, I’m going to kill him. Just a fair warning.”
“I had to sneak out,” I lied. “He wouldn’t let me leave.”
He tapped the tip of my nose. “You’re a shit liar.”
“It’s not his fault. He was not my keeper, Atlas. Had he refused to let me go, I would have found a way. It’s what I do.”
“I see,” he said with a tone of finality that unsettled me. Lifting my arm, he ran a finger over the band around my wrist. The marking of the spell that cursed me to do the goddess’ bidding.
The deep chimes of a clock resonated down the long corridor outside the room. The first was faint, but as Solstice neared with each gong, a familiar feeling crept over me. It was the same every year.
Four.
Five.
I had eleven months of living my own life before the magic would consume me again.
Six.
Seven.
Eleven months until I’d have to force another soul into the hands of three Spirits with a proclivity for fear mongering.
Eight.
Nine.
The pressure and fear of restarting the cycle stole my breath.
Ten.
Eleven.
“Happy Solstice, Frostbite.”
On the stroke of midnight, as Atlas’ fingers brushed that marking, it vanished.
21
I blinked slowly, ignoring the ringing in my ears as his words settled within me. “I don’t understand.”
Atlas stood, crossing the room to reach into the pocket of his coat, hanging over the back of a chair. “You gave me my freedom, Marley. And not from the magic cursed upon you. But in the moments between. I thought I might return the favor.”
He held his palm out to show me what he’d kept in his pocket.
“A saltshaker?”
“I never leave home without it.”
I rubbed my fingers over my blank wrist.
