The landscape looks eerily familiar. It reminds me of the forest Malachi and I hiked through… before Orin found me.
“This is one of the last forested areas in the Western District,” Cade says, eyes on the road. “No one knows its real name, but locals call it the Whispering Mountains.”
I glance out the window at the snow-covered branches swaying gently in the wind. The name fits. There’s something unsettling about the way the forest seems to watch us pass.
“If this really is the last forest,” I say slowly, “then it has to be the one Malachi and I were in when I was taken.”
Cade nods. “It is. But these mountains stretch for miles. I don’t live near the cabin you two stayed in.”
In the daylight, this forest is hauntingly beautiful. Snow clings to every surface like nature’s lace, softening the world in a way that feels both gentle and dangerous. I’ve always thought snow and the ocean were the two most beautiful things Earth has left.
“We’re here,” Cade says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I blink and shift forward in my seat, eyeing the house nestled between two towering pines. Secluded, unassuming. A quiet kind of safe.
“I thought you’d be staying on Irina’s land or maybe in one of the houses near the Depths,” I say as he parks and turns off the engine.
He glances over at me with a small smirk. “Too many eyes there. I prefer to keep my peace where no one’s watching.”
“Hey, just because you don’t see anyone doesn’t mean no one’s watching,” I say, and push the door open. My boots sink deep into a pile of untouched snow.
Cade laughs, the sound warm against the bite of the cold. “Right. Leave it to the girl who can see the dead to say creepy shit like that.”
He comes around, and I take his elbow as he helps me through the thick powder toward the front door.
“I didn’t get to ask you last night, but what’s the deal with you and Malachi anyway? You’ve been working together for years, but there’s some weird tension there. I know Dante and I both felt it during the flight,” I tease as we reach the door.
He fumbles in his pocket for the keys.
“Malachi is a bit of a prick, no offense,” Cade says, raising his hands in mock surrender, drawing a giggle from me. “Sure, we get along when we have to, but I wouldn’t exactly call us friends. Maybe in the beginning we were, but now things are complicated, especially after the shit he pulled with you.” He shakes his head, sighing as he pushes the door open and waves me inside. “He intentionally kept us apart, Kat, all because he wanted you to himself. Selfish prick. And he knows it.”
I think back to Malachi’s admission yesterday, and while I want to fault him for it, I can’t fully bring myself to. Maybe I’m blinded by my feelings for him.
The first thing I see is a large sitting room with plush chairs, overstuffed couches, and a fire roaring to life in the cobblestone fireplace that dominates the entire far wall. Wait, there’s a fire.
“Who’s—”
A flash of red hair rounds the corner and crashes into me.
“Oh my God! Aurora.”
She throws her arms around my neck, and I squeeze her tight. I haven’t seen her since the night we rescued her from Viktor’s estate. That night, Cade was there too, though I hadn’t known it was him. And he’s been taking care of her all this time. Something about that warms my chest in an unexpected way. I breathe her in. She smells like fresh soap and something sweet, fruity.
“I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been driving Cade crazy, bugging him constantly about when I’d get to see you. I told him to ignore his boss and go get you, but what do I know?” She releases me with a dramatic roll of her eyes in Cade’s direction.
I turn toward him, crossing my arms. “Why didn’t you tell me she was here?”
He shrugs, a playful glint in his eyes. “I thought it’d be a good surprise.”
I look back at Aurora, who looks healthier now—rosy cheeks, that wild orangish-red curly hair shining in the firelight, freckles dusting her nose, and those striking light-green eyes. The last time I saw her, she was fading, her spirit dulled, but now she looks vibrant. Alive. Beautiful.
“Come sit. We have so much to talk about.” She tugs at my hand, and I let her pull me down onto the cream-colored sofa beside her.
“I must know everything. I heard you have a fling going with the boss. What’s that about? And this place, the Depths, Bash—I mean, the things he’s doing with the other Avids? Crazy, right?” she says, talking a mile a minute.
All I can do is smile like an idiot before I manage a response.
“First of all, I don’t know if I’d call Malachi the boss,” I say, tucking my legs under me on the couch. “He’s the head of Solace, but he’s not running the whole Syndicate.”
