“Holy shit,” she whispered reverently, unwilling to destroy the tranquility by speaking louder.
It was like nothing that could be found on Earth.
It was as beautiful as it was intimidating.
White and black stones reached for the sky, the castle lit up like a city rising out of the darkness. Every window and peak gleamed like stars in the night. The place sprawled over what had to cover at least five hundred acres.
It was an architectural marvel.
“So big,” she said, because she was so articulate and shit, but in her defense, she was in awe of the imposing fortress.
Caedmon’s grip around her hand tightened until her bones creaked in protest, and she peered up at him. She’d secretly worried that once he returned to Faerie, he wouldn’t ever want to leave again. If the revulsion on his face was any indication, that fear was groundless.
He loathed the castle, and she winced that he was forced to return because of her. “Caedmon?—”
“You did it—you passed the trials. Faerie has given you her approval.” Yet he didn’t sound happy. He avoided her gaze as he surveyed the castle, unconsciously pulling her close, like he was afraid that she would be taken from him if he didn’t hold on tight enough. “The queen is in residence, so the castle will be full of fae. The moment we arrive, we’ll become the center of attention as they decide whether you live or die.”
Her heart clutched at the thread of hopelessness he couldn’t mask.
He thought she would die.
Or that he would.
Caedmon shook off his mood, his tone brisk when he spoke. “If we push forward, we should be able to reach the city by nightfall.”
Morgan allowed herself to be pulled along as they headed toward the bridge in the distance. She tightened her hold on his hand, offering him support, refusing to let him face his past on his own. “The queens have no hold over you. You are not alone any longer.”
After a few minutes, Caedmon sighed in defeat. “I’m notworried about me. If you walk into that den of vipers, you might not walk out again. I just found you. I’ve lived countless centuries alone, but the thought of losing you now is too unbearable to imagine.”
“You don’t think I felt the same when you two numbskulls volunteered to go with me? It’s the last thing I wanted!” She smacked his arm, her annoyance getting the best of her, then she let it go, slid her arm around his waist, and leaned into him. “Then we make a pact—we walk in together, we walk out together, deal?”
Caedmon gazed down at her with such a vulnerable expression that her soul ached at the deep wounds he’d carried for so long. He took a shuddering breath, then straightened and pulled his shoulders back. He shot a glance over at Atlas, and her dark fae nodded in agreement. “All of us. Together.”
As they neared the bridge, the hippogriff began chirping and pawing at the ground in agitation, nudging the boys away from the bridge. Atlas and Caedmon frowned, gently pushing the beast away. But the closer they got to the bridge, the more aggressive the creature became, until she stormed between them and gave a squawk of outrage, her wings spread wide.
“Something’s wrong.” Morgan pulled the guys back, then closed her eyes and called to the magic around her.
And immediately sensed what had upset the hippogriff.
She opened her eyes and narrowed her gaze on the bridge. “There is something waiting underneath.”
The guys exchanged a glance, both drawing their weapons and heading in opposite directions to get a look. They didn’t go far when they returned, Atlas scowling. “Trolls.”
Morgan just blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
He looked at her for a beat, then grinned at her stunned expression. “Trolls live under bridges. It’s not practiced much in the human realm anymore, but that’s not the case in Faerie.”
Morgan’s brain boggled at the information. She’d heard about trolls, learned about them in her studies, but she didn’t know anyone who’d ever come across one. They weren’tconsidered dangerous enough to warrant the assassin’s attention. “So what do you normally do when you come across one?”
Caedmon rubbed his hand across his jaw, his eyes troubled. “We have no choice but find another way across. With the proximity to the capital and the size of the bridge, he’ll be too big for us to take without a fight.”
“Should we attempt crossing here?” Morgan eyed the water suspiciously, not trusting the dark, too calm surface.
But Atlas was already shaking his head. “If the bridge is occupied, the water will be as well. It’s probably used as a defense mechanism to keep out the unwanted.”
Another damned test.
Morgan was getting sick of them.
