“And you trusthim?”Killian jerked his chin at the Wraith, who frowned.
Kit’s skeptical gaze flicked to the Wraith. “I’m working on it,” he muttered.
Killian’s lip pulled back over his teeth, his canines glinting in the moonlight. “Why not trust the man whose sister is trapped inside that mask?”
His words stunned Kit into silence. “How did you…,” he spluttered. “Youremember?”
Killian’s gaze shifted until he was looking past Kit, over his shoulder, but not quite seeing anything. As if he was reliving the past. “I remember everything. He onlythinkshe wiped my memory ten years ago.” That could mean only one thing.
“You’re a Shield,” said the general. The wind picked up to a howl, sending their cloaks thrashing about their legs, their hoods nearly ripping right off. “How has he not found out?”
The Wraith snorted. “He’s got his head so far up his ass, he probably can’t be bothered to look close enough.”
Killian gave a stiff nod. “He believes his magic knows no bounds.”
“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” said Kit. “How can we trust you?” The opportunity to have Killian as an ally would be hard to pass up; he could almost see the damage they’d cause if he was on their side. The damage he could cause not just in his birth form, but in his second skin.
If Killian was telling the truth, if he really was a Shield…then Kit might have a chance to redeem himself. Perhaps not all had been lost ten years ago.
“That’s my sister in there.” Killian’s voice was lethally quiet, his honey-colored eyes suddenly filled with grief. “This has a lot more to do with me than it does with you. If you’re not going to include me in this, I’ll turn you both in and break the curse myself.”
The trio was silent for a few minutes before Kit spoke, his cold stare now pinned on the Dragon. “It’s nice to know you had a conscience while flogging me.”
Killian fought a smile, though his eyes held a hint of guilt. “I knew you could handle it.”
“You could’ve picked a different whip,” Kit challenged.
The Dragon gave a lazy shrug. “I need to play the part.”
Kit sighed. “Well, if I’m stupid enough to trust one of you, I might as well trust you both.”
The Dragon flashed a bone-chilling smile. “That’s more like it. Now what’s the plan?”
~
The Wolf Pack began their journey into the Outlands on the full moon. They trudged through the snow for three days, but there was no sign that they were getting any closer to their destination.
Nocturne had heard plenty about the tricks the Outlands played on the eyes of weary travelers, and so she figured the perilously icy landscape was courtesy of the Folk who dwelled here. Instead of allowing the Wolves a glimpse of the land as they saw it, they were attempting to drive them away with wind and snow. If Nocturne had a say in anything, their efforts would’ve worked on her days ago.
Alas, the general and his beta led them through silent and icy forests, across roaring rivers and up steep cliffs, until Nocturne could barely feel her body. If she didn’t die out here before they found the Shadowfolk, she would consider herself extremely lucky. Of course, if she lived long enough to face off against them, she wouldn’t be so lucky then.
When twilight fell on the third night, they set up camp in the shadow of the Rivenress Mountains. The snowflakes here were few and far between, the wind nearly nonexistent.
Nocturne strode to the outskirts of camp for a moment of silence. The twilit horizon was a smudge of deep purple, the clouds limned in magenta. Northern skies were the most beautiful.
For the first time in days, the general came to stand beside her. Nocturne tightened her crossed arms and kept her eyes on the horizon. Perhaps if she ignored him, he would go away.
But he did no such thing, and as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, whatever was holding the pieces of Nocturne together unraveled.
“When I paired you up with Ailish and Tinsley,” he began, “I was only doing what was best for you.” He justhadto remind her of the black eye that was still fading, didn’t he?
“And getting the shit kicked out of me is what’s best for me, is it?”
“The last thing I wanted was for the king to send you to this wretched place, Nocturne. Every second of every day, you could die.Anyof us could die. And I was hoping that if I pushed you a little harder during practice, I would make a warrior out of you.”
“You didn’t,” she stated flatly.
“I know.” He sighed. “I suppose I’d simply like to apologize.”
