“Shh.”
My heart rate spikes.
Head whipping sideways, I squint into the darkness, making out the slight silhouette stooped behind a large pile of snow just beyond the reach of my lantern light.
I draw deep, almost groaning when I catch a hint of Zali’s buttery scent on an eddy of frosty air.
Relief floods my chest.
Thank fuck.
Darting closer, I crouch beside her, dousing her in my protective light. “What are you doing all the way out here?” I whisper-hiss.
She squints up at me, grabs my lantern, and opens it, stuffing it full of snow and snipping out the light.
Panic fires up my throat.
“What the hell are you doing?” Heart galloping, I scour our chilled surroundings, certain every pocket of shadow is about to flit forward and smother us in suckling doom. “There could be Irilak!”
“I haven’t seen any. Even if there were, they certainly wouldn’t be interested inus,”Zali purrs against my ear, the lilt prickling my skin—at least until she shoves the snow-stuffed lantern at my chest so hard I grunt. “They’d be too heartily fed.”
Zero percent reassuring.
“Look.”
I rip my gaze from her and follow the direction her finger is pointing. It takes a moment for my vision to adjust to the dim, the scenery coming to life.
The Stretch is just beyond, wide and vast and dusted in a fresh layer of powder. Far off in the distance, it meets the foot of the Alps’ sharp rocks—a barricade of stony claws gouged in the snow.
Slate gray fur pops against the sea of white, slinking down a snowy chute that spits out on The Stretch …
Vruks.
I count two ... three ...five—
My heart leaps into my throat. “Fuck.”
“Exactly,” Zali mumbles, watching them descend, her expression harboring a savage sort of severity. “I’m sure you noticed all the gore covering the north-facing stakes on your way in?”
“I did …” A tense pause, then, “You were right.”
“Unfortunately.” The word is whispered, stained with sadness.
I level her with a look that coasts across her elegant features lit by a shard of sterling moonlight. “Did you have to come all this way on your own to confirm it?” I don’t bother to hide the bite from my voice.
Her actions were thoughtless. Reckless.
So unlike Zali.
Otherwise still as stone, her sharp eyes cut to me. A flurry swarms her face, collecting in her lashes. “I needed to see for myself. Validate our need for the ships. I have a hunch it’s the reason Orlaith accepted Cainon’s cupla.”
The hairs on the back of my neck lift. “I need you to clarify …”
She pulls that plump bottom lip between her teeth.
My eyes narrow. “Zali?”
“She was listening that day in Rhordyn’s office.” The words blast out of her as a blow of icy wind strikes, tossing back our hoods. “From behind one of the curtains.”
