I don’t have a chance to ask him how he sees it. The shaking motion stops, and we zoom in Manu’s direction so fast, all my muscles tighten. I can guess this experience is similar to flying into space. A second later, it’s over, and I find myself on the ground, eating dirt.
I get on my knees, coughing out what got into my mouth. “Son of a bitch.”
“Shhhh,” Selor warns me.
The small hairs on the back of my neck rise. Something is coming, and judging by the way my wolf is trying to come out, I can guess it’s not friendly. We’re standing in front of a twenty-foot boulder covered with moss and vines, and behind us, the dense forest could be hiding all kinds of nasty creatures. I’m about to shift when the vines move, parting down the middle and revealing the entrance of a dark cave. A low growl comes from within, making the blood in my veins turn cold.
Selor assumes a defensive stance. “I think it’s time for your wolf to come out and play, boy.”
He doesn’t need to ask me twice.
I surrender to the shifter magic, but my body remains the same. “Something is wrong. I can’t shift.”
Selor curses under his breath. “Then you’d better be prepared to run.”
No sooner does he say that than he pivots and takes off. He doesn’t get far. Tree roots emerge from the ground and wrap around his legs, trapping him. The same thing happens to me. They twist around my legs and arms, and the more I struggle, the more they squeeze.
A Nightingale male emerges from within the darkness with two nightmarish beasts on either side. They’re tall, reaching past the male’s waist, and gangly, with gray skin, red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth. Those are the monsters that tore apart the soldiers of the Cygnus army. The same aberrations that King Raphael fought when he was still a human.
The Nightingale male isn’t a stranger either. It’s King Ruel, Vivi and Rikkon’s father, looking calmly at me. “I’ve been expecting you, Karl Eriksson.”
“Where’s Manu?” I snarl.
“Impressive that you could track her to this location, but a pity that you missed her by a day. She’s gone.”
My heart sinks. “Gone where?”
He cocks his head to the side. “You can’t tell?”
Jesus H. Christ. What’s with these Nightingale assholes and their stupid games? “Just tell me, damn it!”
He shakes his head, making a tsking sound. “That’s disappointing. You see, she’s gone to a place that’s nearly impossible to escape unless she has a strong connection to the outside world. If you can’t find her, then I’m afraid she’ll be lost forever.”
“No!”
“You sent her to the Valley of Lost Souls,” Selor mutters.
King Ruel whips his face toward Selor, looking annoyed. “I thought you were dead, frozen by the princess of Cygnus Court.”
Selor’s eyebrows pinch together. “Did that truly happen? I have no recollection of it. How could that be possible? No one comes back from the eternal frost touch.”
The king waves a hand dismissively. “It matters not how you came back to life. What’s important is that I don’t sense the binding my wife put on your mind. She no longer has a hold on you.”
I have no idea what this asshole is taking about, but Selor’s eyes widen, and then relief seems to wash over his face. He closes his eyes and shudders. “I’m free at last.”
“Yes,” King Ruel replies, not hiding his glee. “Your mind is free, and now I have a use for you.”
Selor’s expression crumples. “Ah hell no. I’m not making another deal with your lot.”
The tree roots keeping Selor in place tighten even more, making the male scream in agony.
“What the hell!” I yell. “Stop it!”
My outburst must displease Vivi’s father, because he inflicts the same torture on me. If the roots keep tightening their grip, they’ll break all my bones. After a while, the pressure stops, andKing Ruel moves closer to me. “You’re fortunate that I need you alive, pup.”
I glower at him. “I can’t believe Vivi and Rikkon came from you and that vile wife of yours.”
My mention of his children softens his gaze, but then his eyes harden again. “Don’t fool yourself. If Vryenn and Rikkon hadn’t spent millennia trapped in the human world, they would behave the same way I do. Living among humans made them soft…weak.”
