Page 96 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

My eyes go wide while every muscle in our body goes rigid. How in the hells did she figure it out? Was it… Oh. She woke Rayne up from a nightmare. I told her about drowning. Told her about us not being able to be touched while we were in water.

Slowly, I nod. Yet, to my relief and confusion alike, she doesn’t question further. Simply continues holding me until the fear recedes, gently running her hands up and down my back the entire time.

While we’ll forever be grateful for having Slivo as a friend back then, at this moment I wish we’d known Mariane in our childhood as well. Because, I have a strange feeling that if she had witnessed what had happened to us that day… Well, let’s just say it’s hard to drown someone if you’re too busy having your ass thoroughly kicked.

As if reading my mind, Mariane’s lips brush my ear as she whispers, “If anyone in that town so much as looks at you the wrong way, I will be testing out my new swords on them. Just so you know.”

A smile slowly creeps onto my face. “I would expect nothing less, Your Majesty.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Mariane

When I notice Kali walking our way out of the corner of my eye, I give Vannaria one last tight squeeze before slowly pulling away. After briefly glancing towards my old friend as well, Vannaria tips the flask back again, drinking deeply from it.

Kali patiently waits until she’s finished off the remaining liquor, then says, “Stephan thinks this is a good spot to rest for a little while.” She gestures over to where he’s standing nearby, petting the horses with palms that are once again glowing bright red. “He’s going to go ahead and give the horses a boost now. They’re already exhausted, but hopefully his magic will be enough that we’ll still be able to make it to Zaris by nightfall.”

“By nightfall?” Vannaria asks, her brows furrowed in confusion. “It should take us at least another two days.”

My friend and I share a knowing smile as Kali explains, “Stephan’s magic makes him much faster and stronger than an average person.” She licks her lips, which are now twisted into a smirk. “And gives him more stamina.”

“Disgusting,” I mutter, at the same time Vannaria grimaces and whispers, “How lovely.” Then her eyes widen, and she gasps, “Oh! His magic is the same as Rayne’s!”

Kali tilts her head. “Rayne?”

“One of my mental companions.” Vannaria taps two fingers against her temple. “Although I’m fairly certain she isn’t able to share her ability with anyone else. At least not with me or Aren.”

Kali nods. “That would make sense, actually. He’s only able to share with animals, and that’s because of our ties to the forest.” She turns to me, one brow lifted. “Did you not bother explaining anything about our tribe to her?”

I narrow my eyes. “When exactly? We’ve been a bit busy. Ya know, running for our lives and all that.”

She shrugs. “Well… You made time for sex, figured you’d have found time to tell her about your magic.” Her attention drifts to Vannaria, giving her a slow once-over. “Or should I say show her.”

Without a single moment of hesitation, Vannaria says, “Oh, she showed me alright. But that doesn’t mean I know where her magic came from.”

“Vannaria!” I splutter, lightly smacking the elf on the arm. “You didn’t have to confirm it.” She merely gives me an apologetic shrug, so I cross my arms, now glaring at her instead of Kali. “Well, to fill you in a bit, many of us that can shift also have abilities that have strong connections to nature. We’re called Forest Guardians since we have magic so that we can quite literally guard this forest.”

“The Moon Goddess, Seline, is responsible,” Kali helpfully adds with an excited grin. “Apparently it had something to do with the demons that were running amuck at the time. Several powerful creatures from other realms got together and decided they wanted to make sure history didn’t repeat itself. So, she did her part by creating beast shifters that could blend in with the wildlife but also wield magic strong enough to fight off demons.”

Vannaria’s gaze darts to me, her eyes wide. “So that means shifters were created around the same time as the first Nightshadow Elf!”

Smiling at her excitement, I nod. “Indeed, we were. Seems as though our fates have been tied together from the very beginning.”

“Apparently,” she mutters, attempting to take another drink from the flask. When she remembers it’s empty now, she glares at it.

Kali barks out a laugh, holding her hand out for her partner’s stolen flask. “Give it over. Nobody needs to be drinking until after we’re safely on the ship. Greyva’s orders. But don’t worry, we do in fact have several more bottles of rum tucked away for later.”

With an adorable pout, Vannaria gives her the flask. “Fine. I suppose she has a far point.” She shakes her head, her brows furrowing as she turns back to me and asks, “Wait, what kind of magic does your father have?”

For a moment, I simply blink in shock at the mention of my father. Then I hesitantly say, “Well, as far as I know, none. He was able to curse me, but I’m fairly certain he’d used stolen magic to do it.” I shrug as casually as I’m able. “All I know is that he was holding a book when he did it. And that I’d recognized the men who’d held me while it happened.”

Shit. That last part slipped out without me meaning for it to.

Violet eyes narrow dangerously. “Are they dead yet?”

“I’m not sure,” I mutter, averting my gaze. “It’s possible, I suppose.”

“Was one of them my father?” Kali asks quietly, a slight tremor in her voice.