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“Here,” he said, circling a spot on the map, “And here.” He kept going—circling every mountain, big or small on the map of the Wastes.
“There’s another there,” Kade said, pointing to a spot on the map that showed only trees, “It isn’t on the map, but I’ve flown over it.”
When he was finished, Finn had circled every possible place there could be caves in the entire expanse of the Wastes. Eleven circles of black ink on the parchment. It narrowed our search but finding every cave would take weeks. A paralyzing fear gripped me. Finn was right, we may not find her before…
Wait.
One of the places he’d circled on the map stood out. Right near the center. Mount Noctis. Where the first palace of the night court was built. It lay in ruins, clinging to the side of the mountain, but—it made sense.
Liana is strong.It would be hard to contain her without bindstone. And I knew where it came from. They mined it from the bowels of Mount Noctis. It was in the ruined palace’s cells. Veins of it ran throughout the halls. And deep below, the purest form of it could be found in dark crystals jutting out from the stone.
Finn gasped, and I knew he saw it too. It was the most logical place. It was the first place we’d thought of, and the first we’d dismissed as beingtoo obvious.
But now it made sense. It was the only place she could be.
“We need to get moving,” I ordered, and Finn rolled the map, stuffing it into the waistband of his trousers.
I stood on still-shaking legs, wishing I hadn’t doubled the dose of elixir, and went to fetch my sword and armor.
“Are we missing something?” Kade asked, cocking his head first at me, and then at his brother.
Finn chucked his brothers armor at him, “She’s in the mountain, you idiot.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kade
Alaric was getting on my last nerve.
We stomped through the trees, making our way over fallen leaves and uneven ground when weshouldbe flying in. But apparently, I was wrong.Again.We couldn’t swoop in, kill them all, and take Liana—oh no, because that would be too easy.
I got it, really, I did, even though I didn’t like it.
We’d flown in as close as we dared, setting down once the mountain came into view. We would go no closer in the air. If the Mad King had Thana, Valin, and a Drac at his disposal, who knew how many others he could have.
Watchmen. Guards.Gods,he could have a whole damned legion of soldiers hidden in the caverns of the mountain.
And if they saw the queen’s guard coming, who was to say they wouldn’t just kill Liana and be done with it.
So, I gotwhywe couldn’t go barging in, but it didn’t make it any easier.
A streak of silver through the trees had me stopping to see what was there. I crouched low to the ground, peering through the branches and leaves. A fell-cat prowled the woods. They were a rare sight. Nocturnal hunters.
The beast’s long silvery fur bristled when it noticed me watching. Its light blue eyes locked onto mine. It hissed. A low growl rumbled in its chest. I couldn’t look away, even as the beast readied itself to pounce. Its thick muscle rippled, tensing for the attack. So beautiful, its pelt shimmered in the light of the moon, its eyes glowed. Beautiful, and deadly. My pulse sped. Liana would have loved to see it. My teeth clenched, and my vision blurred.
And then it turned tail and sprang through the trees, quick as a loosed arrow.
I shook my head, jumping back to my feet. Alaric, Finn, and Tiernan were lagging. I could barely see them between the branches of the trees.
“Get off your asses and move,” I growled back at them—meandering around like we were on a leisurely stroll about the gardens. The fire I’d been working so hard to temper at my core flared to life again—tapping at the door of my palms. Asking for release.
I looked back through the trees for the fell-cat, but she was gone.
I let a small flare free—as I had every hundred paces or so since we’d left the palace hours before. It was the only way I knew how to control it—by letting out small bits of it at a time to keep from bursting. The fire Grace was revered—seen to be among the strongest of Graces, but there was a reason it was so rare. Not just anyone could handle its power.
Which was why I would never fault Liana for burning a forest to ashes. I wouldn’t have made her feel sorry for it. If she knew how many times I reduced a forest, or a barn, or even our own home to burning embers, she’d know why she could never do enough to drive me away.
She was so different. I hadn’t ever felt anything like it before with any of the other countless, nameless, faceless women I’d lain with. And I hadn’t evenhadLiana yet.
