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“Calem likely stumbled into his territory.” Gaige poked at the fire. “They are normally passive and avoid conflict, so you must have been closer to his home than you realized.”
“I didn’t notice anything,” Calem hedged.
Gaige lifted a shoulder. “It’s hard to tell anything apart in the Kitska Forest unless you know what you’re looking for.”
“And the Mizobats?” My voice was soft, but I knew he’d heard it by the way he flinched. “Would you say their attack was abnormal as well?”
Abandoning the fire, he skewered me with a hard stare. “What are you insinuating?”
“I’m addressing facts.” I fiddled with the cuffs of my sleeves, rolling them slightly so I had reason to look at my hands instead of Gaige. “There’s a link we’re missing.”
“And that link is me?” Gaige’s lips thinned.
“You lost control of your shadows in front of the Mizobats, and they attacked. Later that same evening, your shadows escaped again during your dreams.” I forced myself to meet his terse scowl. “A week later, we received word of beasts attacking travelers on normally safe routes. And now, after losing control while training with Calem, this.”
“Thiswas not my fault. If you recall, I’m the one who told you to summon Felicks. If not for me, we’d be dead.”
If not for your powers, this never would have occurred.I curbed the thought before it could escape my lips. I didn’t believe in coincidences, and every sign indicated that Gaige was the source of the attacks. While I’d never hesitated to deliver harsh truths before,something about Gaige’s wild, pleading stare made it impossible to utter those words. Heneededthe appearance of Rook to be Calem’s fault. He was losing faith, losing his grip on…well, himself. We’d only just convinced him to train, and it was vital that he continued to do so.
“Let’s break down camp and keep moving. I doubt Rook was the monster responsible for the attacks, as those victims are very much still alive.”
Without waiting for him to respond, I returned to my tent, allowing the flaps to close behind me. For now, at least, we were all intact. But as I gathered my things and caught sight of Gaige’s silhouette through the canvas, I couldn’t help but worry that the wavering shape of his form had nothing to do with the barrier of fabric between us and everything to do with his ravenous power.
NINE
GAIGE
Ididn’t think it was possible for my brain to ache, but it did. The consistent, nagging throb behind my eyes was a pulse steadier than my heartbeat, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep and rid myself of the wretched feeling. But I couldn’t. After my botched training with Calem, I’d gone to bed in fit of frustration, only to once again find my feet on that distant, foreign beach. I’d told Kost my dreams had been uneventful, but I’d stretched the truth. The only difference was that this time, when the swirling, black mass of shadows called to me from the ocean waters, I picked up a jagged stone and smashed it into my temple.
Only to wake up to another nightmare—possibly one I’d summoned—in the form of a Foxel. Rook. Now, bounding alongside my Zeelah with his tongue lolling out the side of his maw, he hardly seemed like a threat. We’d already been traveling for hours in the direction of Penumbra Glades without incident. The stench of death had abated the moment Felicks snared the Foxel’s attention. The only thing Rook was liable to do at this point was trip one of our mounts.
“Hey, watch it,” Calem barked as Rook darted in front of his stallion in an attempt to get closer to Kost. Or rather, Felicks, whowas perched behind his master on their Zeelah’s behind, ears twitching as he studied Rook. Kost didn’t bother glancing over his shoulder, and instead sucked his teeth as he urged his mount ahead.
“He really loves Felicks,” Ozias said. The path through the Kitska Forest had widened just enough for him to guide his mare beside me, and he watched Rook with a rapt curiosity I usually only saw in Charmers. “You think he’ll get along with Boo?”
Boo.He’d grown surprisingly attached to me, and I hated leaving him behind. But Iov was more than eager to take up the duty of caring for his wounds and feeding him. Boo had won over every assassin within Cruor’s walls, but none more than Iov. The number of apples and honey that man fed my beast was probably the reason for Boo’s increase in weight.
“I’m sure he’ll enjoy having a regular playmate around.”
Ozias’s wide smile nearly touched his ears. “Good. I figured since we hadn’t seen Okean in a bit that those two didn’t get along.”
My gloved fingers found the key dangling around my neck before I realized I’d released the reins. A trickle of warmth simmered from the point of contact, and with it came a sinking, twisting feeling in my gut. Okean would’ve loved to spend time with Boo and Rook. He was equally as playful but summoning him would mean showing him the part of me that I despised. And if I lost control of my shadows while he was outside of the beast realm, if something happened to him…I’d lose the only part of my past I still truly had.
Swallowing thickly, I abandoned the key and urged my mount forward. Once things were calmer—once I was calmer—I’d call on Okean.
The rest of the day was spent in tension-filled silence. Occasionally Calem or Ozias would attempt to break the quiet, but after failing to engage Kost or me, they eventually gave up. Withouta doubt, this wasn’t the type of journey they were used to, but I simply couldn’t muster the energy to participate in innocent banter. As for Kost, his serious facade was a shield we didn’t have the means to pierce. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to.
When night fell and we made camp, he did finally speak, but only to issue orders and note that there would be no training after this morning’sdebacle. My jaw ached from my unending teeth grinding, but a tiny part of me was glad to forgo another round of failed exercises, at least for the night. But when it came time to stow away in my tent and sink beneath the blankets, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep. That horrifying, burning gaze, rimmed in fiery crimson, stared back at me each time I closed my eyes. It was as if I were being examined, the contents of my life carefully pored over and considered, leaving no stone unturned. I couldn’t escape it, and I knew if I slept, I’d meet those eyes again.
Blasted nightmares.When we returned to Cruor, I’d seek out the closest healer and ask for a sleeping draught potent enough to blank out dreams. For now, I was resigned to long nights and even longer days.
Which is why when we arrived at Moeras, the small trading town built on platforms above the unstable marshes of Penumbra Glades, I barely had the wherewithal to determine the hazy, evening fog from the murky earth beneath my Zeelah’s hooves. It’d crept in slowly, snaking around the roots of trees, and thickened once we finally broke free from the Kitska Forest into the open flats marking the glades. Riddled with the scent of salt and earth, a quiet breeze rustled the thigh-high cattails around us. There wasn’t much to take in. The expanse was vast and plain, the same vegetation on repeat until it came flush with the sea.
The town, at least, was a welcomed sight among the swaying plants. The entrance was marked by a simple tower with a polished,jade-green bell quietly hanging in the belfry. Wooden stilt houses with gabled roofs sat above the glades, connected by plank bridges.
Kost brought his Zeelah to a halt. A curiously tense muscle strained along his neck. “Moeras.”
Calem guided his mount beside Kost, and then stretched his hands to the sky. “Been awhile since you’ve been back.”
