AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fear scraped a ragged claw down my spine.
“And unfortunately, we can’t dig a path through all the snow you brought down, so our only path toward Ashwood will force us deeper into Silverfrost first. We’ll have to travel around the foot of the mountain until we can find a clear path to climb.”
I picked at the jerky with shaking fingers, still unable to take another bite. “Are you saying we have to continuetowardthe Silverfrost royals?”
Regret shone in Garrick’s eyes. “I’m afraid so. We’ll have to be especially cautious. I’m sure there will be more soldiers and bounty hunters eager to find you and procure the royal family’s favor.” He hesitated. “And I can’t be sure you killed all four of the others who were already after us.”
Swallowing, I scanned the dim cave, my eyes lingering on the thicker shadows near the back, making it unclear whether it continued deeper into the earth or ended in a stone wall. It was cold and harsh, without food or water to help us survive. And yet for that brief instant, it felt like a haven.
“It wouldn’t do to linger here,” Garrick added, as if reading my thoughts. “Though I haven’t met another wolf shifter in far too long, there are plenty of other ways to track us. Other shifters could scent us, or a more powerful fae than me could cast a spell that would help guide them straight to us.”
I frowned, unsure I wanted to understand the depths of magic such as that.
Lifting my chin, I searched his face. “Is there a way to continue onward andnotwalk straight into my enemies’ arms?”
Garrick’s lips twitched. I’d never been so direct with anyone back home save for Charles when he threatened to turn me out, but then again, other than with my sorry half-brother, I’d never had a reason to speak my mind so openly. With Garrick, it was easy. His mission was mine. Sitting back, he raked a hand through his white-blond hair, standing it on end as he mused. “We can do the best we can, but we will have to venture close to them. I know how to avoid being seen, and I know of another cabin not far from here, also enchanted by wards. But the closer we draw to the capital, the more soldiers and bounty hunters we are likely to encounter.”
I cringed, but I didn’t relent. “Are you sure you want to risk their wrath? This is your kingdom, after all.”
Garrick’s mouth was a grim line. “Don’t worry about me.”
As we emerged from the cave, Garrick offered a hand. His skin was pleasantly warm against mine, contrasting with the frigid morning air and sending a jolt of reassurance down my spine despite the knowledge that we were headingtowarddanger. “You needn’t be afraid or ashamed of your magic,” the fae hunter said, almost too casually.
I cast him a sidelong look. “Like you’re ashamed of using yours?” It was a guess, but considering he’d only let me see him in his wolf form once, under the direst of circumstances, and he sometimes called himself a dog, I was confident I was right.
Garrick flinched. “When you’re taught all your life that your power is meaningless, that your value is akin to nothing in the eyes of other fae, it isn’t easy to appreciate it.”
My brow furrowed, but Garrick nudged me gently, his grin seeming forced. “As flattering as it is to see you care about me, we have bigger troubles to worry about, Starlight,” he said. “Don’t fret. My feelings about my shifting abilities won’t stop me from using them if the need arises. You’re safe with me.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“At last,” I breathed, rubbing my gloved hands together as Garrick bolted the door behind us. It had been a long, grueling trek through deep snow—made longer because of frequent stops to rest because I wasn’t accustomed to such arduous tasks, and because of our need to take a circuitous route to avoid a company of soldiers Garrick spied leaving the castle to enter the mountains and head toward Ashwood. After our long day, I was overjoyed to be in this next cabin. To be safe, behind the wards that wouldn’t allow anyone else to enter once the door was bolted.
Unfortunately, we were also much closer to the enemy. As we’d approached this cabin, I’d caught glimpses of great stone walls rising in the distance, resting on the swell of the next mountainside.
“The castle,” Garrick had muttered. “It’s built like a fortress, for the royal Silverfrosts were known for their warlike tendencies. It’s said the first of their kind created it to withstand any siege, so they could go out and conquer the other three fae kingdoms but never fear anyone taking theirs.”
Thinking of those warlike fae, notoriously cruel to humans, had made icy fear clutch my heart. I’d turned away hurriedly.
Now, I settled on a pile of blankets Garrick laid before the hearth as he set to work building a fire. I sighed with relief as the flames began to crackle, then wondered at the irony of mypossessing winter magic yet hating the cold. Would I ever build up a tolerance for it, the way Garrick seemed to have done? Was it because of his fae or shifter blood, or merely the fact he’d lived his life in these rugged mountains?
“There hasn’t been anyone here in some time,” Garrick said as he rifled through the cabinets for supplies. He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I’ll have to leave you.”
My heart dropped. “What do you mean?” I asked, pausing mid-removal of my boot, my fingers still tangled in its damp laces.
