AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Henderson stopped and gave me his full attention. "It is so very easy to ruin what could be a good thing. It is also very easy to fix it. You were upset, but you knew you had an out. It makes it easier to accept the bond, I think."
I lifted a finger. "Possible out. I'm not sure what will happen if I do it to a bond of my own."
"It's no different, Raven. The magic would be the same. And knowing this as I do, because I am wise," he winked, "Casimir needed to know there was an out. Not an out from being your mate–he is obviously gone for you."
Not enough, apparently.I was being unfair and I wasn’t sure I cared. The wounds were fresh.
"But rather,” he continued, “an out from feeling like he could ever become your ruin, considering his past."
I chewed on the inside of my cheeks, mulling over his words. "How do you even know about his past?"
He wiggled his fingers. "Magic."
I snorted at his ridiculous statement. "You spied on us?"
Henderson's chin jerked into his neck, eyes wide. "Absolutely not! The shifter overheard some words exchanged."
"In our bedroom?" I accused earning another chuckle.
"No, no, no! Of course not. Draven and Lyric exchanged some words on the situation. She's not the quietest of beings, you know, but she does have a heart. They both were worried. She'd seen your mark but didn't say anything. Draven knew Casimir had left Embour because of the extra wards signaling his departure. It wasn't hard to piece together."
The Shadow Lord could also read minds, but that wasn't Henderson's business. We fell into an alert silence, covering ground as efficiently as we could manage.
Soon, Nik came running through the trees ahead of us. "I found something."
"Kol?" My pulse quickened.
"A trace of him. I lost it to the wind, but it was definitely Kol's scent. Come, I'll show you where."
It was a sign we were on the right track. I rushed forward with a new hope only to be pulled back by Henderson's long arm.
"I can get us there faster."
Oh, right.
Nik grabbed onto Henderson's arm. "Three clicks in that," he pointed, "direction. Be mindful of where you land. There are a lot of small cave openings."
Magic constricted then shot us forward. A blink and we were there, tottering atop the edge of a craggily fissure.
My foot slid and both males grabbed ahold of me. I could hear every single pebble clittering down into the narrow cavern.
"Steady," Henderson warned as we took in our new surroundings.
Vines and moss stretched across the jagged landscape. Thin trees and tall reeds grew out of the uneven topography.
The air was cooler here, a slight humidity to it. A breeze blew past, rustling the plants and raising goose flesh along my spine.
I swallowed and licked my lips. The aftertaste of the hare we'd had for dinner lingered and I thought of the way Casimir would put toothpaste on my toothbrush each night.
A craving for mint came out of nowhere. I was hopeless.
Nik's beast rolled over his eyes. He leaped across a shallow ravine. Crouching, he sniffed the air, bobbing and sliding until he seized onto Kol's lingering trail.
"This way."
Henderson and I fanned out, giving Nik space to work and staying downwind as best we could. We traversed the irregular ground, even crawling in and out of the cave system.
Night had fallen and we decided not to use our magic for light, lowering the risk of catching unwanted attention. Especially the attention of any Shadow demons who were likely hunting us down.
