Page 68 of Fading Sun

“Concerned? More like paranoid,” Blaze snaps.

“Did the Yeti not almost reach your dagger?” Damien asks, not affected by Blaze’s words in the slightest.

“He wouldn’t have even been able to hold it,” Blaze says. “His hands were too big.”

“That wasn’t my question,” Damien replies. “Did the Yeti reach for your dagger and almost succeed, or not?”

Silence crackles between them.

“Fine,” Blaze eventually says. “I’ll be more aware of the dagger’s whereabouts in the future. But I’m not destroying it. End of discussion.”

“For now,” Damien says. “Simply because we’re wasting time standing here, getting nowhere. We need to keep moving.”

I look between the two of them, unsure who I agree with. On one hand, Blaze’s dagger is extremely useful—when wielded by those on our side. But if it got into the hands of the Yeti, or the Abbot, or the shadow souls… it could be disastrous.

In the meantime, Blaze and Damien seem to have reached a standstill.

Which means it’s time for us to start our climb up the mountain.

Amber

Blaze heads toward the path, but Damien stops him.

“What?” Blaze asks, so irritated that sparks light up around him.

“We need to check with the Astral Compass to make sure we’re going the right way,” Damien says.

Blaze stares at Damien as if Damien’s lost his mind. “There’s only one path,” he says.

“There’s only one obvious path.” Damien reaches into his pack, pulling out the compass. “That doesn’t mean it’s the only path.”

He focuses on the compass, his brow knitted as he waits for it to show him the way.

Finally, after a few seconds, he heads toward the main, obvious path. The same one we were discussing seconds before.

“This is the correct one,” he admits. “But, like I said, it didn’t hurt to check.”

Blaze smirks in victory.

Morgan and I give each other a look—one that makes it clear we’re both hoping the guys can figure out how to get along—and follow Damien’s lead, leaving the scorched clearing and the Yeti’s gruesome remains behind.

We walk in strained silence. But at least the winding path is a pretty one, and I admire it as we make our way up the mountain. Streams of water bubble alongside us, their surfaces sparkling like liquid crystal. The air is crisp and clean, occasional snowflakes glistening like diamonds as they drift down to the ground, and the tree barks shimmer with an otherworldly glow.

The sun shines brighter up here, which feeds my magic. It’s extremely appreciated, given how much power I used for the crystal trial and against the Yeti.

As we walk, we remain sharp and alert, scanning our surroundings in case anything else attacks.

We continue like that for over an hour.

I unconsciously reach for the duskberry bond a few times to see if I can get a read on Damien’s feelings, startled when it’s not there, and reminded each time that we’re married. Then, I think about the ceremony. The hollow kiss. The fact that I’ve committed myself to a man who doesn’t love me. And that I’m now a queen.

Given how much my mind keeps wandering, it’s a miracle I’m able to walk in a straight line.

“Look,” Morgan suddenly says, pointing ahead.

I reach for my magic—which is still weakened—and brace myself for anything other than the breathtaking vista I see when I turn the bend to stand next to her.

Because below us, a pristine, snow-covered valley stretches out, making way for the mountains rising in the distance. Their peaks pierce the sky, which is a clearer blue than I’ve ever seen, with sparkling clouds twisting in ways that defy the laws of nature.

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