Page 65 of Of Wind and Terror

“I need you to go back to the palace and look after Serena,” Treyton orders, his tone firm.

“I’m your guard?—”

“This is a direct order, Cayetana.”

“I’ve also been assigned to watch over the Death Whisperer…” she continues, ignoring Treyton.

The Spring Prince steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder.

“I can’t explain it right now, but I know the four of us need to make this journey on our own.” Treyton’s brows furrow, as if he shocked himself by that declaration. He glances at me over his shoulder. “Can’t you feel it?”

I grit my teeth and don’t respond.

Because the truth is, I do feel it. Innately. Trying to encapsulate this foreign sensation into words is impossible.

I just know that I’m meant to be here with Kassandra and the others—as much as I hate their presence.

It feels right, like some primordial entity is guiding my movements, pushing me where he or she wants me to go. I’ve never believed in fate or anything like that, but then I met Kassandra.

How could I not believe in it after that?

For some reason, the universe is determined to keep the four of us together. They want us to complete this mission. Together.

Fuck, what if Aleksander’s right? What if we’re all her mates?

A wave of fierce jealousy crashes over me, and I scowl at nothing in particular.

“So two princes and the Death Whisperer are going to travel who the hell knows where on their own?” Cayetana gapes at the two of us as if we’ve lost our minds.

Maybe we have.

Neither Treyton nor I bother to mention the elf. Cayetana will see Aleksander soon enough.

“It’s important,” Treyton stresses. “You’re not needed here.”

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

Treyton and I exchange a glance. The sight causes Cayetana to choke on her own spit.

“Are you two…friends now?”

I don’t know if she’s holding in her laughter or if she’s trying not to scream in terror.

We both scowl and look away from each other.

“Of course not,” I growl at the exact moment Treyton bites out, “Fuck no.”

Cayetana’s eyes narrow suspiciously, and I can see the millions of questions swarming in her gaze. But she doesn’t ask them—probably because she knows she won’t get an answer from us.

“All right.” Cayetana bats at a loose strand of hair that has fallen out of her tight braid. She then shoulders past the two of us, marching towards the entrance to the outpost. “Let me see Kassandra before I leave.” She tosses us a frosty glare over her shoulder. “You may be the rulers—and I may have to listen to you—but I don’t trust you with her for a single tick. Fae around you tend to die prematurely, and I refuse to allow that to happen to her.”

And with that parting statement, Cayetana ducks into the building and disappears from view.

24

KASSANDRA

“Idon’t like this.” Cayetana paces in front of me, her hands clasped behind her back and her spine perfectly straight.

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