Page 52 of The Hunt of Night

Stepping between the pines, the world grows darker, the bleak, pale sky shrouded by the looming treetops. Thankfully, the silence that blankets us is comforting and calm despite the fact that Vallie leaves me on a level of high alert in a way that only she can bring out in me.

Seconds turn into minutes which morph into hours, until a bright glow slips through the trees ahead. “Is that a clearing?” I ask, glancing back to where Flora waivers a little, but Cassian keeps her propped up, warm, and moving. I owe him a thank you later, but for now, I need someone to confirm I’m not seeing something else.

“I think so,” Arlo breathes as Flora smiles.

I will my body to move faster, but the altitude doesn’t make it any easier, so my pace remains the same. Moving through the opening, I heave a sigh of relief at the clearing in front of us that stretches all the way to the peak of the mountain.

Everyone gathers, staring at the snowy expanse that stretches between us and our end goal. We’re so close. The major uphill graft is behind us and now we’re into the homestretch.

Relief has my muscles relaxing as the remaining tension leaves my body.

“How do we get around that?” Kryll asks, pointing a finger at the clear path ahead of us.

“Get around what?” I murmur, hearing the same lacing of confusion in my voice as I had hours earlier.

“That.” He gulps, tilting his head slightly as he analyzes something I clearly can’t see.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I admit, instantly disliking being the one at a disadvantage.

Grant shakes out of the warmth of the shifter keeping him above freezing, glancing back and forth across the space as he searches for something he can’t see either.

“Shh,” Raiden snarls, taking a step toward Grant, but he stops himself from going too close.

“Why?” Grant grunts, glancing back with a frown etched into his forehead.

“There’s a?—”

An almighty roar burns through the air and I whip my head around, searching for the source, but I come up empty.

“What is it?”

“A fucking dragon,” Raiden breathes, his words a mixture of nerves and awe.

“There are eggs,” Kryll mutters, his eyebrows pinched in concern as he looks between the open space and me.

“It’s okay. Go.”

I nudge at his arm, encouraging him toward the issue. He offers me a tight smile before carefully stepping forward, and Cassian quickly wraps his free arm around my shoulders, holding me close to Flora.

“I can’t see anything, can you?” I ask Cassian, and he shakes his head.

“Raise your hand if you see the dragon,” Kryll states, turning back to look at us from his spot beside Raiden, and I watch as every vampire and shifter raises their hand.

Fuck. This trial is really making us work as one and lean on each other.

“Wolves, double up on the fae and humans so the shifters and vampires can guide us around whatever the hell we’re up against,” Cassian grunts, his nostrils flaring, and I quickly realize he hasn’t been able to see anything so far. He’s had to put histrust in others, just as the other wolves have, and I’m sure it’s eating away at him.

“Everyone, follow the outer path. That includes you, asshole,” Raiden orders, directing the latter at Grant, who rolls his eyes at him but eventually obeys.

Raiden and Kryll take off ahead, leading the way and making sure everyone stays back. I can’t decide how I feel about being led blindly around a dragon protecting its nest. It sounded ferocious.

Curling into Cassian, I take a deep breath as his warmth bleeds into me.

They make us walk out wide, and when we slowly begin to come away from the edge leading toward the treacherous depths below, hope blossoms in my gut. We just need to get past this damn?—

“Ahh, oh shit.” The yelp makes me pause, and when I search out the sound, I find Grant flailing his arms at his side.

“What the fuck is he doing?” I murmur, confused as to why he’s rocking as if he’s on the edge when his feet are firmly on flat ground.

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