Page 16 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

“Why didn’t you wake me?” The usual edge in her voice is overpowered by sleepiness.

“You’re not a morning person.” My brother shrugs casually.

“Yeah, but now you’ll be extra tired today.” She crosses her arms in a challenge.

“You need your strength for the enchantments,” he fires back, not backing down from his decision to let her sleep.

Briar narrows her eyes at him but drops the argument.

My heart warms at their bickering, but it’s accompanied by a deep sadness, knowing that I won’t be around anymore to witness their banter.“Speaking of the enchantments,” I interject.“Are you ready?” I look to Briar.

She nods, and we all link hands, standing in a small circle. She takes a deep breath and bows her head, reciting the spells from the grimoire she got from her coven yesterday. I feel a ripple of power course through me, washing over my skin like a warm breeze and leaving goosebumps in its wake before Briar lifts her head.“Done.”

“So what exactly did that do?” Killian asks, examining his palms as if he’s expecting to see some kind of physical change reflected on his skin.

“The spell will keep us from getting too hot or too cold, or from getting sick,” she answers, taking down her tent.“It won’t keep you from falling into a ditch though, so we’ll need to stick close together.” She raises an eyebrow at Killian.

“That happenedonce, and I was extremely drunk,” Killian grumbles defensively.

Before they really get going, I speak up.“Briar’s right. We have no idea what’s in there, so we should stay close.” I jerk my head towards the pass. They nod in agreement, and we gather the rest of our supplies. We eat some dried meat and cheese that Briar brought for a quick breakfast and start walking toward the Nevoa mountains.

Within a few minutes, we’re standing at the base of the Pass, a narrow path leading up into a thick mist. We look to each other in confirmation that we’re ready and step forward as one.

Chapter Eight

As soon as we step up onto the path and into the mist, time ceases to hold any meaning. The fog is so thick that we can barely see ten feet in front of us, and while I know we’re walking forward, the mist is disorienting. The only reason we know we’re going the right way is because we’re surrounded by two rock faces on either side, closing us in. It’s narrow enough that we walk in a single file line holding hands; Killian walks in the front, I take the middle, and Briar follows behind me.

Having no way of knowing how much time has passed, we walk and walk and walk, stepping carefully on the path, and listening for any signs of life around us. Eerily enough, there really are no other sounds besides the crunching of our boots on the path and our steady breathing. It’s unnerving how quiet it is, but we keep on, squeezing each other’s hands tightly in reassurance. Eventually, the path widens but we still hold each other tightly, now walking side by side. We don’t speak out of fear of disturbing whatever deep magic lies here.

The mist is so thick that we can’t even really see the sun above us to get an idea of the time of day, but at what I estimate is midday, Killian finally says something, speaking barely above a whisper.“I really have to pee.”

“Oh gods, me too,” Briar whispers back from beside me.

“Okay.” I huff.“Let’s take a break. But don’t go far.” I look around for a landmark that will anchor us since the fog is so thick, but there’s not much besides a dead tree stump on the side of the path.“We’ll meet back here.” I reference toward the stump, and they nod.

As soon as Killian lets go of my hand, a cry of anxiety creeps up my throat, but I swallow it down, forcing myself to take a deep breath. Briar searches my eyes, and I nod, so she releases my hand to go and find a more private spot to pee. Finding myself alone, I quickly stray a few feet off the path to relieve myself, inching forward with my hands stretched out in front of me. Dirt and pebbles crunch under my boots, the sound deafening among the utter quiet around me. I pee quickly, then head back to the same spot where I was standing before, by the stump.

After what seems like an eternity surrounded by the thick fog, there’s still no sign of Killian or Briar, and I start to lose my head a bit. Although we had an unspoken agreement that we would try not to draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves by making excessive noise, I can’t help myself. I call out, panic threatening to overwhelm me.“Killian?”

No response.

I try again, louder this time.“Killian!”

Still nothing.

Every bone in my body is screaming at me to go and find him, but I feel like my feet are stuck to the ground. I hear a rustling of leaves somewhere behind me, and I draw my dagger, turning toward the sound. I watch the spot where I heard the noise unblinkingly, but nothing appears, making me feel like I’m being watched by someone, or something, just like my godfather mentioned.

I know that moving from this spot will make it more difficult to find Briar and Killian, but they should definitely be back by now, and I can’t just stay here, knowing they might be in trouble. The infuriating thing is I know they couldn’t have gone far, but I can’t see or hear any sign of them, so I start walking in the direction that Killian went, dagger still drawn.

“Killian, I swear to Kozbi himself that if you’re jesting, I will stab you!” I hiss, my own voice sounding strange to my ears.

Utter silence.

I start to hyperventilate, unable to calm my racing thoughts, which have quickly taken a turn for the worst. In a matter of seconds, I’ve convinced myself that he and Briar are dead in a ditch, lost for all time as there’s no way I would be able to find them since I can barely see my own hand in front of my face.

I’m losing hope that I’ll ever see them again, or make it out of these mountains alive when I hear a female voice. I turn around in a circle, frantic but quickly descending into mania, searching for the woman, my dagger poised and ready to strike.

“Calm yourself,” the voice says. It’s oddly familiar, but it’s not Briar or anyone I can put my finger on. I’m still breathing rapidly, feeling like I’m drowning in the fog.“If you do not calm your mind, you will die.” The voice speaks again, coming from every direction.

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