Page 86 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

The irritated noise that escapes Thorne’s throat makes it clear that he’d rather not answer. Too bad for him. I’d rather not get hauled out of taverns by hot, grumpy instructors, but we can’t always get what we wish.

While grumbling beneath his breath, he scans our surroundings. “Can we at least get to Zephyr before we play twenty questions?”

Unlike earlier, his posture is rigid. Clearly something worrisome happened between his interaction with the stranger and now. “Whatever.” When he tugs on my hand again, I don’t fight him. I can bide my time. Short of pitching me off Zephyr’s back, he won’t be able to escape my pestering on the ride back.

The brisk evening air nips at my cheeks and fingers. Shivering, I pull free of his grip and shove my hands into my pockets. My left one jostles the book Royce gave me, dislodging a piece of paper. At first, I figure it’s a loose page but then realize the parchment’s too thick. Fishing the paper out, I take a quick peek and stumble.

A primitive map. Penned in Leesa’s scrawl. And the directions lead to a spot not far beyond Castle Axton’s gates.

Too caught up in my discovery to pay attention to where I’m going, I stumble again, drawing another curse from my grumpy keeper. “Whatever you’re reading, can you do it later? We don’t have time for that now.”

When we reach the shed, Zephyr greets us with a spirited neigh.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re going to need to make time for this.” I wave the map under his nose. “Just a slight detour. Won’t take long at all.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

Thorne flings me into the saddle. If not for his annoying dictator routine, I’d probably admire how he tosses me around with seemingly no effort, like I’m a rag doll rather than a full-grown woman. Instead, I want to sew his mouth shut until he learns to listen.

“But we’re right there! It’s close to Castle Axton, so it shouldn’t cost us more than a few extra minutes.”

Saying nothing, Thorne vaults into the saddle behind me and snaps the reins. Zephyr flaps his powerful wings, rustling my hair as he propels us into the air.

Several rhythmic wing-beats pass before my flight instructor speaks again. “If I don’t take you, you’re going to sneak out again, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Fucking hells.” Thorne grunts. “Fine. But if I say we need to abort, we abort. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

He leans forward, his hot breath feathering against my cheek. “Watch how you say that, Duchess, or one day you’re going to get more than you bargained for.” His low growl boils my blood. “Now tell me where to go.”

Reaching into the saddlebag, he produces a tiny ever-light lantern. As I study the map, I direct him. To anyone else, the map probably reads like gibberish. Only Leesa and I would know the markers, such as right turn at the ghost tree—the place where, the first time she ever snuck me beyond the castle grounds, we swore we spotted a ghost.

The forest grows thick around my home, and everything looks different from the air, making locating Leesa’s markers a bit tricky. It doesn’t help that we need to fly as low as possible to avoid detection by the castle guards. By the time I identify the tall boulder we used to climb that we dubbed Giant’s Rock, Thorne’s practically vibrating with impatience. He finds a tiny gap in the foliage and lands Zephyr like a pro.

I scramble off the alicorn’s back first. “Wait here. It should only take a few minutes.”

Thorne loops the reins around a branch. “Nice try, Duchess. No way in the three hells am I letting you totter off into the dark forest at night without an escort.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t totter. And, gee, I didn’t know you cared.”

“Don’t let it go to your head. I can’t very well leave Flighthaven with a fledgling and come back empty-handed.”

“Whatever you say.”

Part of me wants to insist he stay behind. I have no idea what to expect from this outing. What clue, if any, Leesa left me regarding her whereabouts or disappearance. The more practical part of me remembers the attack from my last excursion in these woods and would just as soon not face another threat alone.

Though I get turned around more than once, I finally find my bearings and reach Giant’s Rock. As instructed, I head due east. To my surprise, a well-trodden path appears beneath my feet. The trail weaves around large tree trunks and dead-ends at a small square of grass peppered with larkfire, vivid red wildflowers with droopy petals.

Thorne stops beside me and scowls. “That’s it? We took a detour so you could pick some flowers?”

Muttering, I shake my head. “This can’t be all. I must be missing something.”

Wielding the little ever-light, I walk the perimeter. Nothing of interest. Next, I drop to my knees and use my hands to hunt beneath the flowers. Dirt. Grass. More dirt. Then my fingers hit a smooth surface broken up by indents. Carvings.

Crawling closer, I shove the foliage aside and hover the light above the stone. The grooves I felt are words.

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