Page 85 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

I follow it until I slam into a wall—or, rather, the closed door. Open,open,OPEN!

It doesn’t budge.

Shadow leans against my leg, and magic spirals out of him to blend with mine. The door’s still there, but a tunnel opens beside it, and now that I can see it, it becomes clear that the thread runs across the door and into the tunnel instead.

There’s a surprised mew from beside me, and Shadow strains forward.

Together we step from Alarria. My eyes snap open. We’re in a gray space with no discernable light source. There’s no wind, no trees. There’s nothing but a dark-gray tunnel stretching through lighter-gray mist.

“Where are we?”

“It’s a shadow road, but it’s like none I’ve ever seen.” Shadow tugs forward. “Come on and don’t let go of me. All the old stories say anyone not touching a cat sith gets lost to the mist.”

We trot along the path, me keeping a death grip on his fur. The mist swirls around us, and I know deep in my bones if I step off the path into it, I’ll be lost forever, teleportation magic or not.

“Hurry,” I say, starting to run. “I don’t want the tether to pull Wranth into this. He won’t be touching you!”

Golden light glows ahead, and Shadow speeds up. “The exit!”

We step out of the tunnel and into the bright sunlight of high noon. We were only in there for a few seconds, but it felt like forever, and my eyes squint against the glare.

A whoosh of displaced air behind me, and Wranth’s strong hands find my shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“Yep!” I blink a few more times, and the forest around us comes into view. We’re in a small glen, surrounded by pine trees and huge oaks with lots of thick, horizontal branches. “It… it doesn’t look that much different from Alarria.”

“Shows what you know.” Shadow clambers up the closest oak tree and out onto one of the low horizontal branches. He flops down, his legs hanging over the sides as his tail flicks lazily in the air. “This is the best tree I’ve ever climbed, and that’s only because I haven’t climbed that one or that one or that one yet.” His front paw jabs at the air, pointing out every other oak he can see.

“We get it,” Wranth growls. “It’s a feline paradise.”

“It certainly doesn’t feel dark and twisted like Avalon,” I say.

“Agreed.” Wranth spins in place until his arm snaps up and he points. “There’s life here. That way.”

“Back in a bit.” Shadow leaps from the tree and darts in the direction indicated, flickering out of view from one step to the next.

“Are you okay?” I squint up at Wranth. “You didn’t end up in a gray tunnel, did you?”

He scowls down at me, gripping my shoulders again, and barks, “Explain.”

The old grump. He’s not angry—he’s worried.

I tell him about the shadow road and needing to hold on to the panther the whole time. “I’m not sure I opened the door to Ketalia. I never felt it ‘pop.’” I fling my hands open, my fingers blossoming outward like fireworks exploding.

“Don’t you know by now that cat sith are masters of stealth?” Shadow appears out of thin air. “The way to Ketalia was never the main door—it was always a shadow road. It’s what keeps this realm hidden.”

“Did you find other fae panthers?” I ask.

“It was a deer.” He flicks his whiskers. “But it’s all right. The cat sith are here. The shadow roads in this realm are open—they’re being walked.”

“That’s great news! Do you want to go find them?”

“No,” Wranth growls. “We don’t deviate from our plan. Once we get all the doors of Faerie open, he can return.”

“For once, I agree with the orc.” Shadow’s green eyes sparkle with mischief. “I will see the mission through so that the doors open permanently.”

“Where should we leave this?” I pull the entangled crystal out of my cleavage and spin slowly. Everything around us is forest. “I don’t see any landmarks.”

“You’re thinking like a biped.” Shadow walks around the small clearing, his nose lowered to the ground. At the base of an oak tree, he starts digging, his inch-long claws making fast work of it. “Put it in here.”

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