Page 201 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

Horror and disgust consumed me just before I heard Rian summon the Wild Hunt to ride for the Vale.

Chapter fifty-three

A BREAKING TO REND THE WORLD

Rian

Nuala was exhausted from being on her feet for too long. Carrick and I had been sure to get her as many breaks as we could, finding places where she could sit whilst we were conducting business on behalf of Asha and Ivie. When it was necessary, I carried her without question for the longer walks between shops, or we would simply portal even if the distance was small.

But the city was enormous and bustling with every sort of fey in Autumn, and it was very nearly overwhelming for the witch. I caught her often staring up at the sky with a childlike wonder, but then she would cringe from loud sounds or people passing by too closely. I had her warded, and I wore a hood, so no one recognized her as a witch or me as the Autumn Prince. I was also sure to take her to the quieter parts of the city and to prevent her from being jostled or touched by anyone but me or Carrick.

The witch was an enigma. I was sure after the way she had borderlinecommandedme to take her with me the day beforethat she would now desire some independence. Perhaps even protest me carrying her or insist on picking her own clothes, but she was back to being submissive. Quiet, soft, and always looking up at me for her answers and for decisions to be made.

It was confusing, perhaps a little concerning, how she could go from one to the other so quickly, but I attributed it to trauma and decision fatigue. Although the warning Darragh had given was still bothering me and so was the conversation with her about how much she could See. And how much of it she would tell me.

I felt badly that I had probably asked too much of her when we got home, and Nuala went to curl up on my bed. She slept for a couple of hours during which time I helped my uncle organize the crates he was taking back to his village and read the letter Ornella had written.

It was good. The perfect mixture of our urgency and the right touch of personal appeal for her friend to meet her mate. Her words about Sage were deeply touching. Much more raw and honest than I was expecting.

I put my seal upon it, so there could be no doubt I had endorsed the letter and the meeting it called for, and then sent it with an official envoy. Hopefully it reached Amira and her mate in the next day or so, and I was tentatively hopeful that it would at least get us a meeting with them.

“You are brooding,” Carrick advised with amusement, drawing my attention to where he was finishing up with cataloging the crates. We had been chatting lightly while we worked, but I realized I’d been sitting in silence on the couch and staring down at my hands.

“I will miss you,” I told him honestly, and he looked up in surprise. “And I am sorry.”

Carrick’s expression cleared and then he smiled.

“There is no need to apologize, Rian. I overstepped.”

I was not satisfied. “Any advice for me, Uncle?”

“Youwantit now?” he verified with a teasing smile, and then he looked toward my bedchamber when I merely raised my brows expectantly. “Take gentle care with her. I’ll not question your arrangement with her, it was clear to me today that it is beneficial to her. But she is of a strong mind and will not be content with that arrangement long. And yet, there is… fragility in her heart. A wounded thing that could be as dangerous as it is useful to you.”

There was silence as I worked up the courage to tell him what I needed to say.

“She can touch my shadows.”

He froze, mild horror and then confusion in his eyes before he tilted his head thoughtfully. I knew that he was shifting through his wealth of knowledge as amiotasand keeper of lore in Sage’steine.

“Did she give reasons for this ability?” he asked me, and I could tell he was trying to keep his voice calm.

“Only that she is mine. And evidently I cannot hurt what is mine.”

He blinked at me, looking startled, and then he began to nod thoughtfully again.

“It requires some thought. In the meantime—”

Éadrom growled from my bedchamber, a warning that had me across the room without thought in a second.

Nuala was sitting up in my bed, and I couldn’t even be distracted by the fact that Éadrom was curled up with her on the mattress. Her eyes were glowing white without any fire in front of her to See into and a reddish-brown mark that I did not recognize had appeared on her forehead.

“Rian,” she whispered, her milky eyes unblinking and her face eerily blank. “There is so much death…”

I rushed into the room, sitting on the bed, and Carrick followed me in to stand near us while I grabbed Nuala’s limp hand to squeeze.

“What is happening?” I demanded, and she tilted her head just slightly as if she were trying to See more for me. And her blank face grew tense with confusion.

“I cannotSeeanything. Nothing but blinding white. Nothing but cold and unfeeling light. But Ifeelit, Rian. Such anguish and death. Such loss and heartbreak.”

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