Page 48 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“And I appreciate that about you! You are not jaded. You still believe in people. I may not see things your way, but I admire that optimism about you,” I admitted.

Sage was quiet for a moment, but I could see a smile working its way slowly across his face.

“I believe that is the nicest thing you’ve ever said.”

“Gods,” I muttered, rolling my eyes while he gave my hand an affectionate squeeze.

“I want to understand you as much as you will allow. So I hope you continue to share,” he said more seriously.

I merely nodded, unwilling to make that promise even though I already knew it was inevitable. The fortress of my deepest and darkest secrets was already breached.

And I no longer wanted to reinforce the gates against his conquest.

Chapter fourteen

NOT READY TO RIDE ALONE

Ornella

We reached another clearing in the camp where there was an arched doorway cut into the ravine wall. Sage placed himself in front of me to climb the spiralling staircase so he could warm the cold draft that drifted down the stairs. The heat of his fire magic caused the frozen air to grow heavy with moisture which clung to the exposed roots in the walls of the stairwell.

Finally, we reached the summit, and I shivered hard when we emerged from the ravine under the shadow of the ancient pines. Their boughs were heavy with snow, bowing toward the barren earth covered in the needles already shed and patches of frost. The air was crisp and stagnant, and it felt so heavy with the consciousness of the old forest that I could barely draw in a full breath.

“There is a clearing ahead where we can fly from,” Sage informed me, clearly unaffected by the oppressive presence of the trees as he took my hand again.

“You can’t portal to the village?” I asked.

“There is no telling what we would portal into if the Fuath have remained there. It would be better to approach the village from a safe distance,” he explained.

I was exhausted and chilled to my bones after a long day of helping the aes sídhe move. All I really wanted was a hot bath and a day of uninterrupted sleep, but that seemed unlikely for some time.

We reached the clearing that Sage seemed to have indicated, and I almost stopped dead when I saw Ciaran waiting with his golden vargr already saddled.

Sage glanced back at me over his shoulder, and I shot a frown up at him before I allowed him to drag me over to the other rider.

“What took you two so long?” asked Ciaran before he climbed into his saddle. “We are losing the daylight.”

“We are here, and we have time,” Sage replied before my sharp tongue could lash at Ciaran for his callousness. Were we really supposed to abandon that poor mother whose cart Sage helped me unload?

Sage turned to me and Serafin gave us his flank so his rider could lift me up into the saddle.

Pyrope immediately gave an anguished yip of protest that was directed at me. She lifted her lips in a silent snarl at Serafin who nosed at her shoulder as if he were trying to determine what was wrong with her.

“We are going to need to get your saddle from Rian,” Sage observed before he pulled himself up behind me.

“Not sure that I am ready to ride alone,” I told him, quietly relishing the feeling of his arms and thighs around me as his broad chest pressed against my back.

Ciaran snorted in evident amusement before he and his vargr sprang into the air. Heavy wingbeats resounded off the trees as they began to climb into the sky.

“Ready?” Sage asked, and I nodded, leaning forward with Serafin and bracing as he leapt.

It took us longer than Ciaran to gain altitude, the two of us were heavier, but soon we were soaring over the snowy mountains and pines of the eastern Suridin Valley. The setting sun made the sky gleam orange and yellow and pink which was reflected beautifully on the smooth, white slopes of the mountains.

I heard a sudden bark and turned my head to the left to see Pyrope flying abreast of us. The sun seemed to set her red wings aflame just as it did to the golden feathers of Ciaran’s vargr flying just ahead of us.

I hated Ciaran, and I was still anxious about my bond with Pyrope, but I could not keep the smile from my face as the six of us soared together above the world. And a part of me could not help but wonder how it would feel when all ten members of the Wild Hunt flew as one.

I leaned into Sage, resting my head back on his chest, and closed my eyes with a smile while the wind rushed over me. It was still chilly, but during our scouting trips, Sage had started using his fire magic to emanate heat and keep me warm. It allowed me to focus on the amazing experience of flying, and I’d slowly come to enjoy it.

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