Page 11 of Lady of the Lake

“A basilisk hunt,” Talan muses, rolling the words off his tongue. “It doesn’t really seem like much of a challenge.”

“Butwewill be the hunted, not the basilisk, is that right?” I ask.

He tilts his head, considering. “Only if we’re slow. And a basilisk isn’t as fast as a Fey.”

I’m half human. Iamfucking slow.

Griflet stands and shuffles over to the bookshelves again. “Very well. If this is your will, Your Highness, though I must say…” He trails off. “Well, there’s no religious reason to deny your request. Give me a moment for the incantation.”

As he flips through a book, the silence is broken only by the snapping of the firewood. In the glow of its flames, Talan stares into the fire. He taps his fingertips rhythmically against his mug. “Hurry up, will you? The gods are impatient, and so am I.”

Griflet doesn’t answer him. Instead, he mutters under his breath, a quiet incantation that makes the hair stand up on my nape. As he intones a spell, a shiver skitters up my spine. The atmosphere is growing thinner, darker.

I clear my throat. “Perhaps if we take a few moments to think?—”

With a gasp of breath, the cleric whirls to face us, his knuckles white. All the color has drained from his face, and he clutches the book to his chest.

“It’s here, isn’t it?” Talan’s smile is slow and satisfied.

“I wasn’t sure if it would work so quickly,” Griflet whispers, “but I think it already did. I think the basilisk is already in the forest. Already hunting.”

Outside, the wind rattles the shutters like a spirit trying to get in. My breath hitches at the sound of an otherworldly howl in the distance.

Talan’s smile widens. This is all a game to him. “Well, then, I’ll need a bow and arrows. Let the hunt begin.”

CHAPTER 6

Somewhere in the depths of the forest, the basilisk is already hunting us.

Or rather, hunting me.

On his own, Talan would have no problem escaping this creature, but I keep getting winded, my lungs wheezing. I can fight and throw daggers and control people’s minds. What I cannot do is run like a Fey. I stopped sprinting after about ten minutes.

I’m behind Talan. I walk quickly through the dark woods, twigs snapping under my feet, and try to keep up with the Dream Stalker.

Armed with a bow, Talan prowls with a tiger’s grace. He’s all silence and shadows, a quiet breeze between the trunks. When he catches my eye, he doesn’t give theslightesthint of concern about the primordial monster hunting us.

The fuck have I gotten myself into?

The snow crunches beneath my boots, and the chill seeps through to my toes. Every breath of frozen air sears my lungs, and my heartbeat pounds in my ears.

Barren and gnarled tree branches arch toward each other, a twisted, icy cathedral above our heads. Apart from the soundsof our footfalls, quiet blankets the forest. The silence is more menacing than noise, and fear crawls under my skin.

Am I a spy or a prisoner who’s completely lost control of my mission? As an undercover agent, I should be a manipulator, a puppeteer, influencing those around me to work for my agenda. Instead, I’m fleeing from a fucking basilisk so I can marry a man I’ve kissed once, a man I’m also trying to kill.

Worst game of Kiss, Marry, Killever.

The cold air pierces my lungs and stings my cheeks.

Part of me wonders if Talan already knows the truth about me. Maybe this is all a slow torture plan—a punishment to take me apart one piece at a time until I’m left defenseless before him and confess everything.

My lungs burn, the airways tightening. Of course, I don’t have my inhaler.

I gasp. “What’s the plan, Talan?”

He turns, the moonlight sculpting his features—his perfect mouth, the sharp cut of his jaw. He doesn’t seem to notice the frostbitten air. He steps closer and presses his palms on the tree trunk behind me. His intoxicating, masculine scent wraps around me. Heat radiates off his body, warming me. “The plan?” he says quietly. “The plan should have been for younotto mention the venison. The second plan would be for you to move faster than honey sliding over ice, but so far, you are failing at both.”

My heart races. “Well, I didn’t want to anger the gods. And also, I can’t really move that quickly. I have short legs, and I’m incredibly out of shape.”

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