Page 18 of Midwinter Night's Prince

He startedto fade into mist.

Seriously? He couldn't leave her on that note."Wait—"

"Get out of here now. We'll chat next time."

"You can't just—"

He was already gone.

10

WHISPERS

She woke with a start what felt like moments after Seth had left her dream, but if the state of her muscles was anything to go by, she must have slept for a decent amount of time.

She winced as she sat up on the sleeping bag, her neck complaining at the slightest move. Maybe she hadn't slept that much; her stiffness could be courtesy of the uneven camping ground.

"I'm not made for this, Velvet," she grumbled with a yawn.

As no answer came by way of sound or shuffling, Blair frowned, looking around the dark tent in search of bright yellow eyes. Nothing.

Sleepiness faded from her bones, replaced by concern. Naturally, Velvet walked around whenever they settled for a while, but they weren't in a hotel room, and after Seth's ominous warnings, she wanted to make sure he was safe.

She zipped the tent up, and immediately let go of tension as her eyes zeroed in on the kitten. He wiggled his butt before leaping after a cicada. The bug jumped out of the way just in time, and Velvet growled his discontent.

Reassured, Blair brought both hands to the back of her hips and arched her back in a deep, satisfying stretch.

Night was giving way to dawn behind the white peaks shaped by eons of wind and rain. She'd taken a bus up to Litochoro yesterday, and walked as far away from the town as she could before exhaustion kicked in. It was easy enough to disappear in a city—in a small town, she didn't feel safe. Besides, she'd been eager to start the trek up the mountain. In hindsight, she was starting to regret that impulse, though the view was unbelievable.

She pulled out her phone, turned it on, and checked the battery. Eighty-five percent, although she hadn't used it at all since fully charging it on the plane. What a piece of crap.

She shot a picture of the green mountains stretching out as far as her eyes could see, shrouded by reddening clouds. She'd never had much talent with a camera, but the picture was particularly terrible compared to the sight before her.

A growl pulled her out of her observation. She sent Velvet a look over her shoulder, wondering what sort of prey had escaped his skills this time.

Velvet was low to the ground—at first, she thought him poised to pounce, but the cat slowly retreated, one step after the next, his eyes firmly fixed on a line of trees in the distance.

Blair followed his gaze through the woods. Her eyes weren't as sharp as any cat’s. She felt uneasy; Velvet wasn't usually skittish, for a cat.

Her instinct was to call to her magic to sharpen her sight, but Seth's last words echoed in her mind.

Don't use magic if you can help it.

She had half a mind to ignore him out of spite, but Blair wasn't inclined to cut her nose off.

"Come here, baby. We have to pack."

Pack to get back down to town and head out of the country, or hike up? She hadn't quite decided yet. Velvet kept his eyes on the woods, his posture anxious.

Though the gods can't cross, some of their servants are able to endure the journey.

Slowly, she walked to Velvet and gathered the kitten in her arms.

Seth was the closest thing she had to an ally in this crazy situation. Whatever reason he had to hide his identity, he'd made himself quite clear about the dangers of Mount Olympus.

They had to go.

Now.

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