Page 80 of Shadows of Fate

“I didn’t realize your dislike of birds pertained to all types, Bastian,” I said.

His eyes narrowed at me for a moment, and I knew he picked up on the teasing tone in my voice. “Leave me be, My Queen. You two can keep the bird boys up there with you. I’ll stick with the prisoner back here,” he replied.

Cedar turned his feathered head around to stare back at Bastian and then made a laughing squawk.

“You’re lucky you’re using our queen as protection, my feathered friend,” Bastian said.

We rode like that for a while, finding a small inn to stay in until the sun fell again once we reached a town on the Mistral River. Paine and Cedar shifted back, and the five of us took turns guarding Viktor.

“What type of magic does Viktor have? I never asked before,”I sent through the bond once Raiden and I laid down to rest.

“I’m not completely sure, honestly. He feels like some sort of shifter to me, something small like a bird, but I haven’t seen him use it yet. Not even to try to leave,”Raiden said.

I was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he said.

“You think this is a trap? That Keres knows we’re coming to him?”

Raiden turned his head and stared at me for a short time and then wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest tight.

“Get some sleep, darling. Tomorrow is going to be emotional enough without adding sleep deprivation into it,” he said softly.

I kissed him, a soft brush of lips, before letting sleep take me.

* * *

The ride through The Broken Ruins Pass was something I couldn’t truly fathom how I’d made it through on my own and to the Court of Wolves in one piece when I’d escaped Keres.

I remember asking Cedar once why it was named the way it was; if there were indeed ruins in the pass into the city of Whitbourne. He’d laughed at me and said theruinswere not ruins in the sense of buildings that had fallen and been left behind, but the dead who’d fallen and been left behind instead. It had been chilling to hear then, but seeing it now? Left me shaken to the bone.

We rode down a narrow road, the path going up and downhill as it pleased. Mountains that touched the sky on either side of us, and copious amounts of snow as far as the eye could see. I knew if I wasn’t on my horse, the snow would have been up to my ankles in the shallowest of portions, and to my hips in the deeper sections.

“How are the horses able to get through this so easily?” I asked Raiden.

“I ensure I only breed horses who are equipped to deal with any and all the courts, darling. You never know when you’ll be stuck trying to get into the Court of Ice after all,” he said.

I smirked. “A male who’s always prepared. That’s quite the turn-on, My Lord.”

“I’ll show you quite the turn-on, my ice queen. Just wait,”he growled through the bond.

I shook my head as my core clenched and focused on the terrain ahead. Cedar and Paine were taking turns flying ahead to see how much farther we had to go. I glanced up at the endless cloudy night sky just in time to see Cedar swoop down and land back in his vampire form on the back of my horse.

“Just a little while longer and we’ll come to the edge of Whitbourne,” he said.

I felt Cedar’s hand land on my arm and gently squeeze in a calm reassurance.

“Do you ever feel like something dreadful is coming our way, Cedar?” I asked quietly, just for his ears.

He didn’t respond at first, but then he squeezed my arm again. “It’s going to be okay, Silv. Don’t worry about it. Between Raiden and I? We’ll get you out of here together.”

I glanced back. Viktor was on the front of Bastian’s horse now. We didn’t have time to let him wade through the snow on his own, so we didn’t give him an option once we hit the pass. He looked just as miserable as I hoped he would, but his injuries were healed. Well, the internal ones, at least. Every time Raiden “accidentally” allowed a shadow to slip near him, his entire body would jerk in alarm. It made for quite the entertainment for a while.

“Do you think this will go down… easily at least? Telling Keres about Viktor? Do you think he actually knows?” I asked Cedar after a while.

“I think Keres is going to show us what he wants us to see—even if that means throwing one of his loyal subjects to the dogs,” Cedar replied. I nodded. That sounded like the male that I recalled in my nightmares.

I knew I was trying to distract myself from what was coming, and Cedar was playing along like a best friend should. He’d always been that person for me. The one I could go to no matter the mental crisis, and he’d provide the distraction I needed to move on or just the time I needed to bury the hurt and feelings again.

I let out a sigh. “Thank you, Cedar,” I whispered.

---