Page 81 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
Two looming figures step out from the shadows. My pulse races, and I strike out. Before the butter knife hits, I see it’s Bodin and Styx. My strike loses power, and the blade impotently skates off Bodin’s chest. His brow arches as he glances down.
“A butter knife?” Horror dawns on his face. “This was your defense plan?”
Styx sniggers, and I swing the blunt blade, pointing at his face. “Don’t underestimate me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, fangs.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What are you both doing here?”
Bodin’s brows lower, his expression a mix of concern and something darker. Styx smirks, then catches himself, his face sobering.
“You had the same idea as me, didn’t you?” I ask.
“Almost.” Bodin’s gaze flicks to the temple. “You should have waited for us.”
“You were busy.”
He grunts, unhappy with my response, but they need me. He can’t send me back. “We’re going to bring him home.”
My heart soars. “So, not just a visit?”
“Puck seems to be refusing to let his Hunt out for patrols.”
“Why?”
Styx replies, “He’s afraid someone will come and take his dragon from him.”
“Or,” Bodin says, “the Hunt is using him for its own purpose. Whatever the case, we must take advantage of this opportunity.”
“Do we have time?” Hope and anxiety war in my chest.
Bodin’s hand slides over my shoulder, warm and large. “We do if we work together.”
“Okay. What’s the plan?”
“Take us inside,” he says. “Styx and I will push Fox towards the exit, and Styx willflickerus home.”
“Fox isn’t too heavy?” I ask.
Styx gives me a skeptical look. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
I shrug, assessing his frame. Sure, they’re both strong males, but how much of their strength is within the normal realm of fae? “I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about me,” he scoffs, strolling towards the temple.
“Styx,” Bodin warns. “Only Willow can sense the warded entrance.”
The cocky bastard keeps searching for the entrance, but all he can see is rock. I wait a few minutes, arms folded, foot tapping, before Styx turns to me with a stubborn smile and says, “After you.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help the small smile tugging at my lips. Despite the danger, despite everything, there’s something comforting about their presence. We’re in this together, for better or worse.
“Alright, let’s do this,” I say, moving towards the temple entrance. I take both their hands and use my foot to connect with the entrance. Once the itching sense of magic crawls over me, I let it spill to them and take us through.
The first sign something is wrong is the darkness. With hundreds of jars of wisps, it should be bright. When my wolf eyes adjust, I’m stunned—the jars of wisps and treasures—all gone. All that remains is Fox’s statue, tables with ancient carvings, and the thick discs sealing the Sluagh’s full powers.
“What happened?” I whisper, the eerie silence pressing in around us. “The wards haven’t changed.”
Bodin scans the room. “There is only one person apart from yourself, Willow, who has access to this temple.”
