Page 18 of Sanctuary with Kings

"You need to get her to the castle."

"And if they are waiting there?"

"Then Laszlo ought to be picking his teeth with their bones by the time you arrive."

Asterion's shoulders were heaving and gore dripped down his horns. I twisted, grabbing the discarded white gloves on the floor of the carriage, kicked into the corner. I grabbed them and Conall paused me, scooping my already bruising wrist up from my side and testing my arm carefully.

"I'll be fine," I said, although I was already mourning that my freshnéktarfrom kissing Asterion would be used to heal the sprain of my arm.

"Be careful," Conall said with the rare solemnity I'd seen so little of from him. His hand was bloodied, but it didn't stop him from wrapping it around the back of my neck and drawing me closer, his lips pressing to my forehead. "Did you get any sleep?" he asked, turning to Asterion.

Asterion grunted, his back to me, the ghoul under his hooves. He jerked as I reached up to his shoulder, ducked his head and tried to twist away from me. I pulled an absurdly ornate handkerchief from my skirt pocket, white with a pretty lace border and yellow primroses in each corner. I rose to my tiptoes and used it to clean his horn, the gold smeared but not lost completely.

"Don't let him fall right off the horse," Conall said to me. "The two of you should make it by morning if you ride straight there. I'll clean this up and track our route to make sure there aren't more coming before I join you."

"The Wyrm isn't far from here," Asterion answered, taking the enchanted gloves I passed him and tipping his head to let me clean his other horn. "He might help you, but it'll cost."

"I'll consider it. Just get her to safety."

Asterion puffed, and this time it was a slightly offended sound.

"Thank you," I whispered, brushing Asterion's warm, brown cheek before it vanished in the glamour.

"Don't thank me yet. Not until we've reached the castle,théa."

Asterion shepherded me to the horses and lifted me onto the back of a massive brown steed, following me up and surrounding me with his warmth.

"Fast and safe," Conall called.

"Burn them all," Asterion answered, and then he squeezed the steady horse into a quick canter.

We were more than a mile away before I realized all the finery and frippery was left with the wreckage. It was a sad waste of beauty, but I wrapped my hand around Asterion's tense forearm and found I couldn't care.

CHAPTER6

THE HIDDEN CASTLE

Iwas not asleep as the sun rose, but also not awake enough to react properly if there was any danger. Asterion was heavy against my back, his breath steady on my shoulder, and the air was sharp and cold in this strange forest we plodded through, but his heat served as a comforting blanket.

Shadows loomed ahead, wrapped in mist, a dark tower rising against the blue-gray dawn. The air in this wood was heavy and made the hairs on my arm stand on end.

"Asterion," I murmured.

He hummed, the arm hanging at his side sliding up my thigh to wrap around my waist. "We're close now."

"Are these woods enchanted?"

"The castle was built with stones from the fae realms, and its inhabitants are collectors, and… Well, you'll see. A little magic soaks into the woods," Asterion said. He shifted behind me, groaning slightly as he stretched, and then slid and dropped off the horse. He walked stiffly alongside me and the horse, his hand resting on my thigh as we traveled. "We're safe this close to the castle. We've made it,théa."

And like the spark of a match, a bright orange glow appeared in the black shadows of the castle.

Without having to carry Asterion's weight, the horse picked up its pace, perhaps sensing shelter and a meal ahead of us. In contrast, I felt as though I might slip sideways into nothing without the minotaur as my anchor.

The lit torch in the distance bloomed as we approached but didn't move to meet us. The mist slid away with a twisting breeze and the road rose, a figure appearing in the light. It was a monster and a man, with golden wings and russet feathers and hair, and what looked like twin orbs of fire staring out at us. He was dressed in old-fashioned clothing, better suited to centuries ago, before I'd been captured by Birsha, and he wore no shoes on his large furred feet, white claws piercing the earth as he watched us. A tail whipped slowly behind them, three long, bronzed feathers undulating in the air.

When the stone walls of the castle gates were close enough to block out the dawn, I realized this monster didn't have fire for eyes, only a prim pair of golden spectacles on his distinguished hooked nose that reflected the light of his torch.

"He isn't ready. I told you it would take more time," the creature called to us.

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