Page 57 of Reborn

Gullie rushed over to me and landed on my shoulder. “I think we’re going to need a bit of insane, right now,” she said.

“This way,” Radulf called out, as he rushed over to the overlook I had first seen him standing on. “And get your Maukibou.”

“You get Colbolt,” I said to Valerian. “I’m going with my brother.”

Valerian nodded, kissed me on the cheek, and started running to fetch Colbolt. Meanwhile, I gave my brother chase, catching up to him at the valley’s peak. Here, it felt like we were standing directly beneath the eye of the storm as it brewed above us. I couldn’t spot Malys, she wasn’t walking up the mountain path, but I could sense her.

She wasn’t just coming—she was already here.

“Where are her soldiers?” I asked. “I can’t see them down the path.”

“I don’t know,” said Radulf. “We would’ve seen them by now, unless she’s using magic to hide them.”

“If she’s bringing an army, it’s coming from Windhelm, which means the only way we can go is down the other side of the mountain. I don’t know where it goes.”

“Away from Winter. There are a few settlements out there, but they have no allegiance to any court. Go far enough in that direction, though, and you’ll find the Kingdom of Autumn.”

“Autumn…”

Lightning crackled across the heavens above. Thunder grumbled shortly thereafter. I was about to speak again, when a bolt of lightning struck the plateau at the top of the valley directly across from us. Bits of ice and rock exploded in all directions, showering the valley below. When the dust settled, a figure remained clad in a dark outfit with a billowing cloak.

Her head was lowered, but when she turned it up to look at me, it was as if she had reached out from across the way and pulled my senses toward her. My breath held in my lungs, my chest tightened, and even though lightning continued to crackle and whip around us, I could only see her.

“Hello again,” she purred, and while her voice was only a whisper, I heard it clearly in the space between my ears.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I yelled.

“Oh, but I do want to speak with you. I’ve come to tell you… your time is up.”

“Time? What time?”

“My offer is about to expire. I trust you have come to the right decision?”

I glanced over at my brother, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on Malys, on the woman who had taken everything from him. The woman who had caused him to be run out of his own tribe, his friends, his family, even his homeland. He wanted to kill her, and if given the chance, he would in a heartbeat.

“I’m not interested in your offer,” I called out. “I know who you are, and I know you’re a liar.”

“Oh? And who am I?” she asked.

“Lydia Whitmore, the witch who tried to take advantage of my family.”

Malys’ expression darkened, even if only for a moment. Her reaction was enough to tell me she wasn’t happy that I knew who she was, and that filled me with nothing but joy. “So,” she said, “Those old witches told you.”

“Those old witches are my grandmothers, and right now they’re working on a way to send you back to where you came.”

“Are they? Or are they locked away in my dungeon right now?”

My heart surged into my throat and wedged itself there. “What did you say?”

“Ifoundthem, wolfling. They thought they could hide from me, but their magic is stale, and weak. It didn’t take me long to break through their defenses. I can assure you, they are safe and sound—I have not hurt them.”

“You’re lying.”

“Go ahead, find out. I know you have a direct line to one of your friends thanks to that Pixie on your shoulder.”

Gullie.

“How does she know so much?” I whispered.

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