Page 45 of Sky of Thorns

“Kela?” I ask, my voice squeaking on the last syllable. My heart beats frantically when she doesn’t respond, worry pushing past my exhaustion. I reach out and grab at her wrist, but she continues standing, her body swaying slightly.Goddess help me,what can I do?I study her body, but overall she seems to be in good health. I snap my fingers over her foggy eyes, but get no response.

“Kela!” I call again, louder. I snap my fingers at her face one more time, and Kela shakes her head. Her clear blue eyes refocus on me.

“What in the name of the goddess, was that!?“ I demand, standing. All pain in my ankle is forgotten as I curl my arms around my chest. I raise my brows, tapping my fingers on my thigh–

“Well, that’s one more secret for you to keep.” Kela interrupts my inquisition, grinning at me sheepishly. “I’m the clan’s secret weapon.”

Aramis

Snowflakesdriftlazilyaroundus and Nero casts his eyes skyward. Following his gaze, I note the dark gray clouds, heavy with the promise of snow.

“If we don’t find her soon, her tracks will be lost to the snow and we will have to turn back.” Nero sighs as he lifts his ax and points down the path. Small footprints mar the soft soil, and a sigh of relief begs to escape my lips. “It looks like she went this way.”

My shoulders release their tension at this first clue. I look back at the secret passage through the crypts that leads to this path. Someone must have helped her escape. A warm breeze caresses my face and moves my gaze back towards the thick of the trees. I close my eyes and for a split second the gentle touch brings back loving memories of my mother.Come back to me Sybil. “Let’s get going, there is no time to waste,” I say, voice full of unwavering determination as I follow the footsteps.

“She dinna ken these forests like we do, Aramis. We could spend hours and not find her. Especially if we’re caught out during a thundersnow,” Nero adds as he chops down a branch blocking our path.

“Then we need to pick up the pace. Her footprints won’t be the only thing lost in the snow if we don’t find her first.” My stupid heart clenches at the thought of her lost in the forest in a blizzard or worse, facing one of the many wild beasts known to roam the deeper mountain passes.

After following what little is left of Sybil’s prints for what seems an eternity, they suddenly start to change into hoofprints–hot hair expels from my lungs to fog in front of my face.

“She shifted. This must mean her strength is coming back, but also that she is able to run a lot quicker.” I rake a hand through my cold hair, contemplating our options. The icy wind is slowly picking up.

Nero glances up at me and breaks the heavy silence. “Right. If I were Sybil, I’d travel north before skirting to the east or west to avoid any patrols from the castle.” I keep my head lowered, just to make sure I don’t give away the built up tension building in my chest. “Aye, Sybil is a smart lass. She could offer her healing services in exchange for a warm bed from one of the outlying farmlands.”

“No,” I shake my head in denial. The thought of others reporting sights of Sybil to any guard is too terrifying to contemplate. “That would be too obvious. She would know we would be looking for a healer and a shifter, nonetheless. People are greedy and would be more than willing to give up her location for a few coins.” I stare up at the sky, frowning as clouds continue to darken the further we travel.Fuck!

“She would if her choice was between living and freezing to death.” Nero adds matter-of-factly.

As we reach the heart of the forest, I clutch my cloak tightly around me and send a silent prayer to the Goddess, begging her to hold the storm for a little while longer. Step after step, I imagine Sybil in her unicorn form running through these trees, wild and free, and wonder how that must feel. Nero follows next to me, a worried expression on his face, but no sign of him suffering from the cold. “I think this is the first time in my life I wish I had fire magic. I’m losing sensation in my toes,” I say trying to lighten the mood.

“Mate, you’d be a terrible fire element–.” As he lifts his foot to step over a fallen log, I quickly throw an arm out, stopping him in his tracks.

“Wait!” I crouch down, examining the snow. Hoofprints and footprints are mixed together everywhere. Not much further, there’s an imprint of a body and something else, something different. I stop when I recognise the shape of large paws, like a wolf’s, standing out following petite hoofprints. My heart races and my palms sweat as fear and hope intensify. The emotions are overwhelming, and I struggle to keep them in check. “Something happened here.”

“It looks like she tripped.” Nero points out, crouching beside me. “Are those wolf prints?” He asks, standing up and walking a few paces.

As I observe her prints, my chest constricts. The change is too obvious. It becomes apparent that she is injured and favoring her leg.

“We have to find her. She can’t be far,” I growl, quickening my pace along the tracks. The thought of her out there, alone and unprotected, makes me shudder. What if this creature took her by surprise and she did not have a chance to defend herself? My mind races with worst-case scenarios.

“Dinna fash; we’ll find her. Be rational.” Nero reassures me as he clasps my shoulder in solidarity, and the touch is comforting. “It will do nae good if we get injured searching for her in the process.” The once serene winter landscape has turned into a blur of white as the snowflakes become larger and denser. The air becomes thick with the smell of wet earth and cold, damp snow that’s seeped through my clothes, my hands and feet tingling and numb. Despite that, my mind is solely focused on finding her.

“She is clearly hurt, Nero. With Goddess-knows-what hunting her. I will not fail her.” I turn in place, facing him, clenching my teeth. Panic rises in my chest as I realize that if we don’t find her, she may be lost to me forever to a fucking storm. I grab Nero’s wide shoulder and with extreme clarity open my heart to him, “I cannot lose her too.”

My magic, my royal status, my kingdom will mean nothing if I won’t be able to save her. My hands shake as I am consumed by the need to find her, to ensure she is safe, and it is threatening to unravel me. Mine. She is mine. The mating bond ripples through me at the thought, like raw power, and what I’ve fought for so long has been won over.

It’s there. The undeniable truth I’ve been avoiding. The tension in my muscles releases, replaced by a controlled intensity. I have to beg her for forgiveness and tell her how I feel, but my heart wrenches at the thought of losing her before I have the chance to make amends.

I let my hands fall and shake my head in despair. What a fucking fool I am. How many opportunities have I missed? Will she even forgive me after all that has transpired? My jaw tightens, no longer in denial but in resolute acceptance of the connection that binds me to her. The wind shifts, blowing cooly against the back of my neck and sending a shiver of premonition.

Nero pauses, his face contorting in confusion. With a sudden jolt, his eyes widen as his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. His hands grip my shirt and slam me against a tree. I gasp for breath as the impact forces the air out of my lungs. As he pins me down, I watch him pant, his nostrils flaring.

“Nae. This canna be.” He lets go of my shirt and storms a few paces away before turning and facing me. “How long?” He demands.

Brushing down the front of my shirt, I silently meet his gaze, raising a brow in question. “How long, what?”Shit.

“Dinna play coy with me, lad. We’ve been friends for too long.” Nero steps into my space, jabbing a finger into my chest. “How. Long. Have. You. Known?” Each word articulates the point with the jabs of his finger into my chest.

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