Bite Of Winter

I wait and allow the winter freeze to retreat inside me, but it’s right on the edge, ready to explode should anyone make a wrong move. “We’re still leaving.” I pull my blade from Keret’s neck.

“The treaty?” he asks.

Movement has me tensing for a fight again, but Cenet appears behind Keret, his hands out, weapons stowed. “I came to help.”

“Your soldiers could have used it,” Gareth says wryly. He hands Taylor the obsidian sword, the blade cleaned of Vanara’s blood.

“I meant that I came to help you.” Cenet glares. “But I see Keret has it handled.”

“The treaty?” Keret presses.

“It is still good as long as we are allowed to leave.” I can’t keep the ice from my tone. “The Vundi shouldn’t suffer because of Vanara’s treachery.”

“You may leave as soon as you wish, and I’m happy to send Cenet with you to make sure you reach the border safely.”

“No, thank you,” Gareth’s voice carries down the hall. “I can see to the king’s security.”

“May we at least send provisions with you?”

“We don’t want to take what you have.” I eye the nearest soldier as the ice falls from him, and he’s able to move.

He steps back. Wise choice.

I hold one hand out behind me, warmth infusing me as Taylor takes it without hesitation. Leading her through the soldiers, I glower at them as they part for us. We return to our rooms, and Gareth guards the door as Beth and Taylor throw clothes and food into bags. I don’t leave Taylor’s side, my instincts attuned to every move she makes.

“Leander.” She pauses as she’s stuffing her hat into the bag and turns to me, her eyes troubled. “When Vanara came for us, it wasn’t Delantis who killed her. That magic, the black veins on her skin—it came from me somehow.”

A wave of foreboding cascades through me. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” She stares at her pale hands. “I barely touched her. I was trying to get the obsidian sword from her, but when my hand grazed her arm, she sort of froze. Her eyes—” She shivers. “They turned black, and then she fell. I never meant to kill anyone. But I did, didn’t I? I took her life. It was as if there was something so dark inside me, almost like another person, and she wanted to kill Vanara. I could feel it under my skin somehow—that need to inflict death. Wh-what was that?” She stares at her hands again, as if they’re alien to her, as if they belong to another.

I’ve seen that sort of dark magic before, but only once. And I never thought I’d cross paths with it again—at least I hoped I wouldn’t. I don’t let my suspicions show, but I have some—ones that I dare not speak aloud. Pulling her to me, I wrap her in my arms where I know she’s safe. “Vanara wrote her own fate when she decided to turn on her own. You did nothing wrong.”

“You say that.” She presses her forehead against my chest. “But I can’t agree. I don’t know how to live with it. Can I?” Her eyes are brimming with tears when she looks up at me. “Can I accept that I took a life?”

“Put your burden on me, Taylor. Give me that worry and let me carry it for you. At least for now. When we’re safe in the winter realm, we can take it out of its box and examine it together. But for now, let me have it. All right?”

She sniffs and nods. “I can try.”

“And let’s keep this between us for now. At least until we return to High Mountain and speak with Ravella.”

“Who is she? You’ve mentioned her before.”

“A powerful fae with expertise in some peculiar areas. She’s a valuable member of the Phalanx. Now, we must hurry. We’ll discuss it all later, I promise.”

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I trust you.”

Has my heart ever beat this hard? “Good. That’s what—”

“Leander, we must go!” Gareth calls from the front entry.

I kiss her forehead, then grab a few more items and hurry her out the door.

Back out in the hall, Keret waits for us. Alone. His guards have dispersed, but I can still feel unease in the air. Some of the Vundi may have been in league or agreement with Vanara. We need to leave before the situation boils over even further.

“Para will lead you out. She has your provisions, and Cenet will bring your horses. You will be safe.” Keret gestures down the hall. “Para will show you the secret way that leads to an entrance near the walls of Timeroon.”

“Timeroon is at least a week’s ride from here.” I glance at Gareth.

“Week and a half, at best,” he adds.

Keret nods. “Our ways are underground, faster than the road, safer too, but it will still take you five days to get there.”

We can take our chances on the plains, risk another storm and the wind wights, or remain trapped in this stone world for a few more days.

I tense as Para appears down the corridor.

She kneels in front of me, her head low. “I swear on the soul of High Priestess Delantis that I will see you safely to the walls of Timeroon.”

“Why this allegiance?” I, like any fae, distrust an oath so freely given, though the sting of magic is just as potent.

“You tried to save her, didn’t you?” Her eyes meet Taylor’s, and I realize she isn’t kneeling for me, but for my mate.

Taylor steps to my side, and I let her stay there despite wanting to keep her safely back.

“I did. I tried to stop Vanara, but I wasn’t able to keep her from—” She chokes up and puts one hand to her mouth.

Para’s mournful voice reverberates from the walls. “Delantis is—was—our guiding light. That you fought to save her means more to me than I can give voice to.” She takes a deep, shuddering breath and bows her head again. “I offer you my sword for as long as you wish it. To the walls of Timeroon and beyond, I will serve you. Upon my life and honor, I make this vow.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Taylor steps forward and offers her hand. “Please.”

Gareth clears his throat. “My queen, her oath is as sacred as the one sworn to you by the members of the Phalanx. You can either accept and honor her by doing so or decline and leave her to her shame.”

Taylor looks at me, her gaze questioning. But this is a decision she must make on her own. I am her king, but she is strong in her own right and grows more so each day. She seems to realize that and returns to Para.

“Your pledge is honored. Bladanon thronin.” She holds her hand out again, and this time, Para takes it.

10

Taylor

We travel for what feels like a day in the unending stone world. Over bridges and through tunnels, we find abandoned mining equipment and mushrooms that bloom wide and translucent along the walls. Water is plentiful—so different from the dry, dusty landscape above. It makes me wonder if there is some way to pull the water from underground and recreate a farming oasis on the plains, restore it to its former state.

Too often, my thoughts wander to Delantis’s death. It has weighed on me each moment as we trudge along, the horses following behind. Even more than that, Vanara haunts me—the way she looked when the darkness crawled up her arm. I wince when I remember it. The darkness that came from me. Leander has given me so much comfort, but I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that something is wrong with me, and taking a life has made it even worse.

“We can camp here for a bit,” Para says as we enter a medium-sized cave covered with glowing crystals overhead. “We’re making excellent time. I didn’t intend to reach this crystal cavern so soon. After this point, we should be able to ride the horses. The ceilings are much higher.”

“Are you all right?” Leander keeps a steady hold on my hand. He’s offered to carry me about a dozen times, but I’m fine. At least I am, physically speaking.

“It’ll be nice to have a rest.” I squeeze his fingers.

He drops a kiss on my hair and strides to Kyrin, unloading our supplies with unnatural speed. Before I’ve even had time to stretch, he’s got a fur pallet set up for me.

Beth plops down on it and pats the spot next to her.

Leander frowns, but doesn’t order her away. “I’ll be back, little one.” He gives Beth a hard look. “And you will be gone so I can attend to my mate.”

“If ‘attend to’ means ‘mate with,’ I’m all for it.” She gives him a thumbs up.

I snicker despite myself. I must be tired.

He stalks off to Gareth, who’s unloading Sabre.

“Why do I always miss the good stuff?” She kicks her feet out and lies back. “Come on. Tell me what happened. Begin at the beginning.”

I lie next to her and close my eyes. Somehow, telling her about the council, the crops, Delantis, and Vanara lifts a weight from me. I suppose her exclamations of “you’re so smart” and “Delantis knew you were special” and “that bitch Vanara got what was coming to her” helped a bit. I hold back on the details about the blackness that destroyed Vanara, the way it seemed to come from somewhere inside me.

“What am I?”