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‘How can you be sure?

‘The Bear Slayer just saved my life,’ he replied. ‘If he said he’ll bring them to the meet point, that’s exactly what he’ll do.’

There was no room for argument after that.

As they trudged through the undergrowth, a sliver of moon appeared, the eclipse shifting at long last. Thea didn’t know what it meant, that it had lasted so long, or that it was finally fading. She didn’t ask.

In the returning moonlight she could see the furrow of Wilder’s brow, the conflict across his face. He was at odds with himself; she’d seen that look many times before, often pertaining to her. But this time… This time guilt curdled in her gut. She didn’t have the whole story, not yet, but she knew she’d been wrong about him, and that thought alone mortified her into silence. She had felt in her bones that it didn’t add up, but she had hunted him across the midrealms anyway. She had cursed his existence and had him thrown in the ice dungeons. She had allowed hatred to make her bitter, to make her resent what they had once shared together. But here he was – stoic and sturdy as ever.

The tension between them grew tauter with each passing moment, and she knew he was processing his own feelings about it all as well. What could she say to undo even a little of the damage? What could she do to take away the pain she’d caused him? She didn’t deserve his forgiveness.

The heated kiss they had shared in the Vios stables came back to her, as did the words he’d spoken to her there.

‘I’ll never stop being yours.’

Thea hardly knew what to feel about everything unfolding around her, but she knew that she’d been wrong, so deeply and utterly wrong. And that Wilder had paid the price for it.

Every time a question formed on her lips, she bit it back. How long until they met up with the shadow-touched? What had become of the monster in the floating dome, and of all their friends? How would they face the realms now, knowing all that stood against them?

The silence from Wilder reminded her of their first journey together, when he had escorted her from Thezmarr to Harenth to petition the rulers to become a shieldbearer. That had been two years ago. Two years that felt like a lifetime with all they had endured between.

‘Watch your —’

But it was too late – Thea slipped on the uneven terrain as they descended over a ridge. Wilder caught her, his warm hands closing around her waist, his long fingers spanning her ribs, the strength of him near-intoxicating. She couldn’t help it; she breathed him in, relishing his familiar scent, the touch that seared through her clothes.

And just for a moment, his gaze dropped to her mouth, his eyes darkening.

But then the heated look was gone, and he cleared his throat, holding her until her feet were steady beneath her once again.

‘Thanks.’ She willed his touch to linger.

It didn’t.

‘Wilder…’ she started, unable to bear the quiet any longer.

‘It’s just down here,’ he said, cutting her off and moving ahead of her.

She followed, noting how twisted all the barren trees were in this part of Aveum, as though some force had swept through and tangled them. A particularly large naked trunk stood in the middle of the woods, its base surrounded by jagged boulders covered in a pale green moss that reminded Thea of fine lace.

With a grunt, Wilder put all his weight behind one of the giant rocks and pushed. The huge stone rolled to the side to reveal an opening just beyond.

‘I thought we were going to a campsite…’ Thea said tentatively.

‘We are. Of sorts.’

‘Where are we, then?’

‘We’re still in Aveum, just deep underground.’

‘Is this where we’re meeting Torj and the others?’

‘Not yet. We’ll meet them after. They won’t be far from us.’ He motioned to the gap. ‘Princesses first.’

Out of habit, she shot him a look before she remembered herself.

At a crouch, Thea entered the dark space, placing her hands out before her face and finding that she couldn’t see a single finger as she edged into what must have been some sort of tunnel. The crunch of rock sounded behind her, and she heard Wilder brushing his hands off as he followed her inside. There was a strike of flint, and a moment later the cavern was illuminated by torchlight.

‘This way,’ Wilder said, taking the lead once more, down into the depths of the underground.