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‘Are we going back to Dreadhold now?’Imogen asked as we walked.

I didn’t want to go back to Dreadhold.It was easier to be with her away from the castle where prophecies and expectations constantly loomed over my head.Where my mother might show up at any moment and Solas stalked the walls.And I hadn’t forgotten her disappointment by the fire.I took her hand.‘I’d like to show you something first.’

‘What do you want to show me?’

‘A place I like to go sometimes.’

Melaie prowled beneath the trees ahead, snapping at the fanged sprites buzzing about in the dewy undergrowth.I whistled, and she immediately lifted her head, her golden eyes fixing on us, feathers bristling.

‘Are you going to be alright to fly?’I asked Imogen as we approached.

‘I’m perfectly fine.Agnes’s soup practically lit me on fire from the inside.Though,’ she cast me a sideways glance, ‘if Iwasn’t, would you suddenly reveal there is another, less frightening way to travel around here?’

‘None that are as fast.Or that won’t pose the real possibility of getting us killed.’

‘You know, if you weren’t fae, I’d say you were lying,’ she grumbled.‘I haven’t seen anyone else here flying around on griffins.’

‘That’s because there aren’t many who are clever enough to tame them.’

‘You don’t have self-esteem issues, do you?’

I slipped a hand around her waist, tugging her against me.‘How could I with you on my arm?’

She laughed, swatting, at me but the laugh fell away when her gaze flickered to my mouth.Fuck if I didn’t love the way she looked when she was thinking of kissing me.It made me wish I could paint, just so I could capture it somehow.I leaned in and granted the request she didn’t voice, stealing the thought from her lips.‘Come on,’ I said against her mouth, my arms tight around her waist.‘Let’s go someplace where Haddock and Agnes aren’t staring at us through their window.’

Chapter 33

Tarian

Themouthofthecave was a gaping pit into the mountain, swallowing up the moonlight within a few steps.Melaie trotted off ahead of us, flicking her tail and trilling in recognition.

‘You live in a castle and yet you come and hang out in a cave?’Imogen said, sounding sceptical.‘Why?’

‘Because no one else knows it’s here.’I offered her my hand, and she hesitated only a moment before she took it and let me lead her into the dark.

‘Does anything live in here that is going to eat us?’

‘Melaie might.’

‘Ha-ha.You take too much pleasure in the fact that I find her frightening.’

‘Of course.The more afraid you are, the tighter you hold on to me.’

The floor began to slope upwards, and she gripped my hand as we tried to pick our way through the dark.‘Do you even know where you’re going?’

‘Your faith in me is touching.’

‘To be fair, I have just followed you into a creepy cave in a place where everything seems to want to kill me, and I don’t even know where you’re taking me.I think I deserve points for that.’She stumbled, and I steadied her with an arm around her waist.I could just see the outline of her face, the gleam of her eyes as she looked up at me.

‘You can have all the points you want,’ I murmured.An eerie shriek ahead cut through the muggy silence, echoing off the walls and startling us both.

‘What was that?’she whispered.

‘Something being shredded by a griffin,’ I replied, taking her hand again and leading her on.The tunnel began to level out and the first glimpses of sky became visible as we approached the end of the tunnel.‘Watch your step.There’s a lot of rubble strewn around.’

The cave opened up to a flat, wide ledge jutting out over a valley below.Mountains ringed us in every direction, their peaks piercing a night sky strung with clear, bright stars.

And teeming with wings.