Page 62

Chapter

Fifty-Nine

I t was a cloudy day, and by the time they reached a small village, Lessia realized it must be early afternoon.

Even though it was still dim outside, the little light there was came from the southwest, gray rays dancing between the snow-covered mountains that towered there.

After Loche dismounted, Lessia let him help her off Reks, and she winced at the stiffness in her legs as they hit the hard-packed snow.

“We have a short walk still, but Reks cannot follow where we’re going. I’ll take him to a trusted friend in the village, but it’s probably best if you stay here. While they won’t mind, they’ll know who you are as soon as they see you.”

Patting Reks’s warm neck, she nodded.

She sat down on a small boulder, keeping an eye on the satchel Loche left behind and remaining alert to any sound from the dark forest surrounding them.

Nothing happened in the short time Loche was gone, and she jumped to her feet when he made his way back through the deep snow .

As he once again reached out a hand for her, she folded her arms over her chest. “You need to tell me where we are going.”

While she somehow trusted him, she didn’t like not having all the information, especially in a part of Ellow that was entirely foreign to her.

Loche huffed and gripped her hands, unlocking her arms and pulling them around his waist.

He glowered down at her. “So nosy.”

She raised a brow, ignoring the tingling sensation in her gut as his body pressed against hers. “Tell me.”

His gaze drifted upward for a moment before he sighed. “It’s the winter solstice. I’m taking you to my favorite place to celebrate.”

Her brows shot up.

She’d forgotten about the winter solstice, one of the most important holidays in Ellow. On this one day a year, no one worked, so families and friends came together to celebrate the seasons shifting into brighter times.

Of course she loved it.

Loved knowing the consuming darkness would soon be replaced with midnight sun, with warm wind and flowers and leaves and greens.

When a smile spread across her face, Loche’s eyes flashed, and he bent down, claiming her mouth.

His kiss was urgent and possessive but gentle all the while, and she lost herself in his soft lips.

“Smile like that again,” he mumbled against her mouth.

She couldn’t help her lips curling, and he growled, fusing their mouths together again.

When he finally pulled back, they were both out of breath, and Loche dragged a hand across his face. “You drive me to the brink of insanity. ”

She giggled and immediately wanted to smack herself in the face for the airy sound.

What was this man doing to her?

Pursing her lips, Lessia tried to ignore the unease that swirled in her gut as she righted her left sleeve, which had slid down, only looking up when Loche let out a low laugh.

“What?” she muttered.

“Nothing.” Loche shook his head, took a step forward, and gripped her hand. “Come on, we want to get there before it’s too late.”

She thought about asking him yet again where they were going but decided against it when a smile played across his lips as he led her through two towering snowbanks.

Fresh snow lay across the ground, and she was grateful for it when Loche rushed his steps, heading toward a snow-covered hill where glittering ice slithered along the bottom.

As they came closer and she spotted a dark opening at the base, her stomach flipped.

Even with the glowing rock in her fist, that darkness seemed all-consuming.

Loche dragged her all the way to the opening, and she cautiously sniffed the air, expecting some sort of musty smell to rise from it. A crease formed over her brow when instead the smell of food and wood wafted through, and she glanced at Loche.

“We’re going down there, yes. It will be fun, I promise.” Loche let go of her hand, took a few steps to the right, and brushed some snow off what looked like a small boat.

As he pulled it free from the heavy snow covering it, she realized it was some kind of sled. The townsfolk in Asker would use similar ones to drag goods across the snow, and the children had versions they used to go downhill in the winter .

This one was curved at the bottom, though, and made of smooth wood that looked as if it would sail right across the snow.

Her eyes snapped between Loche and the opening.

“No.” Lessia took a step back. “You can’t mean we’re getting into that thing, going down there .”

Her lips curled back when Loche snickered, and a warning hiss involuntarily left her throat as he took a step toward her.

Loche’s eyes rounded with innocence. “The other option is sliding down yourself, and while I’ve tried it, I can’t recommend it.”

She backed up another step, shaking her head.

Absolutely not.

The abyss before them was pitch black, and based on the other paths he’d taken her on, she didn’t expect this one to have much better upkeep.

“Darling.” Loche’s lips twitched as he tracked her retreat. “Do you trust me?”

Her eyes narrowed.

Perhaps.

But refusing this was just common sense.

Setting down the sled, Loche leaned against the wall. “We can go back to the village if you prefer, but I promise it will be worth it. There’s food, and I’ve been promised music and entertainment. And… I’d like you to meet some of my friends.”

Her eyes narrowed farther when something soft—vulnerable—flashed across his face.

As she took another step back, Loche nodded and pushed himself off the icy wall, the playful expression vanishing.

Clenching the sparkling stone hard, she eyed him as he approached, and when he reached for her hand again, she groaned, “Fine! But you’ll have to explain yourself to Merrick if I die. ”

His eyes dropped to her mouth. “I’d gladly let him rip me apart if I ever cause you harm.”

The words slammed into her heart, and she fixed her gaze on the ground as she walked up to the black pit.

“What do we do?”

“I’ll show you.” Loche’s arm snaked around her waist as he guided her into the sled.

As soon as she was positioned, he sat down behind her, his legs snugly sitting outside hers in the narrow seat and his arms clasped around her.

Once they were seated, Loche pushed something on the wall, and the scream ripping from her throat echoed between the ice-covered walls as the sled angled down and accelerated deep into the hill.

She wasn’t proud of it, but she couldn’t stop screaming, feeling as if her stomach would fall out of her body until the sled finally skidded to a stop.

“Took you long enough.”

Lessia looked up, right into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.

They belonged to a beautiful middle-aged woman with gray-streaked auburn hair.

She smiled at Lessia as she caught her breath. “Everyone screams the first time. And now everyone knows you’re here too. Loche likes to sneak up on us.”

Lessia tried to smile back, but as she drew a deep gulp of air to settle her pounding heart, a strangled noise escaped her.

Eyes wide, she stared at the woman, slamming into Loche’s chest as she shifted backward.

“You’re a shifter.”