Page 27 of Shadowed Spirits (Haunted Magic #2)

CHAPTER 27

IZZY

I squint to try to see through all the blowing snow as I step out of the portal. I’m extremely thankful I’m a mage because this snowy mountain peak would be miserable without magic to keep me warm. While I’m still bundled up in a coat, hat, gloves, and snow boots, I have a heated bubble around my mates and me to keep the harsh winter air off us.

We decided to check out the Icelandic location first, at the inhuman hour of four in the morning. Have I mentioned I hate getting up early? Because I do, with a fiery, burning passion. Since we hope to check out multiple mountains today, we wanted to get an early start.

Today is my birthday and Halloween. Normally, my family would force me to attend a costume party or, even worse, a birthday party. Luckily, we have way too much going on to waste time on a pointless gathering, so I got out of that. I’m sure I’ll get a call from my parents and brothers later, but they’re all still asleep, like we should be.

I’m a bit surprised that Bishop hasn’t brought it up yet, but I’m glad for it. I hate celebrating my birthday. It’s just another reminder that yet another year has passed without me solving all of the problems that follow me around like the ghostly dogs of the Wild Hunt. If I had my way, everyone would ignore that this day exists, and it looks like I’m going to get my wish this year.

The others stepping through the portal jar me from my thoughts. While we can portal to the general location, we can’t get to the exact coordinates without a picture of it or having been there before. So, here we are, looking like a collection of marshmallows in our heavy gear as we prepare to wander around, trying to find specific coordinates. Luckily, we have a GPS from Aiden that should point us in the right direction.

“Everyone ready to go?” Luca has to shout to be heard over the shrieking wind.

I give him a thumbs up instead of trying to talk loudly enough to be heard. Once everyone else agrees, Luca takes off in the direction the GPS tells us to go.

I underestimated how hard it would be to slog through the almost knee-high snow, as I’m out of breath in a matter of minutes. Sucking it up because we have a job to do, I trek forward silently. Glancing around, I see the rest of my mates fighting through the heavy snow with grim determination.

Two hours later, we arrive at a cave entrance. I’m so excited to get out of the snow that I dart forward into the recessed opening. Luca snags me by my hood as I pass him and keeps me from going any farther. I turn around to glare at him. He arches an unimpressed brow at me. “You can go in after I make sure there aren’t any surprises waiting for us.”

I cross my arms but manage to resist the urge to stomp my foot in frustration. “I’m just as strong as you, wolf boy. There’s no reason I can’t go first.”

“It’s not about strength, wildcat. I’m well aware you’re significantly more powerful than I am, but you’re still my mate. I want to protect you, regardless of how strong you are.”

My ire melts a little at his sweet sentiment, but it goes both ways. “I want to protect all of you, too, so I should go first.”

“Unfortunately for you, sunshine, you’re outvoted,” Archer informs me with an amused smile. “None of us wants you to go somewhere dangerous first. You can go second, though.”

I snort at his offer. Sighing, I motion Luca to go in front of me. As much as I enjoy being on a snowy hellscape of a mountain in Iceland, I really don’t. I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible. Arguing with my bullheaded mates is just wasting time, and I’m unlikely to win this. Luca strokes my cheek with a gloved hand as he passes me. I enter the cave hot on his heels.

I’m not sure what I expected to find, but the cave looks pretty… normal. Don’t get me wrong, the ice cave is a breathtaking spectacle of shimmery bright blue ice walls, a frozen waterfall, and lethal-looking icicles. My feet crunch on the black pebbly ground as I spin around in the center, trying to take it all in.

While beautiful, there’s no shrine to Lua, bulletin board with all her evil plans, photos of us with red Xs over our faces scattered about, or any trace that anyone has been here in centuries. Instead, it’s just a room of pristine ice. “How, exactly, are we supposed to know when we find the right cave?”

Archer wanders over and slings an arm around my shoulders. “That’s an excellent question, sunshine. One I don’t know the answer to.” Archer grins down at me, like he isn’t bothered in the least by our predicament. The worry I can see shining in his aquamarine eyes that match the ice cave walls tells a different story, though.

I huff a laugh, feeling a tiny bit lighter, thanks to his presence, than I did before. “Fantastic. Anyone know the answer?”

Levi rubs his chin thoughtfully as he looks around the cave. He was right that he just needed a little rest. When he got up at the ungodly hour of three this morning, his bruise was completely faded, and he seems back to normal. “I’m honestly not sure. We may need to visit all six mountains and then get a game plan together as to which one we think she’ll be at in two weeks. Hopefully there will be clues in the others because I’m not seeing anything here.”

“Yippee,” I mutter sarcastically. “So, where to next? Siberia?” I know Siberia isn’t all snow and cold and desolation, but I still would rather go somewhere warm and sunny, like Italy. Although, the location is on a mountain, so it will probably be depressing, too.

My mates look between each other and have a silent conversation that I’m not privy to. Before I can ask about it, Bishop says, “Let’s go to Japan first. I have a good feeling about that one.”

Raising my eyebrows, I look at Bishop expectantly for an explanation, but he just conjures up a portal and walks through. Everyone else follows him through until it’s just Archer and me left in the ice cave. He bows to me and sweeps his arm across his body to the portal dramatically. “After you.”

Giggling at his antics, I make my way to the portal and snag his hand as I pass by. We go through the portal together and step out onto a dark green grassy rock face. In a single file line, we start the multi-hour trek up yet another mountain.

“I don’t think there’s anything here, either,” I comment as I look around the rocky space. These coordinates also led to the top of another mountain peak. Whereas the last one was almost completely ice, this one is made up of mostly gray rock with moss crawling up it.

A teal pool sits at the center of the cave, its calm waters almost mesmerizing to look at. The only sounds in the cave, besides the six of us, are the gentle breeze and dripping water from somewhere farther in. Unfortunately, there’s no giant, flashing sign advertising that this is the right place. After a two-hour hike up here with nothing to show for it, I’m ready to go home, but I know we need to keep looking at the other locations.

“Yeah, I don’t see anything useful here, either. We should probably portal back and regroup before we do anything else.” Waiting until we all nod, Bishop uses his magic to open a gateway that Luca, Archer, Cain, and Levi all hop through before I have a chance. Shaking my head at how they always need to be first, I walk through.

Instead of popping out back at the Nightshade keep like I thought, I walk out into a bustling street. I’m immediately bombarded with the sound of shrieking laughter, groups chatting among themselves, and vendors shouting to try to snare the attention of the people walking by. Taking in a surprised breath, I’m overloaded with the scent of so many different foods that all smell delicious. I look around at the neon lights that line the streets on both sides of a canal with glassy black water in wonder before spinning back to face my mates. “What’s this?”

“Happy birthday!” they shout at once.

I can’t keep the stupid grin off my face as Bishop shoves a batch of chocolate cupcakes with purple frosting into my arms. They look suspiciously like my mom made them. Her chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and strawberry filling has always been my absolute favorite dessert, so I’m not surprised he brought them with us.

“What? How? I thought we were just looking around the mountains today?” I’m sure my eyes are as wide as saucers right now, but I’m just so surprised, in a good way. It’s pretty hard to surprise me. My family has tried to throw me surprise parties for years and never succeeded.

“You really thought we’d forget your birthday, wildcat?” Luca cocks an eyebrow at me like I really should know better. His lips twitch up when I roll my eyes at him. “Bishop mentioned how much you hate your birthday, so we figured we’d do something different than a traditional party.”

Bishop grins down at me. “A Japanese night market seemed like something you’d enjoy, with how much you like to bake, cook, and try new foods. There’s no shortage of street food to try here.”

When I don’t say anything, Cain pinches his brows in concern. “Do you like it, angel?”

I let out a watery laugh. “I love it, quiet boy. Thank you all for being so thoughtful.”

“Ready to explore, little raven?” Levi offers me his hand. I take it, and he pulls me along this side of the canal. Bishop and Luca walk in front of us, Archer beside me, and Cain behind us. As we weave in and out of the stalls, we pause to try any of the street foods that look good. The six of us talk, laugh, and stuff our faces with some of the best food I’ve ever had until I think I’m going to be sick. After we’ve been wandering for an hour or two, Levi drops back to talk quietly with Cain, so it’s just Archer walking next to me now.

After walking in companionable silence for a bit, Archer bumps his shoulder with mine. “So, how’s it feel being twenty-two? Any different?”

I’m silent for a moment, trying to see if there’s something that magically changed after I completed another trip around the sun. “Not really. Did it feel any different when you turned twenty-two?”

He hums thoughtfully. “It did, yeah. My twenty-second birthday was my second without my parents. My first was shortly after, so it passed in a daze of pain and grief. Turning twenty-two was the first birthday I really felt the absence of our parents. Luca and Cain were drowning in pack responsibility, so no one remembered it other than me. I spent the day by our lake, hiding out from everyone. Turning twenty-two felt so much different than I imagined it.”

My chest aches at the pain in his voice and that everyone forgot about his birthday. He doesn’t seem mad about it, but it still makes me hurt for him. “I’m sorry, sunny boy,” I whisper. “Why were you hiding from everyone?”

Archer gives me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Because I couldn’t pretend to be okay. After a few months of dealing with my grief by selfishly acting out, I realized that I needed to grow the fuck up and be there for Luca, Cain, and the pack. The only thing I could really offer was unwavering optimism, shitty jokes, and an always present smile.

“On my birthday, though, I couldn’t muster even the little I usually did. All I could do was try not to get swallowed whole by how much I missed my parents, our old life, and the people Luca and Cain used to be. My mom always made such a big deal about birthdays, so I felt her absence really strongly that day, too. No one needed to see how much I was hurting for stupid reasons when they were all struggling with so much more and handling it better. I gave myself the day to wallow in it. Then I packed it all away and vowed to do a better job for everyone.”

I don’t even know how to respond to all of that, so I fling myself into his arms. He catches me with an oomph and a small chuckle. Archer bands his arms around me and squeezes me to him like I’m the only thing keeping him from drifting away.

When his hold on me eventually loosens, I pull back to look at him. “None of that was stupid to hurt for, sunny boy. You lost your parents, the life you thought you’d have, and your brother and friend in a way. Anyone would be struggling with that. It’s easy to look at everyone else and think they have it together better, but they don’t. You’re allowed to take up space, Archer. You’re allowed to hurt and need comfort and be more than just a handsome face who makes other people feel better.”

His teal eyes bounce between mine as he seems to consider. “But it’s my fault,” he whispers.

“What?” I ask.

“It’s my fault they died. I was supposed to be on patrol that night, but I ditched to get drunk and party with my friends. I stumbled home hungover the next day, not knowing anything about the attack. Luca, rightfully so, tore me a new one when I eventually I did come home. As he pointed out, if I had been patrolling as I should’ve, maybe the vamps wouldn’t have overpowered the guards and gotten to my parents. Maybe I could’ve stopped them.” His rough voice trembles as he struggles to say it all. Archer avoids my gaze as he looks anywhere but at me as he talks.

I can feel my heart splinter in my chest at the visceral guilt on Archer’s face and in every word he says. “Oh, sunny boy. You were a dumb college kid, and you made an irresponsible choice. But I doubt you being there would’ve stopped them. They got through however many guards and your parents, so they probably would’ve torn through you. Then Luca would’ve had to bury his entire family that day, instead of just part of it. It wasn’t right for Luca to take out his grief on you, and none of what happened is your fault.”

Archer stares at me in shock. “How can you say that?”

“I can say it because it’s true. Do you honestly think you were strong enough to stop an entire force of one of the strongest supernatural creatures on Earth? When all the guards and your alpha, beta, and luna parents weren’t able to?” Even being part cura and a spirit mage, I struggle to take on more than a few vampires by myself. They’re crazy strong and so hard to kill. I highly doubt twenty-year-old Archer could’ve done much to them.

“No,” he breathes.

“Exactly. It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault, other than the vampires who attacked.” I stare up at him, wordlessly pleading with him to believe me.

Archer’s eyes shine with a guarded hope. “You really think that?”

“I really do.” I reach up to cup his face in my hands. He closes his eyes and leans into the touch. “You’re perfect as you are, sunny boy. You don’t need to change yourself to atone for what happened to your parents. You don’t have to be what you think everyone else wants you to be. All you need to be is you.”

His eyes bounce between mine for several moments, as if he’s trying to find the lie in what I said. He’s going to be looking forever because it’s all the truth. “You have a way with words, sunshine, you know that?”

I huff a laugh. “So I’ve been told. Usually, it’s not a good thing, though.”

“Maybe you should take some of the wise advice you dish out. You’re perfect as you are, Izzy. All the rough edges, prickly thorns, and soft and mushy heart you try to hide included.” His lips lift on one side as he tilts my chin to give me a sweet peck on the lips.

I blush at the compliment. “Tell anyone I have a heart and I’ll have to stab you,” I threaten him half-heartedly.

“That’s my girl.” He pulls me into his side and gives me a smile so full of warmth, I feel like I’m basking in pure sunshine. “So, eel or stingray?”

I laugh, the sound more carefree than it’s been in a long time. “Manatee.” We spend another few hours walking around the night market, with Archer making everyone play This or That. My stomach aches from how hard I’m laughing, and my cheeks hurt from my constant smile. Spending my birthday with my mates has made this the best one I’ve ever had.

All six of us have our broken and jagged parts that hurt anyone who gets too close. But, somehow, all of our sharp edges fit together perfectly. Like fucked-up puzzle pieces, we find our home in each other. It’s a gift I never thought I’d live long enough or have the luxury to experience. Now that I have it, Lua, the mage council, and anyone else will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands if they want to take it from me.