Page 66 of The Path of Blood and Betrayals

“And the blood summoner?” Her laugh breaks through the crowd again and I bite my cheek, to keep from going to her and laying my claim on her.

The way she would beg for me…

“She helped. Nothing more.”

Fee raises a brow, disbelieving me. It’s annoying having a sister who knows my tells.

“I’m probably overtaxed. We didn’t rest before the journey to Griffin’s court and spent more time hunting his halls than sleeping. I’m testy, Fee. That’s all.” I shrug, and the tension flees her face, as she nods.

Fee might know my tells but she trusts me. She trusts I won’t lie to her. Even when I am.

Reid drops down beside me, balancing two glasses of wine and a plate of charred meat. Sniffing it, I frown, stomach rolling. It’s burnt Skrull.

Handing me a glass, he gives the other to Fee, smiling wide. “So, what are you two fighting about?”

“Nothing,” we say in unison as he laughs, resting an arm over the log, completely as ease. As if we didn’t just survive a battle.

It’s not the first time that I admire his resilience.

“Where have you been?” He’s still covered in debris, leathers torn. A paw got him in the attack, but he’s fully healed.

“Sending a note to father.” At my raised brow, he holds up his hands. “He sent us a hawk and I replied as if I were you.”

I glance to the blood summoner, listening to him explain.

Knowing how her magic reacts, I can better see the toll it causes her. The tiredness on her face, the way she winces with noises, she’s drained from the ordeal earlier. How does her companion notnotice it?

Or is he like every other Witch? Only concerned with the white and black, and never the grey of the world?

“What did he want?”

“What do you think?” He snorts. “He wanted to know if we found anything.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I had to tell him something, Kade,” Reid explains. “His letter were getting persistent. He doesn’t know what, just that we found a weapon and we were in the processing of procuring it.”

Nodding, I sip the wine. “Good. By his next letter, we should be able to tell him we’re on our way home.”

Chapter 24

Max

When the next morning arrives, we’re packed with substantially less volunteers and hurry into the forest, Dark Fae leading us through.

The same rules apply. Do not go anywhere alone. Stay within the group. Be vigilant.

After the attack, all of us are taking their claims to heart. No one wants to run into another beast unprepared. All of us want to finish this and get out.

Walking through the cursed forest takes days as we hunt for the home base. The paths are overgrown, most barely wide enough for a horse to travel. We have to pick our path carefully, grass so high we don’t know if when we step down, there will be ground or something deadly.

We barely stop to rest during our trek. The Eternal Night Forest is so dark, there is no telling of time here. A few of the volunteers become disorientated and the Dark Fae are forced to tie them to the horses to keep them from running away.

And because of the tiring travel, it’s left very little time for me to talk to the heir. After his cruel words, I’d rather not remember how I bared my soul to him and he shut everything down with such coolness, my fingers felt frostbitten.

“We’ll stop here,” he calls back, sweeping his gaze overthe ragged group. They land on me for a brief pause before looking away. “Stay in the shadows.”

Glancing around him, Tay drops from his horse to my side, unpacking our items. In front of our group, is a bright expanse of sun, my eyes watering from the sudden onslaught of light.