Page 179 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Okay, noted.” I said.

“The farther we travel, and the more tired we get, the more likely we are to argue and fight with each other. You will likely experience overwhelming hunches that we need to head in one direction while I am leading us in another. It is important that you ignore these as well and only listen to me.”

We all looked at each other and nodded.

“Fair enough. I don’t have any idea where we are, it seems like good sense to listen to you.” I agreed, and he nodded firmly.

“Promise me.” He pressed, and a coil of worry tore through me at how serious he was being.

“I promise.” I reaffirmed, and he nodded, gesturing for me to lift us into the air.

“It will hopefully go faster if you fly us, but if it gets to be too difficult for you to follow my directions, we will need to walk on foot. We cannot shadow walk past this point.”

For fucks sakes, what were we getting ourselves into? I steeled myself against my concerns, feeling Bond Breaker like a reassuring weight on my back, urging me forward.

“Alright, let’s do this.” I said, before asking the atoms in the air around us to lift us off the ground. I had never tried to fly multiple people before, and it took a minute for me to adjust and get used to ensuring I had a solid grasp on everyone. Jeremy and Meredith both looked uncomfortable and pale, but Conrad grinned, running his palm through the air next to him, like we were flying down the highway in a car, and he was trying to catch the updraft.

“Dis incredible!” He laughed, his eyes flashing in delight. His energy was infectious, and I found myself almost wanting to smile in return, despite the shattered state of my heart.

Dossidian reached out toward Meredith, and engulfed her hand in his massive fist, as she struggled to steady herself in the air.

“Come here, Little Witch. I will catch you if you fall.” He promised, and she glanced at him shyly, her face flushing red. She allowed him to tug her closer to his side, and I averted my gaze, feeling like I was encroaching on a private moment.

“You alright, Dad?” I asked, glancing back at Jeremy who was scowling at the ground, while holding his arms out to each side, trying to keep himself upright.

“Oh yeah, doing great, kiddo... Just trying to convince myself I’m not afraid of heights.” He lamented. I smirked at him, shaking my head.

“I won’t drop you; I promise.” I said, and he shot me a stern look that reminded me of a simpler time, when he could threaten to ground me for a weekend.

“You better not. I’m old, I’d probably break a hip.”

Dossidian barked out a laugh and I rolled my eyes.

“Forty-seven is not that old.” I snorted and he sighed as I began to propel us forward in the direction Dossidian had pointed.

“It is in human years.” He grumbled, but I could see his eyes shining with mirth. He was trying to cheer me up and I was grateful for that, but reminding me that he was mortal and human and we were about to travel into a man-eating desert was doing nothing to help my mood.

I didn’t respond, I just turned my attention to the horizon and poured more energy into the atoms that were powering us forward.

The faster we got to Fury’s Point, the better off Amon would be, and I refused to let anything get in my way, including my own frayed nerves.

Rycon

The K’aalpa-kah were even worse off than I had thought. Their fighting styles were predictable, and direct. They relied too much on brute force and their regenerative abilities. They needed to be cunning, and strategic. They needed to leverage the tools they had at their disposal, instead of primarily relying on tooth and claw.

The first day had been a disaster. I had come out to find barely any of them had stood waiting at attention as directed. They had taken to lazing about and chatting with each other instead. A few of them had even shifted into their panther forms to sneak a fucking cat nap in the sun beams that filtered through the thick green canopy of the rainforest.

Needless to say, I hadn’t been happy when I had left Rhoan House that morning. One of K’yen’s new recruits, a panther named Kyro, had been especially resistant to my new rules.

Kyro was young, barely eighteen years old, but he was cocky and alpha as fuck. When I had come to find that the majority of my warriors had given up on my order to stand at attention, I had begun disciplining them, only to have Kyro leap in front of a young female who was currently getting her ass beat for disobeying a direct order.

“Get your paws off my sister!” Kyro snarled, launching himself at me without even bothering to defend his face. I dropped his sister and she backed away from me. She was coughing and clutching her throat, which I’m sure was sore from the chokehold I had just had her in. I effortlessly slammed my fist into Kyro’s unguarded face, shattering his cheekbone.

Smirking at him, I shrugged.

“If you want to take her place, by all means, Little Cub.” I gestured at him to come at me again, as he glared at me from the ground; his golden eyes nearly consumed by the dilated black of his pupils.

He threw himself at me and I booted him so hard in the stomach I was impressed he didn’t puke.