Page 31

Chapter 31

Tully

“ I did not have following a magical maplecat into a cursed and ruined castle on my list of evening activities, Sio, so this had better not be a wild goose chase.”

The cat refrains from answering and merely trots on, his tail lifted as if nothing at all is wrong. Perhaps the magic that sparked his ability to speak like us is fading. I’ve seen such things happen.

The gate guard doesn't question me on our way out. They know not to meddle in a witch’s business.

The ruins sit atop the rise like a sleeping beast of old. Gripping my wand tightly, I force myself to continue forward. I never had the temptation to visit these ruins. I respect curses in every form and have no wish to dally with them. Or with ghosts. But Kaya is my friend, and Sio is her familiar, and if my intuition is right, there is some solution here.

Sio and I cross the dilapidated bridge over the old moat and enter via the remains of a gate and portcullis, which appears stuck halfway up. Sio is running now and I pull out my wand.

“I mean no disrespect, ghosts,” I say clearly. “I am not here to stir your power, curse. Let this witch walk and help a friend.”

Chills draw cold lines up my spine and across my chest. A sure sign of the otherworld, of things that are meant to remain behind the Dark Veil, the second passage of this world. I find Sio sitting beside not only a ghost but also a very dead-looking Cyrus. My heart cinches, and I fight to keep from attacking the ghost because I’m not sure he is hurting Cyrus.

I lower my wand and the ghost locks his gaze on me. A cold like winter’s deepest night crosses my soul. He is a dragon shifter, just as Cyrus told Kaya—likely the one who led Cyrus to a lost library of scrolls and to that map.

“I mean no harm,” I say. “I’m a friend of the dragon shifter at your feet, my lord.”

I am not sure the ghost was a lord in his days, but he has a noble bearing. There’s nothing casual about his stance, and the way he regards the world around him reminds me a little of Argos. Nobles are raised quite differently from anyone else.

The cold retreats, and the feeling in my limbs returns. The ghost gestures to Cyrus, so I get closer, then kneel beside Sio. I touch Cyrus’s arm. His skin is like ice, and his gold and green scales have gone gray.

“Cyrus, can you hear me?”

He grunts, and I set a hand on his chest to feel his heart beating. My rings catch the neckline of his tunic, and there it is—a mate mark with tea leaves and tiny dots like cinnamon or sugar around the symbol of true love, a black heart.

They are truly meant to be.

Now I feel like an arsehole for getting in their way. Cyrus wouldn’t hurt his true mate. It’s impossible. Laini and I were wrong about him.

“Let’s get you to Kaya, shall we?” I stand and look to the ghost for permission.

The dead dragon shifter nods once and disappears. I waste no time in casting a spell to lift Cyrus. As the magic wraps itself around him, it fluctuates between gold and purple flashes of light that mimic the twinkle of the stars. Once Cyrus is properly levitating, I lead him out of the ruins. Sio is on my heels.

“You’re a fantastic cat, Athanasios.”

A proud meow rises from him.

“If you want me to see if I can make speaking permanent for you, just let me know by meowing thrice.”

But Sio is quiet as we hurry back to town.

The gate guards are shocked to silence as they let us back in, and thankfully, it’s late enough that no one else is out and about. Even Rom is missing from the tower, likely using his magical weather map as an alarm as needed and enjoying some sleep.

I can’t stop checking Cyrus’s pulse at his neck as he floats beside me, surrounded in purple and gold sparkling light. When I enter Kaya’s room with Cyrus behind me, Kaya’s eyes flash open and color infuses her pale face.

“Tully, what have you done?”

“Excuse me? I saved both your arses, actually. You owe Sio and me a big thank you for facing a grouchy dragon shifter ghost and that questionable curse up there in the ruins!”

I lower him onto the bed beside her and she is wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

“He’s alive,” I say. “I wouldn’t drop a corpse beside you. Well, unless you wrong me at some point.”

Argos gives me a hug and Laini grips my free hand, her smile spreading across her face.

Cyrus stirs and opens his eyes. “What in the hells is going on?”

He turns his head and his eyes go hot.

“Time for us to leave,” I say, grabbing Argos and dragging him toward the door. “Come on, Laini. And you, too, Sio. It’s way past all of our bedtimes.”

I silently wish my friend a good mating and grin with satisfaction that I was able to play a role in what will be her ultimate happiness. I refuse to think about my earlier meddling. It’s in the past, right?