“The castle, oh my god,” I breathe. “It’s beautiful from here.”
“You’ve never had the full view.”
“They brought me in through the side of a mountain,” I recount.
“The castle is built into the mountain and the diamond caves.” He points at the jagged peaks of the gargantuan mountain between the many spires and reaching towers. I shake my head at the magnificent infrastructure. From the hilltop, I can see all that the mountain obstructed from view when I entered. It glitters like a diamond in the distance. Made of windowed walls and pale stone with sparkling grains, the castle is a shining beacon of serenity.
“The mountain is a fortress—nearly impenetrable from the outside. And since the city is south, it, too, is protected behind it.”
We ride on until we reach trees a familiar shade of white. I recognize those tall scraggly trees—their ethereal, leafless branches like long, thin spikes that disappear high into the clouds. The Bone Forest.
“Why are we stopping?” I ask as we slow a few yards away from the forest.
“We’ll make camp here,” he says.
“It’s not dark yet. We have at least another hour before thesun sets,” I protest, but he’s already dismounting from the black stallion.
“I’m not willing to risk it. You don’t know the things that lurk in that forest.”
“You brought weapons, didn’t you?” I nod toward the dagger at his hip.
“A dagger will do nothing against the Mara.”
“We don’t have any time to waste. The Kingsguard could be looking for me already.”
“I suggested we wait until morning, but you insisted we leave tonight. This is the trade-off.”
“Zadyn,” I start, but he lifts his hands expectantly to help me off.
“I’m not debating this,” he says forcibly, his brown eyes gazing up into mine. “I won’t risk your safety by doing something as reckless as entering the Bone Forest at dusk. It’s a no.” There is a sternness in his voice I’ve never heard. I bristle at his sudden bossiness.
“If you won’t go with me, I’ll go myself.”
He grips my waist without another word and yanks me off the horse. I fall into him hard, and he pins me to his chest to keep me from crashing to the ground.
“If I have to tie you to a tree to prevent that from happening,” he says softly, an inch away from my face, “I will.”
I blink, and he releases me. My knees buckle, feeling like jelly after hours of riding. He doesn’t try to steady me.
“I’m going to gather wood for a fire,” he says, knotting the horse’s reins around a nearby tree. I watch the muscles of his arms flex in the process. He reaches into his belt where the dagger is sheathed and presses it into my palm, closing my fist around the silver hilt.
“I’ll be back soon. Don’t make me regret leaving you alone.”He squeezes my hand once, tosses me a warning look, and disappears into the green of the forest behind us.
I gaze up at the sky, shielding my eyes from the sun. The moon isn’t even visible yet. No oranges or pinks to indicate an oncoming sunset.
One thing Zadyn clearly hasn’t learned in all his years of knowing me is that I don’t like being told what I can and can’t do. I look around and listen for any sign of him nearby. When I hear nothing but my own heartbeat and the soft song of birds overhead, I throw one of the packs over my shoulder and turn to face the Bone Forest.
Squaring my shoulders, I take the first few steps into the whitewashed forest and continue on to the music of age-old bones crunching beneath my feet.
I really hopeI’m going the right way.
I push down the growing sense of unease building in my stomach as I trudge forward through bleached leaves and ancient bones. The sparse forest is surprisingly disorienting. It’s hard to tell if I’m traveling deeper in or just going in circles. The tall, scraggly trees, milky bones, and fallen white leaves swallow me up with every step I take. It’s like moving through a blizzard—eerie and bewildering. I glance backward. I should be able to see the green beyond the edge of the forest where I entered, but the second I stepped foot in these woods, the outside world disappeared. The path behind me is blurred and hazy—a light layer of fog masking everything else from sight.
No sign of green. No sign of Zadyn. No sign of life.
I haven’t heard so much as a bird chirp since I’ve entered the forest.
It's suddenly overcast, and I’m starting to worry that I mightnot make it out of here before dark. I anxiously pick up my pace, refusing to let doubt enter my mind, but my fingers clutch the dagger tighter.
