I take glances between them. “What’s going on?”
Baelen folds his arms, appearing very stern but the crinkle at the corners of his eyes tells me he’s trying not to smile. “Lady Indira was hunting shadow panthers in the wastelands one day. It happened that we were after the same one—a particularly bloodthirsty brute. It was creeping up behind her, but she sawme, not it. She shot an arrow at me.”
Indira rushes to finish the story for him. “Only to watch this wild elf dive right past me, arrow and all, and rip the jaws off the shadow panther. Right before it would have made a meal of me.”
He taps his upper arm. “I used to have the scar to prove it.”
Indira gives Baelen another hopeful smile. “A mistake for which I hope I’m forgiven.”
“Perhaps. Is that the panther’s skin?”
Her fist flies to the skin she wears draped across her wings. Her eyes narrow into a challenge. “You can claim clan rights as loudly as you want, Baelen Rath. I’m not giving you this coat.”
He laughs out loud. “I wouldn’t dare ask for it.”
She stares him down for another moment before becoming serious. “Speaking of shadow panthers, there’s something that’s bothering me about your encounter with one, Marbella.”
It’s my turn to challenge her. “It really did happen if that’s what you’re questioning.”
“Not at all. My concern is more about the location. I’m assuming you weren’t in the wastelands at that time.”
“It was on Scepter peak—that’s on the border between Rath and Bounty land in Erawind.”
Indira considers this information. “The problem is that shadow panthers only inhabit the wastelands. They venture onto Mount Grievous because it is closer to the wastelands than any other mountain. Our mountain allows the panthers to hide in the shadows and feed off animals in the forest.”
I see where she’s going with this. “So it would be unusual for a shadow panther to find its way into the heart of Erawind.”
She inclines her head. “Very.”
Baelen is grim beside me. “There were more panthers there that night on Scepter peak. I saw a couple in the distance, prowling the mountain range.”
“How did they get there?” Indira asks. “Do you think Howl set them loose.”
I chew my lip, my thoughts churning. “The Elven Command promised Howl that they would kill all of the escaping gargoyles. They couldn’t send in troops—although they did try that in the end. What if they sent in panthers instead?”
Baelen gives an unhappy nod. “Panthers crave gargoyle blood so the animals would seek out hidden gargoyles for the kill. And leave pure-blooded elves alone.”
Indira is equally concerned. “In which case we need to know: to what extent does the Elven Command control the predators around us?”
I shudder and reach for Baelen’s hand.
Indira grimaces, but when she spots Erit waiting for her outside the Royal Residence in the distance, her focus changes. “On that happy note, if you’ll excuse me, I need to meet the other clan leaders.Stuffy old males.” She strides away from us but throws a final word back to Baelen. “You look better without the beard.”
Baelen’s humor died with the first mention of the Elven Command. “Grayson Glory possessed a talon crow to attack you, Marbella. It’s possible they’ve been using shadow panthers even longer than that. Maybe for years.”
I survey our surroundings. “Why does it feel like the night has eyes?”
He’s grim. “Because it might. From now on, we only talk in places we know are safe.”
I sigh. “I wish Elise was here.” She used to drop us into sound bubbles so nobody could hear our conversations. But something even worse occurs to me. “Llion and Liliana went to the border to get their children. What if there are more shadow panthers there?”
Baelen tries to reassure me. “They are both skilled warriors and they have Talia to protect them.”
“I don’t know… Llion was worried about the Elven Command’s sorcery before he left. He wasn’t certain that Talia’s power could defeat it. After what I saw today with the talon crow—”
Something tugs at my back. It’s quick and sharp, a pull so strong I stumble backward, losing my footing. Baelen is fast to react, his hand tightening on mine and his other arm swooping around me, keeping me on my feet.
“Marbella? What just happened?”
A quick check behind me tells me there’s nothing there. But I definitely felt something attached to my back. My frightened eyes meet Baelen’s. “I don’t know—”
My heartstones shriek a warning in my ears.
The powerful force tugs again, but this time, the pull is so strong that I fly backward, my feet wrenched out from under me, yanked right out of Baelen’s arms. My stomach lurches and my surroundings blur with the speed of movement. I’m flying through the air before I know it.
Lightning shoots through Baelen as he harnesses his power in my defense, leaping after me, arms stretching, but he’s already far away.
“Marbella—!” His alarmed shout cuts off.
Darkness closes around me and everything goes black.
