Her stomach sank. Perhaps she shouldn’t let her mind go there. Plenty of things could go wrong, but?—
The blood drained from her face.
Valorre!
She cursed under her breath. Valorre was out there somewhere, well beyond the castle wall. She extended her senses to try and connect with him, but it seemed he’d yet to return to close range. If Kevan or Ulrich caught sight of him…
She remembered the clairsentient warning she’d felt at the council meeting; she knew some of the councilmen were eager to continue hunting unicorns.
“Are you all right?” Teryn whispered.
Her eyes snapped to his, and she was forced to recall just how close he stood to her.
“Yes,” she said in a rush, caught between worry for Valorre and anxiety over what Teryn had come to talk to her about. Perhaps she could handle both issues at once. She swallowed hard and gestured down the stairwell. “Very well, Teryn. Let’s go speak in private.”
24
The air between Cora and Teryn crackled with tension, thick enough for Cora to feel even through her shields. They walked side by side down a narrow path through the woods just outside the castle walls. The three feet of space between them meant their shoulders were in no danger of touching, yet she felt Teryn’s presence with every fiber of her being as if he were pressed to her side.
She’d brought Teryn outside so she could check on Valorre and ensure he hadn’t crossed paths with her brother’s hunting party. But with Teryn so close it was hard to focus on anything else. Not even the presence of the two guards who tailed them lessened her awareness of him.
Shaking thoughts of her distracting companion from her mind, she extended her senses and sought Valorre’s familiar energy. She’d tried it several times since exiting the castle to no avail, but this time she felt their connection snap into place. He was just barely within their communication range.
Valorre! Where the hell are you?
She felt a tinge of annoyance coming from him, but it melted away. Softened. His voice reached her without an edge.I’m not too far.
My brother is in the royal forest with a hunting party. I don’t trust his councilmen when it comes to your kind. You haven’t crossed their path, have you?
He scoffed, and she could almost see him puffing his large white chest with pride.They are a pathetic hunting party. They could never find me or my kind. I could trot beside them and they’d pay me no notice. They rely on hounds to alert them of prey, not their brains.
They have hounds? How is that supposed to comfort me?
Hounds like me.
She waited for him to elaborate, but that was the only explanation he gave.Fine. Just be careful.
Who’s being the female chicken now?he said with a smug chuckle.
The phrase is mother hen—never mind. I guess we’re even.
Her lips curled into a small smile.
Cora startled as something brushed her hand. A glance to the side revealed Teryn had stepped in close, and his knuckles lightly skated over hers.
He threw a look over his shoulder at the guards, then lowered his voice. “Is Valorre nearby?”
She suppressed a shudder at the way his deep, whispered tone rumbled through her. “He is.”
“I thought so.” He took a small step away, but not far enough to regain all the distance he’d closed. “You had that look on your face just now. The one you often got during our travels. I always felt like you and Valorre were sharing some secret language.”
She pursed her lips. She never did confess just how well they could communicate. “What about Berol?”
He tipped his chin toward the sky.
Cora glanced up and saw a dark silhouette circling high above them. Realization dawned as she recalled the bird that had landed in the tower window.That had been Berol after all!
“So…” Teryn sidled slightly closer. “Should we talk about?—”
