What aren’t you telling me about this lovely sounding but likely dangerous plant?
I don’t know much.
I note you’re not sharing what you do know with me now.
He took my hands. Squeezed them.It won’t take me long to pluck one. Let me know when you find Dorion.
I’m going with you. We’ll collect the frostwilla together and once we have the token, we’ll find Dorion.And leave, though I was determined to eliminate Naveer and help Laphira first.
His lips thinned.Very well.
When something nudged my leg, I jumped, looking down to find Farris sitting by my side, his tongue lolling and his tail sweeping across the floor.
“How did you get out of the suite?” I crouched and held his furry face. “Do you know how to pluck a frostwilla?”
He huffed and peered down the hall where some of the competitors had sped off to.
Straightening, I shrugged. “He wants to come with us.”
Lore stared at the nyxin for a long moment before nodding.
Good thing I dressed for danger.I tapped the hilts of my twin blades and tweaked the collar of my leather tunic.
“It’ll be cold out there.” A sweep of Lore’s hand and a fur-lined cloak materialized around me, carrying his scent. I now wore matching gloves and fur-lined boots.
Even his magic wanted to wrap me in his protection.
“You need to teach me this trick,” I said, admiring how warm the fur felt against my neck.
There are many tricks I’d love to teach you, my pretty little bride.
I’m your eager student.Heat pooled low in my belly despite the approaching cold.
I'm counting on it.
If only we could remain in our bed forever.
“Two days left.” His thumb traced my lower lip. “I want to spend every moment I can touching you.”
“Same.”
He stepped back with obvious regret.
Another nudge of his finger and Lore wore a similar cloak, boots, and gloves. Even Farris didn’t miss out on winter gear. Lore dressed him in a thick sweater with a hood tied cutely beneath his chin. His ears poked out from the top, flickering back and forth.
Lore tilted his head toward the hall. “This way.”
We strode down it with Farris’s claws clicking onthe floor. After weaving through so many halls I began to get lost, we came to a solid door that was cold to the touch.
What kind of garden is this?I asked Lore, a touch of trepidation skidding through me.
A cold one.
He swept the door open.
We stepped outside into winter that shouldn't exist. The garden stretched ahead of us, crystalline plants gleaming like frozen fire under an icy blue aurora. But it wasn't the unnatural cold that made my blood freeze.
It was the sound of distant cries of pain from our competitors that chilled me the most.
