Then I felt a tremor of terror ripple down the bond — terror that didn’t belong to me. It was swathed in shadow and smelled like burnt cedar.Kaden’sterror, I realized.
I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. Feel that he was too far away.
The heccanid lunged, head dipping toward my throat.
And then it was just . . . gone. Carried away on a gust of shadow. It slammed into the ice wall with a horrible crunch, and its body slid to the ground.
Midnight descended upon the canyon, blotting out the anemic sunlight. I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. Then I heard a heart-rending shriek, followed by a crunch.
Two more heavy masses struck wall of the gorge with violent force, and I heard the ice crack and groan.
For several seconds, Kaden’s shadows hovered like a protective cloud before dissipating in a fine black mist. The sun punctured the thick cloud cover, gleaming as if in defiance of the dark.
Sucking in a jagged breath, I stared at the mangled bodies of the heccanids. The hard-packed ice where I lay felt unbearably cold, and I realized the creature’s claw had made a long gash in my leg, which was dribbling blood into the snow.
Kaden’s gaze met mine over the field of crumpled corpses. His stricken expression deepened the chill in my bones, but at least his eyes were silver, not the coal-black of a demon.
Slowly, he stalked toward me, his footsteps crunching lightly in the snow. He dropped into a crouch before me, his calloused hands gently gripping my knee as he examined the wound along my thigh.
He pressed his hand over the gash, and I felt a delicious warmth seep into the stinging flesh. I closed my eyes, hissing as his magic knitted my skin back together.
Despite the carnage that surrounded us, my heart hammered at his touch.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I hissed. “Semphrys —”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Adriel said your magic is like a beacon. He could use the bond —”
“I’m well aware of the risks. But if saving your life means I have to fight off an entire fucking army of my father’s demons, then so be it.”
His voice was even — matter-of-fact. And when I finallylooked at him, his silver eyes flashed like steel. “There isnothingI wouldn’t sacrifice to protect you.”
I blinked, heart racing at the resolve in his voice. It really was that simple to him.
The realization heated my blood and thawed the chill in my bones.
Wound healed, Kaden helped me to my feet, gathered our weapons, and steered me toward his mount. Adriel and Sorsha had already rejoined their horses, though mine was nowhere to be seen.
My friends’ faces were slicked with sweat, their leathers peppered with that thick yellowish blood. I shuddered to think whatImust look like.
Since were down a horse, Kaden lifted me into his saddle before swinging up behind me. I sucked in a breath as his thighs fitted around me, cupping my backside as he led the way through the glittering canyon.
Blood and sweat tinged his usual leather-and-night scent, but our close proximity brought to mind our interlude at the brothel, and I couldn’t help wondering what might have happened if Alfrigg’s forces hadn’t attacked.
Leaning back into the solid warmth of him, I tried to simply enjoy our closeness. Still, my eyes were drawn to the heccanids’ crumpled bodies, those enormous pincers feathered with long white hairs.
I shuddered at the memory of the creature bearing down on me. That awful clicking noise.
Somber and weary after the fight, we made our way toward the mouth of the ice caves, which was little more than a sliver in the distance. The sun retreated behind the clouds, and the temperature seemed to drop.
A hundred paces from the entrance, Kaden’s horse gave a nervous whinny and stamped his feet in protest. He jerked his head, trying to turn back, but Kaden held fast to the reins.
The opening was too low for a rider to pass on horseback, and even with my enhanced hunter vision, I couldn’t see more than a few yards ahead.
Adriel steered his mount around us to enter the caves first, sliding off the back of the mare and leading her by the reins. Sorsha followed directly behind him, and Kaden jumped down to help me off his horse, bringing up the rear.
The princess summoned a ball of faelight, which bobbed ahead to light our path. Unlike normal caves, which maintained a moderately cool temperature, the cold of the ice caves was absolute, stealing the warmth from my skin and causing my nose to drip.
