For several heartbeats, he hesitated, indecision warring in his eyes.
For one horrible, gut-wrenching moment, I thought he would get up and go over to his own bedroll, but instead he settled down beside me again and guided my head onto his arm. With his other hand, he arranged the blankets over us and tugged me flush against his chest.
Smiling against the swell of his biceps, I listened to the steady thump of his heart as I drifted into sleep.
We wereall soaked and weary by the time we reached the familiar clearing that told me we were nearing the Forest House. The snow had turned to rain as we descended the mountain, and an intermittent drizzle had battered us for nearly two days straight.
My cloak was heavy, my socks drenched, and my leathers had begun to chafe. Even the horses seemed in a sour mood as we reached the rickety wood-plank path that led through the trees, but Kaden relaxed in thesaddle behind me, as though something within him had settled.
The rain picked up as the horses’ hooves clomped over the wooden walkway suspended over a misty bog. Cattails danced in the wet, mud-scented breeze. The air smelled of moss and still water and . . . smoke.
Smoke?
I blinked and looked around, searching for a tree struck by lightning or something else that would explain the strange smell.
The marsh, which had been teeming with life the last time we’d visited, seemed unnaturally still. No frogs plunked into the water. No birds squawked from the canopy. There was only the unrelenting drizzle and an overwhelming feeling of wrongness.
As the Forest House came into view, an icy fist closed around my heart, and I felt Kaden’s whole body go rigid.
The manor was not as I remembered. The huge, gnarled trees that ensconced it were burned and blackened, as was the wooden facade of the house. Angry, charred stripes marred the exterior, and several of the colorful stained-glass windows had been shattered. Only the foundation of river stones appeared untouched, though the house was cloaked in darkness.
Tears clouded my vision as I gaped at the manor, and when Kaden dismounted and stared up at his home, the hard, steely look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine.
“The house is warded,” Adriel rumbled, drawing his mount to a halt. “Mundane fire shouldn’t have been able to —”
“It wasn’t mundane fire,” Kaden said in a hoarse voice. “My father’s demons did this.”
A leaden feeling sank into my gut as he stalked toward the house, which was shrouded in an eerie gray mist. The beautiful manor, which had once seemed like a living thing, now looked dead and desolate.
The heavy wooden doors hung open, and when I followed Kaden into the wreckage, the sight stole the air from my lungs.
The walls of the foyer were burned and blackened, and the doors leading into the great room seemed to have been blown off their hinges. One was in splinters, while the other dangled crookedly against the jamb. Portraits hung in shreds, the paint bubbled and distorted from the heat. The comfortable furniture had been reduced to ash, along with the beautiful leather-bound books that had filled the shelves.
Kaden glided into the room and knelt before the hearth. He dropped his head as his shoulders began to shake, his dark hair blocking his face. His fingers turned white where they gripped the ash-covered stone, and my heart shattered at the sight.
This place had been his childhood home — Kaden’s reprieve from the cruel fae court. It had been his safe haven as a boy and was now the only tangible link to his mother, the beloved Drathen queen.
A short sniffle drew my attention, and I looked over to see Sorsha standing in the entryway, a hand clamped over her mouth. Tears welled in her striking turquoise eyes, but then she turned and ran out of the house, bumping Adriel’s shoulder on the way out.
My whole body itched with the need to go to Kaden, but I felt as though I were intruding on a private moment.As I turned to give him some space, a strange sensation stroked down my spine.
Crack!
I wheeled around at the sound and found Fione standing in the corridor.
No taller than my knee, the nymph was dressed in the same loose-fitting gown spun from what might have been moss. A pair of pointed ears protruded from her rich brown hair, and the inked green symbols along her temples glowed in the dark corridor. She appeared unharmed, though there was a heaviness to her expression that hadn’t been there before.
“Master Kaden,” she said, her voice ringing out like a bell.
Kaden sucked in a breath but did not move from his position by the hearth. “Fione.” His voice was pained, and yet his whole body seemed to sag with relief. “You’re all right.”
“Yes, my lord,” she said, casting a wary glance in my direction. Then her gaze landed on Adriel, and she broke into a wan smile. “Master Adriel.” She gave a prim curtsey, and I tried not to be offended that it wasmewho made her nervous, not the demon prince or his surly guard.
Kaden stood in one fluid motion, and when he turned, all traces of his earlier emotions were gone. His expression was pure stony resolve, his shadows billowing around him. “When did this happen?”
“Three days ago,” Fione replied.
A muscle ticked in Kaden’s jaw, but he merely nodded. “Sorsha and I will get to work restoring the living spaces at once.”
