“Oy!” A familiar voice shouts over the sound of the wind. “Careful! All that bloody snow looks pretty damn hard. If you drop me I don’t think it will be a soft landing.”
A grin spreads across my face as I recognize the voice. It’s Connell, and now that they’re getting closer, I see that Jett is flying toward us, carrying Connell by the strap of what looks like some sort of leather harness.
For a second, I’m thrilled to see them, but then I remember all the growling wolves. Fox and I freeze, our eyes meeting in mutual recognition. I know he’s thinking exactly the same thing I am:Fuck.
Jett hits the ground hard in an explosion of snow. He promptly drops Connell, who tumbles forward face first into the hard ground. Jett doesn’t appear to notice, as he stretches out his enormous black wings, and cracks his neck, as if he’s stiff from the long flight. Jett lets his wings disappear into thin air, before he grins widely and takes a few steps toward Fox and I.
Without warning, the soldiers nearest to Jett and Connell close ranks, blocking his path, many of them growling like animals. They’re not attacking…yet, but clearly they’re considering it.
I feel it now—the truth behind Fox’s warnings about the wolves. Their hatred radiates toward me in waves of heat that cut through the winter air, making my skin prickle with anxiety. Every muscle in my body tenses, preparing for what feels like an inevitable fight.
“Stop!” Fox barks, darting forward to intercept Jett before the wolves can attack.
Nearly every single wolf on the field goes immediately still and silent, as if the single word from Fox froze them in place. A few bare their necks in submission, and I even spot Kai near the far left of the field. He stopped too, although he looks as if he’s fighting it.
Jett looks slightly bewildered as Fox reaches him. “What the hell is going on, mate?”
Fox grimaces, but before he can respond, one of the wolves finally moves. My eyes widen as Viktor stalks across the field toward Fox and Jett. “What the fuck is this?” he barks.
Some of the still frozen wolves tremble, and even more bare their throats, but Viktor ignores them. His focus is solely on Fox, nostrils flaring, eyes narrowed to slits.
“Back off,” Fox says flatly. “This is Jett. He’s a friend.”
“A friend to you is not a friend to us,” Viktor snarls, and I hear a ripple of agreement pass through some of the crowd.
“I’m an advisor to the king and queen of Vernallis,” Jett says, sounding unconcerned. “They sent me here.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re the king himself,” Viktor snarls, still focused mostly on Fox. “I knew it! I fucking knew you and your witch would bring trouble down on us!” He spits the word, “witch” in my direction, his eyes flickering to me with such hatred that I instinctively step back.
Kai shakes off the compulsion and moves forward to talk to Fox. I can tell he’s talking to Fox in his head by the way their eyes lock, that slight tilt of Fox’s chin. Viktor stands too close, his jaw working, nostrils flaring with each breath. Whatever Kai’s saying, Viktor doesn’t like it—his face darkens like a thundercloud before he spins and stalks away. Three wolves peel off from the group to follow him, their shoulders hunched against the cold. Kai runs a hand through his hair, the lines around his mouth deepening.
Fox finally looks over at Jett. “Want to explain to me what the fuck you’re doing here?”
“Me?” Jett demands, his eyes darting between Fox and me. “What are you two doing here?”
“And where is here, exactly?” Connell asks, looking around with wide eyes at the wolves surrounding us. “I don’t see the appeal of some field in the middle of fucking nowhere, but that could be a personal preference.”
Fox and Kai exchange glances again, and Fox nods, and jerks his head in the direction of camp, indicating that Jett and Connell should follow him.
I trail after them, assuming I should go too, but after a second Fox stops, and looks around for me. He reaches back and grabs my hand, tugging me past Jett and positioning me in front of his body like a shield between me and the rest of the glaring pack.
Jett’s eyes land on Fox’s hand holding mine and the protective way he’s arranged our bodies. Curiosity flashes across his face, but he doesn’t say anything about it as we all walk back toward the camp.
“Everyone in Vernallis is worried about you two.” Jett’s black eyes narrow at me, then at Fox.
“I spoke to Beatrix before I left,” I say indignantly. “She knew I was leaving.”
He rolls his eyes in exasperation. “You weren’t very clear. ‘Going to Thermia, be back maybe never.’ You couldn’t have told anyone else?”
I huff out a sigh, watching my breath cloud in front of me.
Fox, Jett, Connell, Kai and I are standing deep amongst the trees ankle-deep in snow, and it’s far colder here than it is back at the camp. Kai suggested we speak in his tent, but Fox shook his head—with Jett and Connell unable to communicate mind-to-mind like the wolves, and with every pair of eyes in camp tracking our movements, we needed somewhere truly private. I agree with him, but I wish it were warmer.
Jett has just finished explaining that Daemon and Alix finally resurfaced after their honeymoon and were alarmed to find Fox and I had been missing for weeks. Jett, who was also growing increasingly nervous about it, volunteered to come look for us.Now, he’s struggling to understand why we didn’t leave a better explanation of where we were going.
“Daemon and Alix were busy,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. “I wasn’t likely to bother them to explain my travel plans.”
“Why not tell Kas, then?” Jett asks, his voice rising.
