“We should keep moving,” he said without looking away.
Arianna shook her head. “They need to rest. I’m fine.” She wasn’t, not really, but they couldn’t keep on like this. The venom had taken its toll and everyone needed rest before they attempted a trek through an entire mountain.
“Follow me.” He said it so nonchalantly, as if she had no other choice.
“How about no,” she bit back, glaring at him now. It was a trap, it had to be. Everything in her body was coiled tight, ready for him to strike, for his magic to move. Maybe he’d encase her in earth just like she’d seen him do to those dark creatures. He could certainly try.
Emotion flashed across The Demon’s face. Hurt. Grief.
A facade,the voice inside her hissed.A ruse to lure you in and you’re falling for it.
The Demon’s lips parted. He drew in a breath, then let it out again as if words were failing him. “There’s a better place for us to rest.”
“You mean a better place to set us up.”
“I’m not setting you up,” he replied calmly. Talon stood now, clearly ready to intervene if needed. “It’s too open here.” Arianna couldn’t argue with that, but it still felt too easy, like an excuse. But no scent of a lie. Why was there never a scent? Gavin, it had to be—
“How far?” Raevina asked.
“Just within the mountain. The Guardians will keep watch for us there.”
Arianna wasn’t even sure they could make it that far. The mountains still seemed so far away.
But loathe as she was to admit it, The Demon was right about them being overexposed. And if a horde of creatures happened upon this area, they wouldn’t be able to escape. Then no one would be able to warn those in Nàdair. No one would look for the survivors from Levea.
Arianna chewed her lip. The Guardians still seemed like a myth, even with someone like Connall confirming their existence. And … she’d seen one, if her memories on the event could be trusted. She’d touched the very creature who’d had a statue erected in Ruadhán. She’d felt the rough bark of its hand. She’d looked straight into those flaming eyes.
Another pulse of pain lanced through her head and Arianna stopped thinking. It hurt less that way and she really didn’t want her stomach to heave again.
Saoirse pried herself up from the ground and waved one hand. “Lead the way.”
Gods above, they were really going through with it.
Despite her aching body, tired eyes, and growling stomach, Arianna followed everyone through the camp’s ruins, marching straight toward the base of the mountain and the thick trees that awaited them there.
The Demon paused at a particular section of rubble, but none paid him much attention. He stared down at it with a mixture of fondness and pain. Arianna stared, too. It had been burned, much the same as the other structures, but the roof was still mostly intact, covering the rubble as if determined to shelter it from the chaos of the world.
A few broken figurines rested on the outskirts. Arianna wondered if a family had once resided there. The Demon looked up, meeting her gaze again. He swallowed hard, then turned away. Arianna approached where he’d been just moments before and stared down at what she could only assume was once a small cabin.
Remnants swam through her mind, but they were covered in too many shadows to discern anything. She saw a fire. A bowl. Blood on the floor. A hand—another agonizing pulse forced Arianna to look away. She followed the others, noting that Raevina had been waiting for her. Whatever this place meant to him, Arianna had no recollection of it. She focused on the mountain instead and what lay just on the other side.
Nàdair. Once they stepped foot inside the capital city, everything would be okay. She’d ensure Ellie’s safety and inform the High Lord of the truth. Afterward, they’d find her father and people.
She hoped.
Chapter Twelve
Arianna
Arianna sensed the ancient magic long before they crossed the threshold into the forest. The trees had changed, morphing into giants—just as she remembered. She’d taken this path before. She’d felt this sense of overwhelming freedom, too.
The magic danced with her own, coaxing it out until it skittered across her skin and left trails of frost in her wake.
The Fairy Folk had greeted them immediately. They’d flown straight for her, landing on her shoulder and playing in her hair as if relieved to see her again.
They’d run up to The Demon too, dancing in his magic as if the grains weren’t soaked through with innocent blood. Arianna watched him carefully, awestruck that the sacred beings would find any sort of solace in his presence. They didn’t let anyone touch them. Ever. It was a rule the Fae were taught from birth. No one was to pursue the tiny creatures. They were to be respected above all else.
Arianna smiled at the one seated upon her shoulder. It tilted a mushroom head to look back at her and kicked its spindly little legs back and forth, reminding Arianna of a child playing on a wooden swing.
