I looked away from her. “I do not know,onawilke.”
She stared at me, then said, “Come on. The gate’s opened. We can go through.”
Emma went on ahead of me. I slowly hobbled after her, and squeezed myself through the gate. I nearly bumped into Emma as she stood completely still on the other side of the entryway.
“What is it?” I asked, but I had my answer without her having to respond. The anger that had left me only moments before flooded back as I took in the sight before me.
There were no trees, no buildings, no city. All we saw was a big hole in the ground, hundreds of miles long and wide, surrounded by an embankment that was beside the crystal walls. Within the pit were tall mounds made of stone, and crumbling bits of rock. Nothing more.
“What’s this?” I snarled. “The gate has led us to nothing!”
“This can’t be right,” Emma murmured. She began to pace back and forth along the ledge. “I was certain the city had to be here! My vision showed me the truth!”
“Another trick, probably pulled on us by the Unseelie stone,” I growled. I let out a rough grunt of pain as I avoided putting pressure on my right paw.
“You should rest,” Emma insisted. “The battle with the wargs was hard on you, and you had a long flight before that. You’re lucky you weren’t killed.”
“Hmph,” I stated.“Don’t make me laugh. They were not a challenge for me.”
“All the same, we can take it easy tonight, then go looking for the city in the morning,” Emma suggested. “We won’t get anywhere with you injured like this.”
Her words were kind and welcoming, even with how frustrated I was. We’d come all this way for nothing yet again. The Unseelie stone was a cruel trickster. For some reason, it didn’t want us to obtain it. What else did we need to do to prove we were worthy?
Emma conjured a small cabin for us, to get us out of the cold. I hobbled inside, and found the area filled with fur blankets and pillows beside a stone fireplace, but not much else. I fell upon them as Emma shook the snow off her cloak and shut the door behind her.
“Do you think it’s safe to light a fire?” she asked, kneeling by the fireplace. “I don’t want anyone to see the smoke and know we’re here, if there’s a better option.”
“You will freeze without one, so we have no choice,” I responded. My shifter warmth would keep me alive, but her fingers were turning blue. She’d already been out in the cold too long. Emma conjured matches, and used them to get a fire going. Soon, warmth filled the cabin. She sat on a pillow next to me and pulled a blanket over her knees as a crackling sound swelled over the cabin’s interior.
Outside, night was beginning to fall. The fire was the only light we had inside the cabin. I waited for more wargs or enemies to show up, but none did. We were as isolated as ever, here in this little cabin in the middle of nowhere.
“I can use a cleaning spell to get the blood out of your fur. I want to check your injuries,” Emma said. She waved her hand, and the dried blood vanished from my fur, leaving it white again. She hovered over me on her knees, her fingers parting the fur so she could examine the bite and scratch marks the wargs had left.
“They’re healing already, but we should stay put for a little while,” Emma said. “You can’t travel far on a hurt paw.”
“The soreness is already fading. I should be able to walk in an hour or so,” I stated. “Do we have anything left to eat? I’m famished.”
“I think so. Let me cook something.”
We’d brought food from Earth, since we didn’t know if we could trust whatever we found in Edinmyre, and fae food conjured from illusion magic would do nothing to nourish us. Emma gave me a loaf of bread, and conjured a pan to place over the fire. I wolfed down the bread in seconds, while Emma cooked a raw steak we’d brought with us for the journey. We split it, and she gave me the larger half. Emma took small bites of meat until we both were satisfied.
The food put me in a better mood. A warm fire and a full belly could do wonders in the dead of winter, and inside, my spirit felt colder than the outdoors. I couldn’t believe we’d come all this way for no reason. The gods wouldn’t lead us here if there wasn’t a purpose for it, would they? The thought of returning home empty-headed, hitting yet another dead end, was brutal.
I wouldn’t accept it. The answer would come, in time. Ithad to.
“Ethan,” Emma started. “What happened back there?”
I contemplated it for a moment, before I said, “I’m not sure. I’m losing control of myself, Emma. It grows worse every day. I see blood, and I can’t stop. I want… I seek… vengeance.”
“The guys told me a similar thing happened when you were rescuing Finlay from Pruska,” Emma said slowly. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I gave a hefty sigh. “No.”
“Then what’s wrong? Let’s talk about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Emma. I’m a monster.”
She didn’t roll her eyes, though it looked like it took her a tremendous effort not to do so. “You’re not a monster. You’re just angry.”
