To know who I am.
A way to convince the Issen that I’m not a threat and they don’t need to kill me the instant they see me.
I’m working on quite the list, and the latter is probably the most important one, and I have no way to ensure that won’t happen.
But we didn’t come this far, battle whatever the fuck that Myrkr was, and lose Stide to fail now. Not a chance.
Loch is once again dragging his hand against the rocks when a mountain up ahead of us shimmers ever so slightly.
My eyes immediately go to Benny.
He nods. ‘Yup, I saw it,’ he says. ‘I thought I spotted it before, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.’
‘But now you are?’ I question.
‘As sure as I can be. I mean, this is crazy magic. Better than even Seiren’s illusions. The type of power that must be required to do that …’ He shudders rather than finishing his sentence, and I get it. The thought that one person could have enough power to sustain an illusion like this is truly terrifying. Almost as terrifying as knowing that any minute now, there’s a good chance we will face them.
The tension of the group builds further still, all of us afraid to even speak. The wolves walk out in front of us, and when I open my mind to Fen, he doesn’t offer a response, all his focus on what’s to come.
A small spinney of trees blocks the path in front of us, but rather than moving to go around it, I stop.
‘It’s in there,’ I say, pointing through to the rock face, which is barely visible through the brittle, bare branches. ‘That’s where the illusion is. That’s where we need to go.’
No one argues. No one questions.
Kyor steps forward.
‘Elska and I will go first,’ he says. ‘You and Fen follow behind me.’
‘No.’ I place my hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he can move. ‘It needs to be me. I need to go first.’
I glance down at my ring, as if it might offer a sign of agreement, but there’s nothing. No tug moving me forward, no pain telling me to retreat. Nothing but my own self-assurance.
You’ll be right beside me, right?I ask Fen, trying but failing to hide the fear that flickers in my voice.
I wouldn’t be anywhere else.
Drawing in a deep breath, I take my first step forward towards the spinney. The trees look real enough, and when I step into them they hold fast. Not an illusion at all. But the mountain base in front of me … that I’m not so sure about.
My breath trembles as I approach the rock face, my fingers twitching at my side, ready to stretch out and touch it.
‘At least take your dagger out. Arm yourself,’ Kyor says.
I look back at him only to see the entire group staring at me with the same sense of trepidation. I unsheathe my dagger, turn back around, and close my eyes. With my breath held, I take one step forward and then another. Only after the third step do I open my eyes.
Chapter 60
‘You’re seeing this, right?’ Caz’s voice is the first thing I hear. ‘This is real, right?’
‘Yes, this is definitely real.’ Benny is the one who responds. They must have followed me straight through the illusion, not waiting even a second, and every one of them has a weapon in their hand – although like me, those hands mostly hang by their sides. The shock of what we are seeing is too great to keep them up.
‘How…?’ Kyor’s voice is low, resonant with disbelief. ‘How did we not know?’
The illusion masked a ravine, a gap within the mountains through which we can pass. But it is what is at the edge of that ravine that has stolen our voices. Slowly, I take a few steps forward with Fen by my side, feeling the others following me.
My hand trembles as I try to move my dagger out in front of me. Dinah told me to show the blade, and I am not foolish enough to disregard her advice, though it feels utterly unnecessary.
I stop close to the edge of the ledge we stand on.
