Page 19 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

A flash of blue cuts across the storm, and the dim snow-flurried fields catch my eye.

A wisp? Here of all places…

The last time I saw a wisp was after the wolf attack and the bonfire to pay tribute to the dead. Why has another one come?

I pull on the reins, and my horse swiftly stops and turns in the direction I’m pulling. I don’t even think; my body just reacts on its own. I need to see what it wants to show me.

Kalel doesn’t notice right away, but Nikolai does. My horse nearly runs right into his, but it reacts quickly and evades them.

“Wait!” Nikolai calls out. His horse is just a few feet behind mine as he follows me.

Kalel loses us in the storm. Fear wracks my body for what trouble I might get into for breaking away from the group, but I can’t let this wisp go. I need answers, and no one is talking.

My husband’s voice tears through the fog. “Alira! Where are you?”

I grit my teeth as I stare ahead toward the ball of light— a will-o’-the-wisp—that is trying to guide me away from the others. My heart pounds in my chest. I know we don’t have time—we need to get to the bridge before nightfall. There’s maybe only a handful of minutes before the sun sets.

But the gods have been silent for too long.

I need to know.

Nikolai manages to get beside me. The wisp won’t stop until we reach its destination. “Alira, we don’t have time to chase a wisp. We need to leave this island now!” he begs. His fawn hair looks darker now that it’s wet from the snow; strands cling to his forehead and water flicks from the back.

“Then tell me what you’ve been keeping from me,” I shout back, letting my eyes focus back onto the wisp. Fuck, why did I say that? The last thing I need is Nikolai to turn on me.

Nikolai is quiet. I know he’s probably scrambling for words, but he won’t find them in time.

I turn and look over my shoulder, hearing more hooves coming for us. Kalel. He finally gets close enough for me to see him. He locks eyes with me, and his expression falls as he looks past us at the wisp. “Alira, no! We need to get to the bridge!” His voice echoes across the land.

My gut tells me to follow the wisp. Even if I get reprimanded for it.

I bite my lower lip, knowing I’ll regret this later, and yet I urge my horse forward after the light. It moves quickly over the snow, stopping abruptly and disappearing behind something white that blends in perfectly with the landscape.

My chest lurches. Where did it go?

Something spooks my horse, and I’m thrown from its back as it rears and whinnies. I roll to the side to evade the creature’s frantic kicks. Snow goes down my neck and burns my cheeks as I watch my horse take off toward the bridge. Nikolai’s horse panics from the confusion and follows my mare. I’m guessing my friend thinks I’m still on its back because he doesn’t shout after me.

Oh gods.

I quickly sit up and search for the wisp, but it’s nowhere in sight. I push myself up to my feet and stumble toward where it disappeared. What scared my horse?

There’s something out here, but it blends in so well with the snow and fog that I can’t make it out. I approach carefully, and once I’m about an arm’s length away, I reach out tentatively. My gloved hand meets fur; it’s thick, but not enough for it to be a wolf or bear.

A small gasp escapes me, and I take a few steps back. The creature slowly turns and looks at me. Antlers that are so black they look like charcoal and white fur that makes the animal appear magical in some sense. As if the gods have blessed it as a holy beast to walk the island of Mortem.

It’s a white stag. Legs long and dainty, neck thick with muscles and eyes that are two dark coals. It feels as though they look right through me, seeing both all and nothing.

My eyes widen. This must be a manifestation of the wisp. If they can show us visions of the past or present, it’s not a stretch to assume they can take mystical forms as well. I lift my hand to touch its nose, but it jolts at a loud, piercing shout.

“Alira!”

It’s Kalel, and he’s close.

The stag blows out a hot breath from its nostrils and shakes its head before it leaps away. I chase after it, not sure whether I am already in the vision or not. Why is it leading me so far away? There has to be more⁠—

The stag vanishes before my eyes, and my next step doesn’t land on rock or dirt. I step right off the ledge of the shoreside cliff.

A horrified scream tears from my lungs as cold air prickles at my skin and I watch the rocky shore below get closer and closer. I shut my eyes and brace for the impact, but it does not come.