Page 132 of Wraithwound

Approval echoed inside her. Apparently, Runa had reached the same conclusion.

“And the bottle?” she whispered to Runa.

Runa didn’t answer for a long moment and then, “Did you not see it?”

Yes. Lena had seen it; she had just been hoping for a different answer. The portals were connected. All three of them. If she attempted to retrieve the bottle, she’d only expose herself to the same danger.

“What’s her name?” the man asked.

Lena held her breath, waiting for Cross to reveal it and expose her vulnerabilities.

“Lena,” he replied quickly, if not a bit forced.

She paused.

“Can he lie?” she whispered to herself and to the wraith.

“Perhaps a partial truth is acceptable,” Runa suggested.

A tiny spark of hope swelled in her heart knowing he was lying to protect her, that was, until Runa sent a more powerful burst of emotion along with a word she didn’t know. Lena didn’t have to speak Runa’s language to understand that it was likely a curse word or some derogatory language aimed at how weak she was.

“All right, wraith, point taken,” Lena hissed.

She had to figure out how to free the Goddess; it was her only hope for getting out of this and helping Henry. But Lena didn’t have a chance to debate what to do next because the scream that pierced the air made the blood freeze in her veins.

Despite Runa’s warning to pause, she stepped from behind the pillar to see Taya kneeling in the snow near Riley and Laney. Taya screamed again as she fought to get to Riley who was bleeding on the ground behind three figures: Cross, the female Aurynn and . . . and Leonid?

No. That couldn’t be right. The man with the kind eyes from the forest, the man who’d taken her in at The Whispers. He looked younger somehow, more handsome. Or had his appearance been part of a ruse?

The confusion hardly had any time to register because the male Aurynn stepped into view, and Runa went feral inside her.

Her vision expanded, the finer details of her surroundings becoming clearer, and she understood that her eyes had shifted, likely turned black. The wraith was clawing at her for control, but she was sloppy and frantic, making it easier for Lena to maintain control. When her field of vision shrank, Lena knew she’d accomplished it. At least for now.

The expression on Leonid’s face was one of pure delight. A glance at Cross saw him cycle between fear . . . and then something that looked like pride. But the emotions on his face were quickly concealed and replaced by a cool indifference.

“You are stunning. And terrifying,” he said to her as he paced in front of the portal opening. Lena couldn’t help but notice his perfect gait. “Tell me, who is it you’ve brought with you? Wraiths are fascinating creatures. Did you know that no human has yet to lay eyes on their true form?”

“Who are you?” Lena asked, her voice steady despite the fear coursing through her.

“You know who I am,” he said.

“You are not Leonid,” Lena said.

She saw another hint of pride on Cross’s face, but that too disappeared before anyone else could register it. Lena tried not to look at him. Instead, she took in the female Aurynn’s face and then the male’s, all the while anticipating the wraith’s attack.

The second time Runa lunged for control; Lena swatted her away like a fly.

“Pity, I was hoping you might see me as him. What gave it away?” A cat’s smile unfurled on his face.

Runa clawed at Lena’s consciousness with ferocity.

“You haven’t answered my question,” she said, trying not to react to Runa’s ongoing assault.

“Very well. My name is Malnik,” he said, ceasing his pacing directly in front of the portal opening, “but you may call me ‘Mal.’”

The moment he smiled, Lena’s wraithwound prickled so intensely the skin felt like it was burning. She inhaled sharply, doing her best to ignore the pain, and shifted her focus to examining the stranger instead. She hadn’t noticed it before, but his eyes were indeed different than Leonid’s, a deep brown that appeared almost red in the afternoon light.

“I’m not sure if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my son, Kol, or my daughter, Demara. Most people know them as the Aurynn. They’ve been searching for you for quite a while. You know, just in case Cross failed to deliver you.” He glanced over at Cross, and when he didn’t react, flicked his gaze back to Lena and said cheerfully, “Your turn.”