Page 49

We’d dressed extremely warm for the climate. Most people didn’t realize Siberia could get hot as hell during the summer, and a lot of the place was swampland—thousands of miles, in fact. Seemed at odds with the current winter hellscape we stood in, and I took a moment to say a prayer that the ice was thick enough to prevent us from falling through into whatever hellish peat bog lay underneath us. If there was one.

I didn’t have a fucking clue where we were. There were mountains, forests, and an absolute metric shit ton of snow.

“This place sucks,” Ari said helpfully. “Did you know Siberia has millions of kilometers of peat bogs and swamps?”

“You read my mind. Seems like a lie, doesn’t it?”

“Earth is weird.”

“True.”

I looked around. “Did you drop us in the right spot?”

“Just over the rise,” Ari said and paused. “I can smell where you were.”

Memories assailed me of pain and horror and⁠—

Ari reached over and gently squeezed my shoulder. “Eventually, those memories will become softer, hazier, and you won’t feel like screaming every time you think of them.”

“How long?”

Ari shrugged. “It’s different for everyone, I’m afraid. Having people around helps. Staying busy.”

“Flaying the person responsible alive?”

Ari’s eyes glittered. “Always a plus, though it doesn’t help as much as you’d think. The relief of knowing they won’t ever be able to hurt someone again makes the hunt worth it.”

We stood there for a little while, Ari giving me the grace to mentally prepare myself. I never wanted to see this place again, but if I could gain a single hint of what my mother was up to or where she might go next, I had to brave going inside.

When I nodded, Ari reached for my hand and took us in.

Terror put my heart in a vise. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck, and my teeth began to chatter.

Shock, I thought way in the back of my mind. Just being here was sending me into shock.

A hard pinch on the back of my arm jerked me out. I yanked my arm away and hissed.

“Ari!”

“Better than a slap to the face. Be on your guard. Something isn’t right.”

I lowered my voice to a whisper. “There’s someone here?”

She shook her head. “No, but the energy is off.”

“It’s the magic my mother was using. No idea where it came from, but it’s dark.”

Ari’s lips tightened. “I’m not sure that’s it.”

I glanced at her. “I’ll be careful.”

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Now that all my senses were in working order, and I had enough blood in me to fuel a donation drive, the smell hit me like a baseball bat across the face. I smelled terror and sweat and soup and… everything.

I gagged and put my arm over my nose, trying to tone down the scents slamming into me.

Ari waved her hand around, a small stream of magic saturating the air as she moved. “You should be okay for a little while.”