Page 90 of Maleen

My lips roll between my teeth as I suppress a giggle. I’m not embarrassed that my mates probably know what Jesper and I just got up to; I just wish we weren’t in the middle of a deadly forest so I could treat them all to some loving.

“Wait. The path is gone. Go back!” Aemon says, panicking as he tries to turn his horse around. We all do the same and rush back the way we came, but there’s nothing—just brush and leaf-covered floor. No distinct dirt path anywhere. “Fuck!” he shouts out loud, breaking the quiet of the forest.

My eyes widen as a glowing green mass of flies moves towards us, and we don’t even have time to think before the realm spins as the glowing bugs swarm us before flying off to the left.

“Follow them!” I shout, urging my horse forward, hoping I don’t lose track of the glow, praying to the Fates that this is the mass we are supposed to follow.

My guys storm after me as we try to keep up.

I really hope we don’t regret this.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

MY CHEST HEAVES AS I force my horse as fast as he can go. Stinging branches whip my face, and a warm liquid rolls down my cheek, but it doesn’t matter—these glowing bugs have to be the last line of my mother’s journal. If we did this right, then the Being should be at the end of this, and we can finally get some answers regarding the Soul Stone.

I never take my eyes off the luminescent swarm, yet somehow it disappears from sight. I screech to a halt, and Jesper nearly topples over while Nero flaps his wings to steady himself on my shoulder. We are in a small meadow now with nothing and nobody in sight except for my mates and I.

Did I lose the insects? Is this my fault?

“Where did they go?” Aemon asks as he catches his breath.

I shake my head as my eyes sting from frustration. “They were right there, I swear. They just vanished.”

Killian pulls his horse up beside me and tsks as he gently touches my cheek. I hiss at the sting, remembering that my face has a few cuts on it. “You should have used your earth magick to clear the path,” he grumbles softly. “We should get those cleaned up.”

“They can wait,” I tell him. “We need to find that glowing swarm.”

Jesper’s arms tighten around my waist. “Let him ‘mother hen’ you. The bugs are lost right now anyway. We should take a moment to regroup.”

I sigh and nod, my shoulders deflating slightly. Killian climbs off his horse and begins to pull supplies from a pouch on his waist as he moves closer to me. I almost laugh in amusement, but instead my lips curve into a small smile because even with me sitting atop my horse, we are almost the same height.

“This is going to sting,” he warns before pressing a cool cloth to the small wounds, dabbing them as he cleans them.

The pain doesn’t register, but I let him do this because I know he needs it. His protective side must be in overdrive with everything that has happened since we entered the forest.

Talyn touches my thigh, making me jump slightly. “Don’t worry, we will find the Being so you can ask your questions.”

I nod, taking his hand in mine. My gaze searches for Aemon, and that’s when I realize he’s moved to the other side of the field. “Is everything okay?” I ask, not wanting to yell and potentially attract some other beast that calls this place its home.

I see him tilt his head and his shadows pulse. “There’s something here. The shadows don’t lie.”

Killian finishes, and I urge my horse closer to Aemon to see what he’s talking about. Although I don’t need to go far, because I sense it. It’s like there’s something there but it’s hidden from the realm.

“I see you found my home.”

We whirl around and see an elderly female, older than anyone I’ve ever met, although she doesn’t look fae. Her long white hair is tied back, exposing rounded ears—no scars to be seen, so they weren’t cut off… almost as if they’re natural. She grins and all her teeth are blunt, with no pointed canines at all.

If she’s not fae, then what is she?

She steps closer and my mates all pull out their weapons, but I don’t sense any malice from her. What I do sense, though, is power—magick like I’ve never felt before. It’s unfamiliar to what we have, but somewhat similar?

I tilt my head and she does the same.

“I thought you may come looking for me one day. The tea foretold it could be soon, especially after the lengths your mother went to hiding you. Come, I have some stew brewing and hot water boiling for tea.” She waves her hand and the field that was once empty is now the home of a small, well-kept cottage.

“Stop,” Aemon commands. “Who and what are you?”

She sighs like introductions are an inconvenience to her. “I’m the Being you’ve been searching for. I left the instructions with the Queen and her mates. My name is Celeste Weaver: the last witch in all of Damorliea. Now come, so I can answer your questions; these old bones need a rest.”