Page 92 of Maleen

Celeste sits forward slowly, placing her hands on the table and clasping them together. “There’s no way for it to be destroyed. So many have tried and failed. You can make it weaker by splitting it. Your mother and I managed to break it into pieces, but that took weeks, and the toll it took on our bodies…” She shakes her head. “Please tell me the pieces are still hidden?”

I glance at my mates before looking back at the witch. Nero nuzzles my cheek comfortingly. “Kind of? One piece is, possibly two. Lord Craven managed to find the rest of them and has been using his portion to terrorize the realm.”

She purses her lips together and it’s like I can almost see her thinking. “There is something we could try, but it’s incredibly dangerous. Your mother and I… Well I didn’t tell her because it’s not something the two of us could handle ourselves, and her mates didn’t know about our meeting, nor did she want them to know. You five should be able to get it done, though. Maybe.” She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“We can handle it,” Jesper announces. “We love a little danger.”

Killian grumbles. “I’d prefer to keep our mate away from danger.”

“How about we let her tell us what it is, and then we decide,” Aemon states, raising his brows at all of us.

We nod in agreement and wait for Celeste to continue. “There’s a creature in these woods; it’s a dangerous beast, and not many who wander into its nest make it out alive, but its hide after death becomes impregnable. It becomes like a stone that not even shadowflame can destroy. If you can obtain it, we could use it to wrap the remaining stones, and no one would ever be able to access it again. Much more secure than a blood-warded door.”

Hope flares in my chest. If we could make sure that Lord Craven never gets to the last piece, then that gives us a chance.

Killian grumbles. “Throwing them into the sea sounds a lot safer than tackling this creature.”

The witch shakes her head solemnly. “Craven has elemental magick, and nothing stays in the sea forever. Securing the two last pieces with this hide is the best way I know of.”

“We only have one piece of the stone,” Talyn informs her. “Our mission here includes to find the other lost piece.”

She smiles. “Actually, you now have two. Queen Calantha hid a piece with me, knowing I’d be able to keep it safe. I’ve protected it all this time. A few have tried to claim it, but it was never theirs to have. It’s yours whenever you’re ready to take it.”

The two pieces kept from Lord Craven. Thank you, mother—for once your secrets are paying off. Thank the Fates our second mission in the Nairiden Woods is also complete now. “So where is this beast?” I ask.

She winces, her wrinkled face becoming even more wrinkled. “Off the path before the canyon.”

My stomach drops as I stare wide-eyed at my mates. “The path that made me want to run down it when every instinct was screaming at me to run the other way?”

“The very one. I’ll make us some tea and we can discuss the beast, and then you all can rest.” She mumbles something under her breath again with some strange hand gesture, and all our dirtied dishes have vanished. “Let’s move to the sitting room.”

I stare at Jesper bewildered while he looks like this is the most exciting discovery to have ever happened to him, but I still can’t help but worry if this is the right choice. That pathway felt like doom and despair, and my instincts are telling me not to do this, but what other choice do we have? We need to keep the stones away from Craven and future evil fae like him, and this feels like the last option we have, because if something happens to us, the realm as we know it will fall into disarray, and death and destruction would reign.

Looks like we are talking to an ancient witch about killing whatever is waiting at the end of that trail.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

WE WAKE THE NEXT DAY to Celeste quietly humming in the kitchen with the smell of meat and fresh bread drifting through the small cottage. I glance around the quaint space we all dragon-piled into and notice sketches of what must be Celeste’s coven or family hanging on the wall.

Aemon tugs me closer to him. “Good morning, Little Dream. How did you sleep?”

Jesper takes that moment to pop up from the spot where he was lying on the floor. “Oh good, you’re awake—I’m starving, and whatever she’s making smells delicious.”

“I’m with crazy on this one,” Nero adds, stretching his wings from the nest he made on the end table.

“I slept okay. Ready to get on with the day and get back to Maleen though,” I mutter, yawning.

Kill, who slept on the floor at the end of the bed, starts moving, Talyn and Aemon who also slept on the floor getting up from their spots. They all greet me with a kiss before adorning their gear.

It seems we all are a bit slow-moving this morning, probably from the long days of travel and sleeping on a rocky ledge the night before.

Nero takes his place on my shoulder once I’m geared up, and we all head into the living space of the cottage, where a full breakfast spread has been laid out on the table.

Celeste grins. “Finally!... I’m sorry, it’s been a long time since I’ve had visitors. It’s been a bit lonely, so I hope you don’t mind.” She gestures to the table and we all take our seats and dig in.

“No need to apologize,” I add. “But why do you live in the Nairiden Woods?”

Her grin becomes somber. “Unfortunally I am tied to this forest, and I cannot leave until my job is done, if it ever is. I’m happy here, especially when I can I help wayward travelers. Though there aren’t many these days. Plus it’s best if I remain a rumor: one of the fearsome beasts and beings that occupy these woods.”