Page 190 of The Edge of Darkness

Well at least we had that. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course.” He crossed the room to the large window and looked out toward the mountains in the distance. “You two are headed to The Elderwood soon, then?”

“We are.” I pushed off the shelves and took up a spot at his side.

He lowered his voice. “Does she know?”

“No.”

“Just going to spring it on her, huh?”

“I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to go about it yet.”

“Well, if anything goes wrong, I’m only a mind-walk away.”

I chuckled. “Not sure there would be much either of us could do, but thanks for having my back. It’s a damn shame our forefathers weren’t capable of forming alliances and friendships like ours.”

“Lesser males believe they need no others but themselves.”

I agreed wholeheartedly with that. “I should start calling you ‘Vanir the Wise’ if you’re going to spit truths like that.”

His laugh was gravelly and deep, and was interrupted by the creaking of a door. We turned as Auren stepped into the room, the same heart-stopping smile adorning her face.

“There she is,” I said, unlacing my arms and taking her into them upon her approach. “Ready for our little side quest?”

“I’d be more ready if you would tell me what exactly we’re going into the woods for.”

I put on my best grin. “Enlightenment.”

Beside me, Vanir snorted, wordlessly calling my bluff.

“I don’t believe you,” Auren said, poking me in the center of my chest. “Vanir’s reaction tells me everything I need to know.”

“Then you’ll just have to trust me.” I smiled wide and planted a kiss on her lips.

The skies were darker today, heavier, with clouds that refused to release their rain, as if they anticipated what was to come and were saving it for the most inopportune moment.

We ported to the edge of The Elderwood, where the rolling, grassy hills of the highlands erupted with tall, densely-packed trees, bridging the gap between the knolls and the mountains beyond. Auren had seen parts of The Elderwood on Calledan’s side, but here, the trees held more secrets, more magic, more creatures and landmarks than we had time to explore. There was one landmark in particular that I was leading her to though—the place where gods once walked.

Auren gazed up into the canopy as we entered the ancient forest, hand in hand. The deeper we traipsed, the more enchanting the land became. There was a magic to this part of the woods. Something of Old. An invisible fissure deep within the earth where Old Magic thrived, was siphoned by the Ancient Fae until it was barren, and eventually replenished itself, only to lie dormant through the ages as the fae adapted and changed.

Everything was thriving and green, lush with the frequent spring rains and ever-present humidity that lingered in the shadow of the lowlands beneath the mountains. Stones jutted from the ground, some that were as large as a carriage, and looked suspiciously like sleeping Dreki curled up in tight balls and wedged between trees. They might have been, given that the creatures could remain incredibly still, and their camouflage was akin to that of a fae glamour.

The terrain began to rise and fall, the trees becoming tightly knit, reaching with spindly branches as if they were offering their shimmering leaves to us as we passed by.

I was in the midst of telling Auren how it was even possible to catch the newblooded Dreki in a place like this, when a sound snapped both of us to attention. Up ahead on a ridge, a thicket of branches hissed with movement. My arm shot out to my side, keeping Auren behind me as I scanned our surroundings. Nothing else moved. Not a sound other than Auren’s breathing. Then . . .

Scraaaape.

Claws on stone.

I knew that sound—like a taunt. Only one creature was known for dragging their dagger-sharp claws against stone to unnerve anything that came across its path. And it was no Dreki.

Don’t move, I told Auren. Even though I was speaking into her mind, I kept my voice to nothing more than a whisper, because out of all the lore surrounding these creatures, the thing that bothered me most about them was their ability to read someone’s thoughts.

Scraaaape.

Auren pressed into my side as I pushed out my shield as gently as I could, encompassing the both of us. My shadows stayed quiet, tucked under my skin, watching.