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I’ve been on the run before without coin or shelter and starting out with far less than I have right now. A sure horse under me, a means to protect myself, and instincts honed to razor sharpness. If only I hadn’t ignored them when it came to Thieran. I’d be in a much different place right now.
But I can berate myself for being so stupid later. Right now I need to concentrate on where we’re going so we don’t end up wandering the Shadow Realm until we’re caught.
I see the forest up ahead and crouch low over Meera’s neck, pushing her faster. We’re so close. The forest hides the veil. I don’t know what it looks like, if it looks like anything at all. But as long as we keep going, we should run into it. And if we can’t get through it, then I’ll figure that out when we get there.
The further we get into the forest, though, the more wrong it feels. I wouldn’t say the Shadow Realm is known for its beauty, though Irios is lovely and serene and Videva is fun and lively. But there’s something about the earth here, the trees. Something isn’t right about them.
Black dust swirls up from the ground with each pounding step Meera takes. The trees spearing out of the soil are dry and cracked and splintered. Like a barren field in desperate need of rain. The land looks as if it is decaying.
Roots poke above the ground, gnarled and twisted, but with one touch of Meera’s hoof, they crumble into dust and are carried away by the wind. The Shadow Realm is…disintegrating.
Can the Shadow Realm fall? And if it does, what happens to all who rest here? To Dania and Jerund and sweet Corinne? Will they cease to exist? Will Thieran?
My heart squeezes at that thought, but I shove it down. Whatever is infecting the Shadow Realm is none of my concern. And it’s likely the very reason Thieran is so intent on sacrificing me in the first place. But he can’t have me. My blood or my flesh or whatever he needs to restore the realm. He can find another victim.
Something shimmers in the distance, beyond the dense line of trees. I push Meera harder, trailing my fingertips over the side of her neck and giving her a reassuring pat. We’re so close, the hair rising on the backs of my arms and neck. The veil must be just up ahead.
Breaking through the thickest part of the tree line, Meera stops short, and I nearly lose my seat, gripping her mane to stay in the saddle. The veil is a writhing, glistening thing, and something about it feels wrong, though I don’t know what.
I’ve never seen the veil before. I have no real memory of how I crossed it the first time, let alone what it looked like. And I’ve never asked Thieran or anyone else in the Shadow Realm about it so as not to raise suspicions.
But the way it dances like a living, breathing beast doesn’t seem right. None of Thieran’s other wards look like this. And what is the veil but the strongest ward between Acaria and Thieran’s realm?
I give Meera a gentle nudge forward, but she doesn’t move, her ears flat against her head.
“Come on,” I say, trying again to get her to step through the undulating air with a squeeze of my knees. “The only way out is forward.”
She snorts in disagreement and takes two steps back. I don’t have time for this. I’ve been gone long enough that if Thieran isn’t looking for me now, he will be soon. And I don’t want to be in the Shadow Realm when he comes searching.
Sliding off Meera’s back, I loop the reins over her head and give them a gentle tug. She still refuses to move, staring over my shoulder at the veil.
I understand her hesitation. I feel the veil at my back as if it were a tangible thing. But it isn’t. It’s nothing but air and power, and we should be able to step through it without getting hurt. I hope.
“Meera. We’re running out of time.”
She takes another step back, dragging me with her, and I huff out an irritated breath. If I’d brought the damn cloak, I could toss it over her head, take her mind off the scary thing keeping her from doing the one thing I need her to do.
Keeping the reins wrapped around one hand so she doesn’t bolt, I step closer to the veil and stretch my arm out toward it. Maybe if I can show her the veil won’t hurt me, she’ll be less apprehensive about going through it.
But my fingertips hover a hair’s breadth from the swirling air that creates no breeze, and I can’t bring myself to touch it. I’m stuck between my desire to go and my fear that I might not survive the crossing a second time.
Except staying isn’t an option. Steeling myself, I force my hand forward and watch as it’s swallowed up by the writhing mass until it disappears. Nothing happens. The life doesn’t drain from my body. I’m not jolted by power. I’m not shoved back into the realm.
When I pull my hand back through, cradling it against my chest, my fingers are cold, and I watch a single snowflake slowly melt on my skin. It must be snowing in Acaria.
“Meera,” I plead. “We have to try. I cannot stay and let Thieran kill me.”
“I would never do that.”
Thieran’s voice is low and soft behind me, and the ache in the center of my chest swells. I’m too late. And when his attempts to get me to go with him willingly fail, he’ll surely take me by force.
I turn slowly to face him, keeping Meera between us and taking a step back until I feel the power singing through the veil brush against my back. His robes are hanging open, his hair disheveled, and there’s worry etched into the lines of his face.
Of course there is. He almost lost his prize.
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” I say. “Not after I heard you telling Railan you mean to sacrifice me.”
His brows knit together and his hands ball into fists. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
