Page 96 of Veil of Shadows

I brushed that thought off because at the moment, rescuing Bastian was all that mattered.

“Has anyone heard from Quinn?” Mask and braid secured, I bent down to tighten the laces on my boots.

Alec shook his head. “No, although that’s not unusual. Our crowfy friend typically stays in the shadows until he has something worthwhile to report.”

I straightened, and Jax held out his hand to me. “Back to the clearing then?”

“No, we’re not going back to the clearing.”

“We’re not?” Phillen asked in a gruff voice.

I shook my head. “It’s a decoy. That’s not how we can reach Bastian.” I took the portal key from Jax, then threaded my fingers through his as everyone began to link up. “I’ll show you where we need to go.”

We reappeared in the Wood,over a half mile from the clearing we’d searched earlier today. I’d taken us to the exact location the semelees had shown me, and the second the realm stopped turning, the portal key fizzled out of existence, crumbling in my hand.

Around us, the nighttime insects and birds, chirping and singing, grew quiet in the growing twilight.

In the surrounding Wood, wildling eyes peered at us from inside dens, logs, or from their perches on the branches in the trees. I searched in the foliage, wondering if anyone was about that I knew, but the wildlings all withdrew from sight, and it struck me that none of them were near us. All of them were stationed at least fifteen paces away. In the area I’d taken us to, no creatures were about.

Jax grumbled quietly. “Do you feel that?”

A few of the males nodded, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose when I sensed it. Magic crackled in the air around us. Strong magic. Potent power.

Everyone spun in a slow circle, a few reaching their hands outward.

I did the same, and near the tree to my right, I encountered something heavy. “There’s a spell cloaking this area.”

“It’s a repulsion spell,” Jax replied. “I can sense it with my Mistvale magic.”

Phillen placed his hands on his hips. “No wonder the creatures are staying away.”

I pulled my hand back, recoiling when my fingers brushed it more. Similar to what Esopeel had shared, it felt...wrong.

“They’re using dark magic here, just like Esopeel told us, and it’s hiding what’s underground.” I surveyed the forest floor and searched for the door. My eyes alighted on the small blue marker barely visible amidst the colorful leaves coating the soil. “There.”

I hurried to it and crouched. Vines and dirt covered the small latch that stood only a finger’s distance above the ground, and I began to brush the foliage around it away. The handle was small, easily hidden, and as I swept more plants and dirt to the side, what it was attached to was finally revealed.

A trap door appeared.

“Galaxy and stars.” Bowan whistled. “We never would have found that.”

The door was large, easily able to accommodate full-grown siltenites, and according to the semelees, a staircase was hidden beneath it, and at the stairs’ base, two guards waited.

“Is anyone picking up any scents?” Jax asked.

All of the males inhaled sharply, but when they all shook their heads, I knew they hadn’t scented Bastian or anyone else in this area.

I brushed more of the soil away until the door was fully exposed. “The semelees said it’s the only entrance to what’s been created underground. The clearing we found earlier is a decoy. All of the half-breeds that Bowan followed were whisked here to enter the tunnels and caverns beneath. They never entered at the clearing.”

“But how did they get here?” Lander asked, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“They rodemalingees. Whatever’s happening here has also extended to some of the local animals.”

“Malingees?” Lars’s eyebrows shot up. “No wonder we couldn’t track them past the clearing. Those beasts carry no scent.”

I nodded. “Yet they’re big enough and strong enough to easily carry two to three half-breeds each, not to mention they’re gentle creatures, probably doing whatever is being demanded of them by whoever created this place.”

Jax’s jaw locked. “If there’s only one way in and one way out, and it’s right here, we must keep that in mind when we search below.”

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