Page 32 of Radiant Shadows

But my darting gaze found nothing at eye level in any direction. What had that been?

“Mew.”

Furrowing my brow, I cast my eyes to the lower left corner of my vision, then slowly turned my head toward the ground beside me.

A tiny, white kitten hunched there, licking at the blood that soaked into the snow from my crying. It was no wonder I hadn’t seen it immediately. Its fur blended so perfectly with the snow, making it nearly invisible save for the little pink bow affixed above its ear.

I stared at it for a long moment, watching it lap at the blood-coated ice. It looked strangely familiar, but I couldn’t place how. It looked nothing like Rainbow or Goldie—the only other two cats I’d been in contact with in decades.

Also, how the hell did it get here? Surely, it couldn’t possibly have climbed up this mountain on its own. I barely made it, and I was a fucking vampire.

I looked around, scanning the area for signs or sounds of its owner and wondering why on earth anyone would bring such a small kitten to this frozen place.

The night was just as silent as it had been for hours. There was definitely no person within at least a mile radius of me.

I turned back down to my left side, but the spot was empty. Not as if the small creature had wandered off but as if it had never been there at all. The snow around me was completely undisturbed. No indentations of tiny paws leading away, no pressed down spot beside my spilled blood where it had been sitting. Nothing anywhere but the impressions I myself had left.

Had I hallucinated it? Was the high altitude and thin air messing with my mind? But if so, why would my mind conjure that particular image? Why not Alice, who I so desperately wanted to see that I didn’t care if she was real or not?

Coming up with no reasonable answer, I sighed.

The horizon toward the east was beginning to brighten with the first hints of impending dawn. It was late, and I needed to get back before the lack of shadows restricted my ability to run at my full speed because I had no desire to walk the long distance at a human pace.

I began the arduous climb back down the mountain, having surmised that Hadrian’s intel was, indeed, faulty. There were no gryphons in this area at all.

As I made my way down, I continued to think about that strange apparition. Why had I seen it? Was it possible that it had somehow hopped away in my footsteps, and that was why I couldn’t see its pawprints? That was highly unlikely.

And why had it seemed so familiar? I was certain I’d seen it somewhere before, but where?

The answer hit me the second I stepped off of the precipice of the mountain and onto flatter ground—the sweater Shea had gotten me.

I paused there for several seconds, remembering the sweater in vivid detail. Yes, that had been the exact same kitten. White with a little pink bow.

But that still didn’t explain why I had imagined it there. Was it that I was missing Rainbow? If so, I would’ve seen him, wouldn’t I?

Or…

What if it was my mind telling me what I really wanted?

I had asked for a sign. Maybe this was my subconscious’s way of answering that call.

With a glance at the eastern mountains, I kicked into a sprint through the blanketed and woodsy terrain. I needed to talk with Caesar one more time before he left. We had one final issue to discuss.

Chapter 13

Ashlyn

I’d been dying to tell Arya about my wild night with Jackson since it happened, but there hadn’t been a good opportunity with all of her extra training. I had planned to tell her yesterday morning before classes, but then she got sick, and it had been killing me all day keeping it to myself. When I checked on her yesterday evening, she was fast asleep in her room, and I about died from the need to share this juicy gossip.

So, the next morning, I got up bright and early, even though it was Saturday, and made my way to her room. Of course, I hoped she was feeling better because she was my friend, but also because if I kept this bottled up any longer, I was going to explode!

I knocked on her door, and when I didn’t hear a response after a couple of seconds, I just let myself in.

Her room was dark, and there was a faint snoring coming from the mass under the comforter of her bed. There was an odd musky odor, one that reminded me even more of my night with Jackson, and I hoped Tobias wasn’t under those covers with her.

I crept closer, seeing the mess of black hair spread over her pillow, and I sighed a breath of relief that she was alone. Though why that pungent smell clung to the air, I couldn’t imagine.

I gently sat on the side of her bed, brushing the stray lock of vibrant blue hair from her face. Her eyelids fluttered a few times, then narrowed to squint up at me through the darkness.

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