Page 51 of Shadowed Spirits

“Sorry I woke you. I can skedaddle so you can get some more rest.”

“Stay? Please?” he whispers as he fights to keep his eyes open.

“Of course.” I lie back down with my head on his chest. I assume this is the most comfortable position for him right now because that’s where he pulled me down. It’s only a minute or two before I hear his breathing even out as he falls asleep.

Unlike Levi, I can’t fall asleep. Instead, I lie there awake, pondering his question about how the hell we’re supposed to take down Lua. Going against Doyle, who has a fraction of Lua’s power, was a shit show that resulted in one of my mates getting injured. If we can barely manage to take down Doyle, how in the world are we going to defeat Lua? Even if we do, who will we lose in the process? Will any of it be worth it in the end?

CHAPTER 27

IZZY

Isquint to try to see through all the blowing snow as I step out of the portal. I’m extremely thankful I’m a mage because this snowy mountain peak would be miserable without magic to keep me warm. While I’m still bundled up in a coat, hat, gloves, and snow boots, I have a heated bubble around my mates and me to keep the harsh winter air off us.

We decided to check out the Icelandic location first, at the inhuman hour of four in the morning. Have I mentioned I hate getting up early? Because I do, with a fiery, burning passion. Since we hope to check out multiple mountains today, we wanted to get an early start.

Today is my birthday and Halloween. Normally, my family would force me to attend a costume party or, even worse, a birthday party. Luckily, we have way too much going on to waste time on a pointless gathering, so I got out of that. I’m sure I’ll get a call from my parents and brothers later, but they’re all still asleep, like we should be.

I’m a bit surprised that Bishop hasn’t brought it up yet, but I’m glad for it. I hate celebrating my birthday. It’s just another reminder that yet another year has passed without me solving allof the problems that follow me around like the ghostly dogs of the Wild Hunt. If I had my way, everyone would ignore that this day exists, and it looks like I’m going to get my wish this year.

The others stepping through the portal jar me from my thoughts. While we can portal to the general location, we can’t get to the exact coordinates without a picture of it or having been there before. So, here we are, looking like a collection of marshmallows in our heavy gear as we prepare to wander around, trying to find specific coordinates. Luckily, we have a GPS from Aiden that should point us in the right direction.

“Everyone ready to go?” Luca has to shout to be heard over the shrieking wind.

I give him a thumbs up instead of trying to talk loudly enough to be heard. Once everyone else agrees, Luca takes off in the direction the GPS tells us to go.

I underestimated how hard it would be to slog through the almost knee-high snow, as I’m out of breath in a matter of minutes. Sucking it up because we have a job to do, I trek forward silently. Glancing around, I see the rest of my mates fighting through the heavy snow with grim determination.

Two hours later, we arrive at a cave entrance. I’m so excited to get out of the snow that I dart forward into the recessed opening. Luca snags me by my hood as I pass him and keeps me from going any farther. I turn around to glare at him. He arches an unimpressed brow at me. “You can go in after I make sure there aren’t any surprises waiting for us.”

I cross my arms but manage to resist the urge to stomp my foot in frustration. “I’m just as strong as you, wolf boy. There’s no reason I can’t go first.”

“It’s not about strength, wildcat. I’m well aware you’re significantly more powerful than I am, but you’re still my mate. I want to protect you, regardless of how strong you are.”

My ire melts a little at his sweet sentiment, but it goes both ways. “I want to protect all of you, too, so I should go first.”

“Unfortunately for you, sunshine, you’re outvoted,” Archer informs me with an amused smile. “None of us wants you to go somewhere dangerous first. You can go second, though.”

I snort at his offer. Sighing, I motion Luca to go in front of me. As much as I enjoy being on a snowy hellscape of a mountain in Iceland, I really don’t. I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible. Arguing with my bullheaded mates is just wasting time, and I’m unlikely to win this. Luca strokes my cheek with a gloved hand as he passes me. I enter the cave hot on his heels.

I’m not sure what I expected to find, but the cave looks pretty… normal. Don’t get me wrong, the ice cave is a breathtaking spectacle of shimmery bright blue ice walls, a frozen waterfall, and lethal-looking icicles. My feet crunch on the black pebbly ground as I spin around in the center, trying to take it all in.

While beautiful, there’s no shrine to Lua, bulletin board with all her evil plans, photos of us with red Xs over our faces scattered about, or any trace that anyone has been here in centuries. Instead, it’s just a room of pristine ice. “How, exactly, are we supposed to know when we find the right cave?”

Archer wanders over and slings an arm around my shoulders. “That’s an excellent question, sunshine. One I don’t know the answer to.” Archer grins down at me, like he isn’t bothered in the least by our predicament. The worry I can see shining in his aquamarine eyes that match the ice cave walls tells a different story, though.

I huff a laugh, feeling a tiny bit lighter, thanks to his presence, than I did before. “Fantastic. Anyone know the answer?”

Levi rubs his chin thoughtfully as he looks around the cave. He was right that he just needed a little rest. When he gotup at the ungodly hour of three this morning, his bruise was completely faded, and he seems back to normal. “I’m honestly not sure. We may need to visit all six mountains and then get a game plan together as to which one we think she’ll be at in two weeks. Hopefully there will be clues in the others because I’m not seeing anything here.”

“Yippee,” I mutter sarcastically. “So, where to next? Siberia?” I know Siberia isn’t all snow and cold and desolation, but I still would rather go somewhere warm and sunny, like Italy. Although, the location is on a mountain, so it will probably be depressing, too.

My mates look between each other and have a silent conversation that I’m not privy to. Before I can ask about it, Bishop says, “Let’s go to Japan first. I have a good feeling about that one.”

Raising my eyebrows, I look at Bishop expectantly for an explanation, but he just conjures up a portal and walks through. Everyone else follows him through until it’s just Archer and me left in the ice cave. He bows to me and sweeps his arm across his body to the portal dramatically. “After you.”

Giggling at his antics, I make my way to the portal and snag his hand as I pass by. We go through the portal together and step out onto a dark green grassy rock face. In a single file line, we start the multi-hour trek up yet another mountain.

“I don’t thinkthere’s anything here, either,” I comment as I look around the rocky space. These coordinates also led to the top of another mountain peak. Whereas the last one was almost completely ice, this one is made up of mostly gray rock with moss crawling up it.

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