Page 27 of Bound Paths
Carter nodded as if mollified by her hand’s return.
Rose swallowed, a little nervous that she couldn’t hold on through whatever he was about to do. She tangled her fingers into the cat’s fur to secure her grip without hurting him. The cat nodded at her action, so it must not be too tight. He arched his neck toward her fingers, encouraging a firmer grip.
Rose’s gaze returned to the solid stone wall in front of them. They kept moving toward it. He lifted a paw and pointed toward it.
“The wall?” Rose asked.
The veil cat nodded.
“What about it?” she laughed to herself. He couldn’t answer that, and she doubted he would if he could. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew what his plan was—and he was right. She didn’t like it.
“Never mind,” she swallowed thickly and stared at the wall—definitely solid. Even with her magic senses, she saw nothing that indicated the cave surface had any give.
He couldn’t possibly be planning what she thought he was.
Her fingers loosened as she momentarily lost her nerve. Carter’s warning growl was enough to remember herself. “Just do it before I think too hard about this.”
The cat’s tail flicked back and forth at a steady pace. Rose secured her grip. She glanced at Juliette, wondering what this scene looked like to her. The second Rose turned her head, her body lurched forward.
She held tighter, the veil cat growling at the ferocity of her grip. As she turned her head back toward the cave wall, Rose let out a growl of her own.
He had taken a running leap. They were lunging through the air directly toward the solid wall.
They were going to hit it face-first.
Saying she trusted Carter was one thing. Letting him throw them at a solid cave wall seemed something else. Cursing Carter’s name as they flew through the air, Rose closed her eyes and tightened her limbs, preparing for impact.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Seconds passed, and they hadn’t collided with something solid. Her feet were moving to keep up with Carter’s consistent pull. Rose peeked, slowly opening her eyes. She closed and opened them again, unsure of what happened. The world around them was so dark, she didn’t know if she was blind or if there was nothing to see. Carter growled, sensing her action. She tightened her grip on him again as they ran through a space between realms.
Nothing was visible as they traveled. To her eyes, the entire place was a void. “Do you know where you’re going?” she whispered, unsure what else might lurk in the darkness.
The veil cat nodded and led without a moment’s hesitation. Rose closed her eyes again. Best not to examine this emptiness too closely. She felt a tug similar to Carter’s initial jump. Then she was weightless, falling.
Rose landed with a splash.
The water was ice cold, and the current was quick. Rose didn’t think as she pulled on her water magic. She was a strong swimmer without the magic, but the river’s flow was brutal. Searching the water for Carter, she was astounded to see him licking his paw from the opposite bank.
How had he ended up there?
The river fought to pull her downstream. Ignoring Carter, she focused on getting herself across the water. The current threatened again to pull her under, and she laughed. She was the Norden Point—she could tame a river. Her magic took over, guiding the river to lift her out and drop her on the grassy bank.
“You good?” she asked Carter. His yellow-green eyes blinked in confusion like she should be asking herself that question instead of him. He gave a low, non-committal growl as he returned to licking his paws. He’d been the one to land her in the river, but somehow, he looked smug.
This was the nature of felines.
“You are going to hear about this later,” Rose said with no venom. She couldn’t believe they made it. The veil cat rolled its eyes at her and finally stopped licking its paw.
They were beyond the veil.
The land looked surprisingly similar to the continent. They were in a meadow, grass beneath them and trees surrounding the space. The river behind them ran in both directions, farther than the eye could see.
“Do you know where we need to go?” Rose asked.
Carter shook his head.
Rose searched the horizon, but she didn’t see any settlements or spirits in view. She wasn’t sure whether she could see spirits though—even here. “Are we being watched? Any spirits around?” she asked Carter.
