Page 39 of Bound Paths
Cee tilted her head, confused at the correction. Andie’s shoulders tensed as that calm, authoritative voice slid back into her head, even from the other room.
“See how quickly you defend us? Like a queen with her subjects.”
Andie wanted to growl again but knew it was useless. Her fists clenched at her side, and she shouted loud enough for the veil cats in the neighboring room to hear. “I am not your queen!”
“What’s going on, Andie? Who are you talking to?” Cee looked genuinely worried now.
Andie released a deep sigh. She handed the journal to Cee, hoping she might be able to make sense of what she’d written. “The veil cats—they’re speaking to me. Directly in my head. Have they spoken to you?”
Cee shook her head, her eyes scanning the pages. The look of worry was not abating.
“We need to get out of here,” Andie said.
Cee shook her head again. “I’m not leaving until I find a source of spirits. It works, Andie. We need them. It’s the onlyway our village survives the worsening catastrophes.” She folded her arms over her chest.
“You can’t, Cee. That is not their fate.” She didn’t know how to explain what she’d felt, but knew she needed to try. “When you used the first spirit—Nona’s—I felt her cry out. She didn’t want to be sacrificed to fuel our magic. We didn’t even give her a choice.” Andie was close to breaking.
Cee’s brow furrowed.
“Nona’s spirit isn’t here now. Her afterlife is over. She doesn’t get to exist in peace. She’s just gone.”
“How could you know that, Andie? Be reasonable.”
“You’re right, Your Majesty, but she does have you there. How can you know that if you hadn’t given your blood to the land? If you don’t belong here?”
Andie growled again in frustration.
“We have to save the villagers, Andie. They’re counting on us. Father is counting on us. A few spirits are worth the cost! I know it’s sad, but they’ve already lived their lives.”
Andie didn’t know how else to explain it. Yes, one life was over—but that didn’t mean they should forfeit their existence in the afterlife. She felt in her bones that it was part of a cycle of balance for humanity.
Cee would defend their village, and Andie was glad for it. But part of her also wondered—who would defend the spirits?
An idea formed in Andie’s mind. If the veil cats wanted her as ruler, they’d have to answer some questions. Andie was sure that if those more knowledgeable about the realm explained it to Cee, she wouldn’t want to disrupt the balance here. She voiced her plan for Cee and the felines next door. “We’ll have the veil cats give us a tour. They’ll explain the process and how the spirits enter and exist. You can ask them all your questions. See what your plan will cost the spirits.”
Cee was already shaking her head.
“Please, Cee. I’m asking for you to let them make their case. Please.”
Cee considered her twin. Her gaze held fast to the point of Andie’s discomfort. “Fine.” She grabbed her jacket and slid it around her shoulders, tucking the journal into a pocket.
“We’ll play along, too,”the cats replied.
The veil catsinsisted the explanation start at the river. Andie couldn’t tell if this was the exact part of the riverbank where they’d arrived or if the entire bank looked remarkably similar.
“For this tour, it would be easiest if you were both veil cats again. Though, you will need to help her shift.”Orion’s tail flicked toward Cee.
“How do we do that?”
Orion let his tail sway back and forth, a clear indication he would wait as long as necessary for her to figure it out. The rest of the pack—a dozen in total—sat back on their haunches in solidarity.
“He says we both need to shift,” Andie said to Cee. “Can you do it again?” she asked.
“Can you?” Cee shot back.
Andie nodded slowly. As much as she wished she couldn’t, the veil cat form was just below the surface of her skin, begging to be released.
“Of course, you can,” Cee huffed. “Well, you do it. Maybe I’ll learn from watching you.”
