Page 54 of Bound Paths
A host of veil cats surrounded them.
“I thought they were extinct,” Aterra whispered as he turned to face the new threat. If possible, these veil cats looked even less inviting than the ones that had greeted her and Carter. Aterra and Luc both got to their feet slowly.
“Did you have a plan from here, boy?” Aterra taunted.
Luc didn’t have to respond for Rose to know he did not. His one goal had been to get Aterra to a location where he couldn’t continue to cause chaos on the continent. The rest, she was sure, he planned to figure out as he went.
“I don’t mean you any harm,” Luc’s voice came from the body she inhabited. “He’s the one disrupting everything.” Luc shrugged in Aterra’s general direction.
“They’re animals. They can’t understand you,” Aterra growled. He took a few steps to the right, away from Luc, like he would try to run. The veil cats refused to allow the visitors beyond their reach, snapping and snarling as they held a half-circle around the pair.
Aterra looked over his shoulder. Only the icy river was behind them. He could jump back in, but odds were, the veilcats would be waiting for him wherever he emerged. His teeth clenched as he realized he’d have to fight past the beasts.
He hesitated. For the first time, she wondered how familiar Aterra was with the Lady of the Veil. Given Aterra’s penchant for destruction, attacking a host of veil cats with his earth magic didn’t seem like a tough decision for him. Rose watched his brow furrow, and his fingers clenched into fists as he considered his options. Unfortunately, it looked like he had none.
Pebbles danced on the ground as the earth began to shake. Aterra shook the meadow in a pattern that tried to move the veil cats into a huddle to his left. Rose understood his plan. If he could move the pack left, he could split the earth around them and create an escape route.
The fact that he didn’t open the earth beneath himself and slip through it made Rose wonder if that wasn’t an option in this realm. Rose had no concept of what was possible with each of their magics and what was not.
Herding the veil cats with the earth shakes seemed to be working. They clumped together just to the left of Aterra. The pathway was opening for the earth god to split the ground. Just as it was coming together, an avalanche of power rolled into the meadow.
The same roaring of magic that had tried to trap Rose—had forced her to choose to flee—she felt it now. Lady Cassandra rode in on a powerful horse. Unlike Rose and Carter’s visit, Luc and Aterra had nowhere to go. Roots shot from the ground to wrap around Luc and Aterra’s limbs.
Luc’s hands raised in surrender as the roots held him in place. Aterra seemed to realize he was running out of time. The veil cats weren’t far enough away for him to make a clean exit, but he no longer cared. He split the earth, causing one of the beasts to slide into the crack he created.
Cassandra’s roots reached to catch the veil cat, pulling it back to its pack. The already rolling thunder of her power echoed across the clearing. As she came more clearly into view, a blinding light erupted from where she rode.
The crack Aterra started filled with roots—a thick spider web he could not penetrate—pulling the earth back together. They wrapped themselves around Aterra just as quickly, freezing him in place.
“Will I never be free of the continent’s disasters?” Cassandra said as she dismounted. Rose felt even more justified in her decision to flee on her and Carter’s first trip, seeing what their fate would have been. The Lady of the Veil was terrifying. If those on the continent thought Luc’s power was immense, she couldn’t imagine what they would think of this ruler. There was a fire in her gaze as she stared down Aterra. “How dare you attack one of my own in my realm?”
Aterra said nothing. Some of the magic thick in the air around them started dissipating, and Aterra’s mouth opened as the roots peeled away just enough to let him speak. Aterra pointed at Luc. “He is the one who disturbs your peace. Not me.”
“So like a god of the continent,” Cassandra purred. “It’s never your fault, is it?”
Aterra opened his mouth to speak again, but Cassandra’s roots reemerged to hold it shut.
“Let me guess,” she said, her gaze turning to Luc. “He was poised to ruin the continent?”
Zrak stepped into view, responding before Luc could say anything. “Well, you are so well-adept at preventing ruin.”
She ignored Zrak, her gaze locked on Luc. “You. What makes you think my realm is the place to bring your problems?”
Luc sucked in a breath like he wasn’t quite sure how Cassandra knew the details of his situation so fully. Herecovered quickly. “I apologize, Lady. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Well, that’s honest, at least.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “How did you even make it through?”
Luc shook his head. “I’m not sure…” She felt him hesitate like he didn’t know how much to say.
As she opened her mouth to speak again, Zrak cut in. “His bound partner is on the continent… I’d guess he used all his strength to move away from her—from that connection. The opposite direction of that pull would lead him here,” he said smoothly.
Rose was stunned. How did Zrak know that she and Luc were bound? They had only just found out themselves, and there had been no Nebulus on the continent since Luc realized.
“I wasn’t asking you, Zrak,” she said coldly. Her gaze raked over both Luc and Aterra in evaluation. If Rose had to guess, Cassandra appeared to find them both wanting. She noted the lingering gaze on Aterra’s hand in his pocket.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” she continued. “Not quite what you led me to believe.” Her teeth clenched around the words. They were said with such quiet anger. Rose wasn’t sure they were meant for anyone but the Lost God.
“I haven’t failed yet,” Zrak replied. “Why are you here?” Zrak asked Luc. He appeared to be ignoring Aterra entirely.
