Page 56 of Realm of Nightmares
Chest heaving, Maeve sucked in a slow breath. She fitted the gold band back onto her ring finger, and a surge of triumph spread through her. Despite winning back the ring, she couldn’t stop herself from trembling. Beads of sweat turned to chunks of ice, frosting around her temples and at the base of her neck. The tips of her fingers were blue and tiny flakes of snow clung to her lashes and wings. She had no idea how far she’d flown from the House of Death, but she’d need to get to lower ground first, out of the blizzard, if she wanted to avoid freezing to death.
Strange warmth skated across her shoulders and down her spine. Shaken by the odd sensation, Maeve slowly turned and nearly fell from the sky.
Less than a foot from her, with feathery wings of snowy white, was afaolan. The magnificent animal possessed the body of a winter wolf, covered in fluffy white fur, though its face was youthful, like that of a pup. She’d only read about them in books. Thefaolanwere rare creatures said to possess elemental powers, their different types of magic solely dependent on the crystals embedded in their fur. Scarlet for fire, azure for water, verdant for the earth, and iridescent for frost. Sapphire eyes stared back at her and a crystalline stone reflecting all the colors of the rainbow shimmered on its forehead.
A frostfaolan, then.
Maeve suddenly didn’t care if she was freezing, if the entire world froze around her. There was only her and the babyfaolan, whose brilliant eyes stole into the depths of her soul. With a shallow breath, Maeve slowly sheathed the sword in her hand. Even though it was a pup, it was capable of great power, and the last thing she wanted was to appear threatening. She rubbed her chapped lips together and gradually lifted her hand, palm up. If she was careful, if she took her time and didn’t break eye contact, thefaolanmight let her pet it.
Maybe.
Her hand lifted higher, and thefaolanhuffed another warm breath through its snout, sniffing her.
She stretched her fingers out. She was so close. Inches away.
Thefaolan’s ears twitched, and the movement was so adorable a smile spread across Maeve’s face before she could stop it.
Her breath caught and she held it tight in her lungs.
Just a little farther.
“Maeve!” Rowan’s shout split through the space, shattering the moment. He collided into her, catching her by the waist, and dragged her through the air.
Thefaolanyelped, then vanished into the swirling snow.
Maeve shrieked as Rowan hauled her through the layers of clouds back to the training grounds, flying so fast, the world hurtled past her in a blur of muted colors.
They landed abruptly, slamming against the earth with such force her teeth rattled.
Maeve planted her hands against the firm wall of his chest and shoved him backwards. “What the fuck, Rowan?”
“Are you serious right now?” Shadows spiraled around him, and he threw his arms out, his brow furrowing in frustration. “That was a frostfaolan. Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, hating the fact that he thought her incapable of taking care of herself. “Oh yeah, it definitely looked like it was going to devour me up there.”
“Sun and sky, Maeve.Faolonsare unpredictable. Chaotic.” He pointed up to the overcast sky, to where the mountains continued to be blanketed by a barrier of snow. “They can’t be tamed. They’re wild. Andthat onebreathes ice.”
“In case you forgot,” Maeve shot back, sparing the god of death a glance as he stood watching their exchange with rapt amusement, “I commandfire.”
Rowan’s lavender gaze darkened, anger sharpening the lines of his face. “You haven’t had much luck with that here though, have you?”
The insult stung more than she cared to admit. She refused to look at him, not wanting him to see how easily he ripped her bare, how he exposed her weakness for all to see.
“It could have killed you.” His voice was softer now, but it was too late. He couldn’t take the words back, and even if he tried, she didn’t want his apology.
“Well, I guess we’ll never know.” She fisted her hands on her hips, lifting her chin to a defiant angle. “Since you knocked me out of the sky before it could try.”
Rowan scowled, then shook his head once. He turned away from her in a blur of rippling shadows and stormed off, tossing the god of death a look of annoyance as he left. “She’s fucking impossible.”
Maeve straightened as Aed strolled toward her. “Are you going to scold me as well? Since apparently everyone here thinks I’m incompetent and lack the basic skills necessary to survive?”
The god of death’s smile was slow and sensuous. If she was a lesser being, she might’ve swooned. But she’d grown accustomed to his provocative ways and refused to let him have any kind of effect on her.
“I think you found a new friend.” His silver gaze flicked to the skies and Maeve looked up, following his line of sight.
Circling overhead, disappearing then reappearing through the mist and clouds, was thefaolan.
Maeve smiled up at the beautiful little beast and when she glanced back to where Aed had been standing, he was gone.
