Page 11 of Soul of Thorns
Black magic ripples behind her as she stands and three magic wolves of shifting shadows appear at her side. They match the three undead wolves, crouching and snarling.
“Go,” she whispers, and her shadows made from swirling black power leap at the undead wolves. They clash for only a moment, a mesh of claws and teeth, and then the undead wolves yelp, turn on their heels and flee down the mountainside, the shadow wolves nipping at their heels.
I lick my lips, watching Caelynn watch them. The commotion of the fight fades away, and I approach the relaxed shadow fae. Her golden eyes dart to me, and she smiles.
She lets out a long breath. “That was fun.”
My eyebrows are still higher than usual as I move to stand beside her. “I’m glad. It was... impressive.” Although not at all unexpected.
“Never underestimate a shadow fae.” She winks.
“Never again.”
She smiles. We march farther down the path wordlessly, watching for the possible return of the wolves, but the mountainside remains silent and unmoving.
We stop at the edge of a precipice, looking out over the lonely road we’ve left to reach our next obstacle. Caelynn’s blond hair rustles in the wind gently, her eyes cast out on the open lands.
This is her new homeland.
I remember when watching her reunion with the Shadow Lands. The pure bliss and utter pleasure that crossed her usually stoic expression.
Even the pleasure she shows now is a dull version of that moment.
My stomach sinks, and I swallow, looking away from her lack of emotion. She’s at peace with her self-inflicted punishment. But I am not. I cannot stand the thought of leaving her here. How do I move on with my life, knowing she’s here? Alone.
I shake my head and remind myself that I’m getting too far ahead of myself. First, we have to complete the impossible task. If one or both of us die, there will be no decision to make.
My chest tightens.
Focus on the task at hand, Rev. Your job is to get the book. After that...
I take in a long, deep breath. After that, I’ll find a way to save her. I have to.
Caelynn
After our short-livedbattle with a few undead wolves, we wordlessly pick up the pace toward the main roads. Rev is the first to begin a jog. I casually press past him, and a simple smirk is all it takes to turn our journey into a race.
