Page 81 of The Silent Mountain
For Aengus’ sake, how?
I don’t linger on my thoughts, just speed through the night sky, toward the small dot in the ocean that is my mate. With every inch we get closer, I recognize more of her. Her hair is wet but still sparkles red under the moonlight.
“Favian,” she sighs tiredly when we fish her out of the water.
The moment I have her in my claws, I can feel the mind link opening again like a spell has been broken.
Alana, Alana,I link her.I am here! You are safe.
I want to carry her directly home, but seeing the state she is in, I decide instead to fly for the shore until I reach a safe, secluded spot. Once I land there, I let her down gently and shift back. Alana gasps for air, as her whole body shivers. She wraps her arms around her body, rocking herself.
I need someone here immediately. Instead of linking Stefan or Ludwig, I decide on something unusual for me.Erin.I link the witch. Since she pledged her loyalty to me, I am able to link her, which makes everything much easier. Alana likes and trusts her, and I think she would cope better with a motherly figure now.The queen was in the ocean. We don’t know how and why, but she is freezing and in shock.
Where are you!?Erin seems to be wide awake immediately.
At the shore. You can’t miss us. Have Frederick call a warrior to bring you here!
I will be there immediately,she promises.
I cut the link and hurry to my mate, gently wrapping her in my arms. Her gasps have turned into sobs right now. “I am sorry,” she states, laughing hysterically. “I don’t know what… why… what…” She coughs violently, as another shiver goes through her body. “My body is not list… listen…”—she coughs again—“listening to me.”
“You are in shock, my love,” I say, carefully pulling her against my chest, hoping that the mate bond and my warmth will help. I whisper words to her that I hope will sound calming while gently rocking her.
Erin arrives much sooner than I anticipated. She must have really rushed both Frederick and the warrior, and I am impressed that she managed to do it. To my surprise, she has also brought Cassie along. “She needs to learn,” she whispers towards me. “I hope you don’t mind, Your Highness.”
“Not at all,” I say.
Erin instantly wraps a thick blanket around Alana. “Cassie, get the second blanket and the set of clothes. We need to get her out of these wet ones.”
I go to step away, to give Alana some privacy in such a vulnerable moment, but she grips my hand. “S… sta… y,” she manages to rasp out.
At her words, the beast in me hisses and growls. Having her want us in such a moment of vulnerability is more telling than anything else. Of course I oblige, holding her hand while the two women swiftly undress her. Erin guides Cassie, showing her how to work effectively and quickly. Soon, Alana is free of her heavy and wet clothes, and they wrap her in the two dry blankets again, rubbing to warm her. Slowly, I can feel Alana’s heartbeat slowing down and the clacking of her teeth subsiding. “A song,” Alana mutters. I almost believe she might be hallucinating, but then she looks at me. “There was a song.”
Erin looks up at her words, a frown on her face. She doesn’t say anything at first and keeps tending to Alana until she has calmed down properly and is more stable. Then, she leaves her with me and Cassie and walks over to the shoreline, her eyes pinned to the horizon where the water meets the sky. She stands there for minutes, just staring out at the dark water.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” she says when she returns to us, deep worry etching her face. “It’s as if the world is restless. The peace of nature is disturbed.”
“Does this have something to do with the song I heard?” Alana asks. She is sitting on the ground now, both blankets tightly around her. “And the reason I was in the water? I mean, how could that even happen? The path here is so long and dangerous.”
“Is it possible that Alana was sleepwalking again?” I ask. “Like back with the mare?”
“I don’t think she was sleepwalking,” Erin says. “And I am certain it wasn’t a mare this time. When the mare had you under its spell, you thought your dreams were reality, am I right?”
Alana nods. “Exactly. It was like I was hallucinating.”
“And today?”
Alana blinks. “I can’t remember. I briefly dreamed about Favian, then woke up in the water. But I don’t know how or why I came here.”
I frown. “So, did someone enchant and manipulate her, or even kidnap her?”
“Possibly,” Erin mutters. “I don’t sense anything here on land though. If something is targeting us, then it’s clearly in the water.”
“Why me?” Alana asks. “That’s the second time.”
“You are perceptive,” Erin says. “It’s nothing bad, Warrior Princess. In fact, I would call it a gift not many shifters have. It’s the reason you were able to see the dragons and believe in them when everyone else thought they were extinct. You have a sixth sense to you. Normally, that’s something only witches have.” She pauses. “I wonder… your mother…”
“What about her?” Alana asks.
