Page 101 of The Shadow Prince's Ruin
Guilt creeps up my chest, because she must know of my shame, but time is ticking. “Then understand that I am ready to give my life for my Companion. I don’t care what happens to me, but give him a chance. Do not protect me.”
A band of iron locks around my chest as she chews through my words. In the end, her gaze meets mine, and she nods. “I won’t.”
“Thank you,” I tell her in a soft voice. Emotion makes my head spin again, but I have wasted enough time already. The wind carries the ghost of a familiar scent, and I close my eyes, sinking into moonless darkness as I seek my Companion’s heartbeat. The smell curling around me does not belong in this realm. It’s dry, warm, burned in my heart with the heat of the sun rather than fire.
The Sunwolf.
My beloved.
I lean forward in the saddle, and as the breeze dances around us, I realize Hawk is straight ahead. His heart beats calmly, as if he were resting, and maybe it’s just a miscalculation on my part, but he doesn’tfeelfar away.
I open my eyes and nudge my kelpie, releasing a sharp cry. Octo leaps forward, turning the dry ground muddy wherever his hooves strike it, but as I lead him past a thatch of black raventalon bushes, we emerge on a path of trampled greens and broken branches. The fresh odor of plant blood tells me the destruction was recent.
Joy spreads in my veins when I realize Hawk has been through here, and I follow, riding my kelpie faster than I’ve ever dared. The newly formed passage through the woods lets me spread my wings, and dash forward like a shark cutting through the waters of Grief Ocean. I vaguely hear thethumpof horse hooves behind me, but I’m not going to wait for my escort and chase thesensation of delightful familiarity induced by the scent of sun-kissed rock.
He is so close, my Hawk, I just know it. My man. My husband.
A choked laugh tears from my throat when I circle a cliff, and once Octo heads in this new direction, a warm glow shimmers beyond the trees ahead.
Sunlight.
I feared its power when my younger sister Vinia used it to diminish my shadowcraft further. I still fear it now. But its presence means the Sunwolf is here, and I tighten my hold on the Umlaris Band, ready to do whatever it takes to get my love back.
For he is my everything. My starshine. The only moon in the sky above me.
I duck close to Octo’s thick neck as he jumps, cutting through the trees, but then we’re in a clearing, and I lift my head to stare at the stream cascading down a series of steep drops. The waterfall flows into a pond, which then drains into a narrow river that carries on all the way to the ocean, but I have but one focus.
The Sunwolf rests on a pile of rocks under the falls. His golden fur emits a glow I find familiar after three months in the world of humans, and as his light shines through the rushing droplets, fantastical patterns are cast everywhere around him.
“Hawk? Can you hear me?” I ask, hoping he answers me through our bond like before. When nothing happens, I reach along the thread that connects my soul to my Companion’s and call out to him.
No answer, but the Sunwolf lifts its monstrous head and pushes it through the waterfall. I ignore the hoofbeats of Dame Lorena’s horse catching up to me, and instead lead Octo down the slope and to the river.
He recognizes me, I’m sure of it. My kelpie isn’t happy to come this close to an unknown beast, but I pat his neck to calm him.
“It’s me, Hawk. I know I promised to forsake you, but I would not,” I say, staring into the onyx voids the Sunwolf has for eyes.
But the calm I felt at the sight of him drains out of me almost immediately, because there’s nothing there.
No understanding. No connection. No soul.
My heartbeat speeds up as the Sunwolf bares its crystal teeth.
I open my mouth, unsure what to do next when an arrow swishes close to my ear and hits the beast’s leg.
“No!” I scream out before even the Sunwolf howls with fury.
“He is lost,” Dame Lorena cries, riding along the clearing. She’s keeping her distance from both me and the beast, but it’s clear she’s going for the kill.
Terror seeps into my bones, and I snap the reins, making Octo fight through his reluctance and dash straight at my man. “Stop! I command you!”
The knight ignores me. Another arrow flies the Sunwolf’s way and misses, but as Dame Lorena gets closer to the bristling creature, she grabs her sword and pulls it out of the long sheath on her back. Octo’s hooves hit the water, but I can’t use the collar for as long as my supposed protector interferes.
If she won’t stop when commanded, I willmakeher. I pull up all the shadow I have at my disposal and create a dark wall right in front of Dame Lorena’s horse. I scream from the effort I feel in every muscle and tendon. It would still not be enough to physically stop a galloping horse, but the illusion it creates is enough for the animal to rear as soon as its muzzle pushes into the barrier. The knight tries to hold on to the reins, but with the sword in her hand, she’s off-balance and topples to the ground with a yelp.
I look back to see that she’s down when her spooked horse bolts between the trees, then turn toward the Sunwolf, but hisdead eyes don’t look my way. They’re focused on the barrier I’ve created. It’s no longer needed, so I huff in exhaustion and let it slide into the water. This is my chance. The Sunwolf wants to hunt down my shadow, and while I’m terrified to lose what little power I possess, I’ll be the bait, if it means getting Hawk back.
I smack Octo’s backside so he gets close to my beast, and I climb to stand in the saddle in a feat I didn’t think myself capable of. But if I am to put the collar on his neck, I need to move fast. I reach to my side and unclasp the straps holding my breastplate in place, then shrug it off, ready to leap.
