Page 2 of Call of the Ride
The only solution I’d seen was to offer myself to Koschei in exchange for information and the eventual release of the goddess. He’d agreed, but, true to form, the Deathless One had been slippery in his dealings by only providing a maddening riddle for me to start the search.
Drink the sevenfold source to see what you seek,
While pointing your heel at the sun at its peak.
With everything that had happened since that day, I hadn’t shared Koschei’s clue with my Riders yet. It didn’t help that my men—especially Nox—were clearly annoyed with me for making a deal without consulting them first, and I wasn’t in the mood to be scolded. As soon as I figured out a new solution, I would let them know. I had no intention of allowing Koschei to get his hands on me again, regardless of whether I had any idea where to start with solving the riddle.
But that’s a problem for a later date.
Tan gently brought me back to the present, pushing a strand of hair from my eyes before leaning down to brush his lips against mine. “My sweet witch. Right now, you should come back to bed. Acey and I will do our best to relax you, but then you must sleep. Come morning, we have a debriefing with the shifter clan leaders and we still need to pack our bags.”
Still disoriented, I furrowed my brow, my mind going blank as I struggled to recall what the plan was now that so much had gone horribly wrong. Running my gaze over Tan’s features, I desperately searched for guidance in his calm expression. “But we only just returned to the hut. Where would we be going after our meeting?”
“To London, doll,” Tan grinned, and it relieved me more than I could express to see his mischievous spark once again. “We still have an evil empire to overthrow.”
Chapter 2
Vasilisa
“Our agreement was that our joint attack would focus on the Facility,” Asa snapped, his usually calm demeanor clearly fraying under the intense scrutiny of the shifters in attendance. “The fact that the building still stands—and that we allowed surrendering recruits to live—does not change the original terms.”
Sighing, I ran my fingers over the doll hidden in my pocket, mulling over Koschei’s riddle as I channeled soothing energy to Asa through our bond. His blue eyes flickered to me, and he offered a slight smile before his impenetrable mask was firmly back in place.
The noontime meeting with the clan leaders had crept into the early evening hours and showed no sign of stopping. Any sense of unity I’d felt at the start of the battle had officially been shattered, and it was easy to see why. While countless shifters had been rescued from the Facility, discovering what had been done to them while in captivity had solidly painted humans as the enemy once again.
And as my men and I are the only “humans” present…
Luperca solemnly spoke, her steady voice commanding the surrounding woods into silence. “I have been around long enough to know what happens when man is allowed to rape the earth and its inhabitants, unchecked. The more lenient we are, the bolder they become. And it never ends well for our kind.”
While Luperca was in human form, her personal guards were still wolves, which I assumed was to make a statement of solidarity with everyoneexceptme and my men. One of them bared his fangs and growled whenever their leader made a pointed statement. The other—an enormous tundra wolf named Kazimir—kept his gaze locked on where Anthia, Tan and I stood at the edge of the clearing, as if he’d been assigned to monitor our movements.
So we’re back to being distrusted, I see.
“I can’t wait to have a stiff drink in London,” Anthia whispered in my ear, unconcerned with the tense standoff happening in front of us. “With a frilly little umbrella stabbed through an obscene number of maraschino cherries.”
Maintaining a perfect show of interest in what Luperca was saying, Tan mumbled, “I could use that drink right now.”
Anthia barked out a laugh, causing every shifter to judgmentally stare at our group. Gerard appeared annoyed while Luperca looked ready to set her wolves loose on us. Asa seemed relieved to have the attention off of him for the moment, so I rescued him from the firing squad.
“I would like to remind everyone that myremainingRiders and I will be traveling to London to uphold our end of the agreement—by locating those responsible for the Facility and obstructing future efforts.” My gaze swept over each shifter present, daring them to challenge me when I’d clearly suffered a devastating loss myself. “So, if your clans have gathered any useful information since the attack, please speak with Asa before you leave.”
Gerard nodded in approval of my words before hurrying toward Luperca, most likely to smooth over any offense his daughter may have inflicted. A few shifters headed in Asa’s direction, but most immediately left the clearing, angrily muttering under their breath. I truly hoped we could return from London with reassuring updates and a solid plan for restoring the forest to the proper balance.
Otherwise, we may have a war on our hands.
“I’ve booked a suite at Catty Lang’s for you and your nice little matched set of dicks,” Anthia quipped. “Of course, I will be staying in my own room down the hall, luxuriating in the tub as much as possible.”
She tapped her newly-manicured fingers against the screen of her phone, the sound grating on what nerves I had left. While I knew Nox wasn’t her favorite of my Riders, I scowled at how casually my friend continued to treat my heartache, even after everything I’d told her. Anthia’s inability to even feign concern for my sake added insult to the grave injury I’d sustained.
This wasn’t a vacation. My men and I were traveling to London to track down Matthew and his associates—a mission we were determined to complete, even in Nox’s absence. Demigod or not, I wasn’t convinced my Darkest Midnight had survived the blast, because the piercing pain I’d experienced at that moment had felt so devastating. Tan and Asa seemed to think he still lived, and insisted we proceed as planned until we could retrieve Nox from…wherever he was. I tried to allow their claims to calm me, but couldn’t help noticing neither had a solid theory about where in all the realms my Darkest Midnight could be.
For all we know, he’s back in the Nav, arguing with Vel…
“Veles!” I blurted out, startling Anthia from where she'd been babbling about “the lush accommodations” and causing Asa to immediately stride over to join us.
“Are you all right, sweetness?” My Beautiful Sun looked exhausted, but still earnestly searched my face, no doubt looking for how he could make things easier for me.
I nodded, attempting to hide my raw emotions beneath a pleasant smile, although I knew my men could acutely feel my anguish through our bond. “We need to find the nearest sacred grove and call upon Veles immediately,” I replied as calmly as possible, although my intuition was tingling with recognition.
