Page 54 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

Another day, perhaps two at most. Especially now that they were trapped, like little mice whose tails have been caught beneath a lion’s paw. They were clueless about the danger of their situation, which was exactly where he wanted them.

His lips lifted in a slow, cruel smile as he transitioned into the realm of dreams.

“Well, well, well... what do you have for me this time, Shadow mine?”

CHAPTER19

SHADOW

The rain didn’t let up until late the next afternoon, leaving them with little way to spend the morning besides taking turns standing guard. In a cave with only one entrance, guard duty translated into restless pacing broken up by a series of even more restless naps. With no way of knowing when it would be time to go, it was difficult to do more than exist in a constant state of mild panic. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t exactly the ideal atmosphere for fostering the sort of creativity or meaningful conversations necessary to help break up the monotony.

Though stars bless him, Sebastian certainly tried.

Jagger was the one who finally snapped, shocking them all by jumping up and poking Ronan in the chest. “If you do not put a stop to your dog’s incessant barking, I will. And I will do so by stringing him up by his toes and shoving his dirty stockings down his throat.”

“By all means, be my guest,” Ronan replied without missing a beat. “You’d be doing us all a favor.”

Bast gave an offended huff, peering up at his friend from his place at the campfire. “You would never let that happen. Tell them, Ronan.” When the only response he got was a contradictory lift of his brow, Sebastian turned bright pink and addressed the group at large. “He would never let that happen.”

“If you really wanted to frighten him,” Bronn chimed in mildly, “you should have threatened to use your stockings.”

Calypso cuffed him upside the head but did a poor job hiding her amusement. It was the highlight of an otherwise dreary morning.

Finally, the sun broke through the clouds, signaling they were free to venture out and begin the journey north to the pirates’ secret port town. They were up and out of that cave as if the promise of a vast fortune was on the line. No one was keen to be caught unaware by the mysterious drake riders. Despite his time as their prisoner—and rather ironically, given how he ran his mouth about everything else—Bast had been closed-lipped regarding the riders themselves. Other than to say their breath rivaled that of their foul beasts.

That had been hours ago. Now the sun was low on the horizon, and they could just make out the suggestion of buildings beyond the trees.

“Is that your town?” Sebastian asked, hope lending his voice an earnest edge that made Shadow think of the palace’s litter of puppies.

“It wouldn’t be very secret if it was out in the open, would it?” Caly answered with a soft laugh.

Shadow would have laughed at Bast’s crestfallen expression too, except she shared his disappointment. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate a good adventure as much as the next person, or even the rare opportunity to explore an unknown and exotic territory, for that matter. But since waking, she hadn’t been able to shake a creeping sense of doom. Between yesterday’s Lusca attack and a second night of fitful sleep plagued with nightmares, she was on edge and likely looking for monsters where none existed. A safe haven would go a long way to quashing her mounting unease.

Ronan and Jagger took the lead, moving ahead to investigate what appeared to be a small settlement. Buttercup took to the sky, circling overhead before returning to Jagger’s shoulder.

“All clear,” Jagger confirmed.

“Do you know who might have lived here or why they left?” Ronan asked as he rejoined their small group.

“No, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’ve never ventured this far inland before. As far as I know, this place could have been abandoned for days as easily as years.”

“Years,” Jagger grunted.

Shadow was inclined to agree with the boson’s one-word assessment. The buzzing of insects and the hooting of birds were far more prevalent than they would have been if a large group of people was nearby. Despite the obvious development of the land, there was also a sense that the wilderness had reclaimed it. Anyone who once lived here moved on long ago.

“Well... their loss is our gain,” Bronn said, his sunny smile a perfect match to his breezy tone.

Ronan nodded, his hand scraping over the days’ worth of thick stubble along his jaw. “I think we just found our camp for the night, unless anyone objects.”

“A place with four walls and a roof?” Caly shook her head. “You won’t hear any complaints from me.”

“Don’t get too excited. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet,” Ronan warned.

“It was good enough someone wanted to put down roots here,” Bronn pointed out.

And for them to up and leave.

“Plus, civilization usually means fresh water,” he continued. “There should be a well or river nearby we can use to refill our flasks.”

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