Page 80 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

“You better fucking come back to me.”

CHAPTER25

REYNA

She hadn’t counted on the overwhelming sense of nostalgia when she called on the mist. When she’d been younger, she’d thought of it as becoming the wind, for that’s always what it seemed when her mother and her guard would cloak themselves in shadows and leap down from the Crow’s Nest to the forest floor below.

It had been so long since she’d had the ability, or knowledge, to do the same that she’d forgotten about the whispers. Those indistinct voices chittering just out of range.

She used to be so afraid of them until her mother explained that they were her ancestors there to guide her way. What she hadn’t understood at the time was that what her mother really meant was that they were the voices of the dead and that calling on the mist was a way of walking two realms at once.

For an assassin, she supposed it was a fitting gift as much as a warning. Be careful of those you send to the Father, for they are never truly gone, merely lying in wait. Her mother had never confirmed it, but Reyna had the sense that if she allowed herself to give into curiosity and seek out the ones the whispers belong to, she just might become trapped in this in-between place.

And since the Night Stalkers were a superstitious sort—how could they not be given their creator—it was also believed that the clearer the voices, the closer you were to death.

In her youth, Reyna had taken the lack of a distinct message as a sign that her missions would be a success. Now she knew the truth. Death had been caged and unaware of her existence. But not any longer. Now he walked free, and he had his sights locked on her.

Which is why she should have known he’d be waiting for her the second she crossed into his domain.

“Ah, there you are. How nice of you to visit.”

Ice trickled through her veins.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her heart picked up its pace.

“You can run, moonbeam, but never hide. For you are the beacon that lights my path.”

She was afraid to think lest he could hear the thought, so she focused on keeping her breathing steady, eyes closed, and mind empty.

“It won’t be long until we’re together once more.”

Fear sat heavy in her stomach, the taste of it thick in the back of her throat.

“See you soon, Shadow mine.”

It’s Reyna!she wanted to shout, but she didn’t dare correct him. On the outside chance he hadn’t yet realized his hold on her was diminished, she didn’t want to be the one to give away the secret. Instead, she dropped her hold on the mist and returned fully to the forest.

“Back so soon?”

She was coated in a fine sheen of sweat, her hands trembling. “I—”

But what could she say, that Erebos hunted them? That he was close and coming closer every day? Ronan already knew that. And if the High Lord was still on his way, then it meant he wasn’t quite here. Therefore, he wasn’t an immediate problem. Not like finding the rest of their party.

“I guess I’m a little out of practice,” she joked lamely.

It was clear from his expression that Ronan wasn’t buying the excuse. Before he could press her on it, she started off toward the camp.

“We should hurry.”

“Rey!” he whisper-shouted. “Get back here, dammit... Reyna!”

But now she was running, her heart thundering beneath her ribs.

How could she have been so stupid? Why had she thought the mists would be safe when they were part of whathe’dgifted her?

In truth, she hadn’t been thinking. She’d been too excited about the prospect of reclaiming another lost piece of herself. That, and the mists were all she had left of her mother. The day she’d taught her to call on them was the last lesson they’d ever shared. Her mother, Regina, first of her name, died in battle the following day. There was much she would give to ask the woman who’d been her idol how she was supposed to protect herself and her friends from the wrath of a vengeful god.

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