Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

WREN

In the sunlight the forest seemed tranquil. Wren could almost believe that this was just a normal day.

Except that Elodie had gone, and that everything Wren owned was in a pack on her back. A few changes of clothes, the diary and the locket now safely secured around her neck, and that was it.

Finn insisted they leave as soon as possible, before the Ilanthians could come back. She didn't bother pointing out they had clearly already been there.

The ones who hadn't been killed in the darkwood.

She shuddered again. The sense of the Nox had been so strong, wrapping tendrils of shadow through her mind and body. She had lost all sense of herself in that moment, struggling to stay conscious, and she had felt… what? It was like a lingering nightmare, there on the edge of her consciousness. How many shadow kin had she summoned? What had she set loose on those men?

Finn set a punishing pace but she wouldn't let him think she couldn't keep up. She didn't need his pity. All she wanted was to get to the Sisters as soon as possible and find Elodie.

And get some answers.

The very idea that Elodie was a lost queen was simply absurd. It didn't matter that what little Wren knew about the woman seemed to confirm everything Finn said. When she had a moment she'd read the diary and see what clues it could offer.

But as they walked the forest grew strangely quiet. By evening the stillness was uncanny and she felt as if something was following them through the empty woodland. No birds sang, and there were no sounds of any other animals.

‘This isn't right,' she said to Finn. ‘It shouldn't be like this.'

He just nodded, scanning the treeline with wary eyes. She couldn't say he was nervous, but he was ready for anything, watching, alert, waiting. Not afraid.

But nothing happened.

That feeling of being followed persisted through the next day, the sense of eyes upon them as they made their way south. By the time they stopped for the night, they were both exhausted.

Finn lit a fire, a small and well-shielded one. It was the gift of the Aurum. They didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves but fire was one of the few protections against shadow kin, not to mention the remaining fragments of power of the Nox.

They ate in silence, listening to the forest around them, not quite as still now. Wren heard night birds calling out and the rustling of things in the undergrowth. She didn't know what, but prayed whatever it was would keep its distance. Natural noises, though. That was the main thing.

Finn must have realised that too.

‘Get some sleep,' he told her. ‘I'll keep watch.'

Wren frowned. ‘You need to rest as well.'

‘I've trained for this,' he assured her, his rich voice confident and calming. Was it a particular tone he had learned or did it come naturally to him? ‘I'll wake you later and you can give me a few hours before we head off with first light. I'll sleep when we're safe.'

There wasn't much she could say to argue with him. She was already exhausted, her eyes heavy and her body aching. And he could see it.

She bedded down on the soft earth wrapped in a blanket and tried not to let her mind spiral with thoughts, hard as that was. Between Thirbridge, the blazing tower, the dead horse, the man leading the witchhunters, and all of Elodie's secrets…

How had her life fallen apart so quickly?

She was aware all the time of Finn, of his eyes watching her in the night. But listening to him, his watchful stillness, the in and out of his breath, lulled her to rest. She matched her breathing with his and felt her heart slow, her mind quieten, and before she realised it sleep claimed her.

But so did her dreams.

Wren's footsteps echoed around her, a hollow sound that reverberated back through her. The ground beneath her feet was hard, like ice, but it was only when she stopped that she realised it was marble, highly polished so that she could see her own reflection beneath her.

Except it didn't look like her reflection, not really.

Her hair rolled in midnight waves down her back, longer than she or Elodie had ever allowed it to grow, and beneath it her skin was pale as moonlight. She wore a gown like gossamer that clung to her curves and glittered with a touch of frost at the edges, but she was barefoot against ice-cold stone. Everything felt brittle and dangerous in that liminal space, unreal and yet frighteningly real to her.

She tried telling herself it was a dream but it didn't work. Not this time. It was something else. Something more. Not a dream, nor yet a memory. She'd never been here, she'd never been like this.

The hall she wandered through was vast, with lines of pillars reaching high overhead and the far-off ceiling seemed to be painted to reflect the night's sky. But even as she raised her eyes to it, the clouds moved over the moon, and the stars swirled overhead. Not painted, but enchanted, an illusion, or… or transparent. Could it be made of glass?

Or maybe it was just a dream, she reminded herself again. It had to be. There was no place like this in the waking world.

But it felt so real. Far too real.

The breeze that stirred the air was cold. It brought up goosebumps on her bare arms and shoulders. She couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her.

And somewhere else, someone laughed. A low, deep chuckle, masculine and knowing. It made her spin around, looking for the source, while at the same time heat rushed through her, replacing the cold. Not the warmth of fire or comfort. A rush of desire she couldn't control.

‘Who are you?' she shouted, annoyed with her reaction. ‘What do you want?'

He laughed again. Definitely a he.

‘ Your heart flutters like a little bird ,' the voice murmured. ‘ But you are stronger than that. '

Something touched the back of her neck, a gentle caress but with an undercurrent of something far darker. Wren gave a sob of alarm but her treacherous body reacted again, leaning into the sensation. This couldn't be right. It couldn't be real.

Ghostly hands slid up her arms, and Wren shivered at the touch, helpless.

‘ Show me, beloved ,' the voice murmured, as if he leaned down over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, making her tremble. ‘ Show me what you can do. '

All around them flames leaped into life, fire so bright and blinding that she flinched back, covering her face. They rose like a barrier, reflecting in the marble, as if the white stone was covered in blood.

Fire rushed towards her, like a living thing, and Wren tried to retreat. But something caught her feet, her bare and vulnerable feet, and sent her slamming down onto the icy stone. She heard laughter, mocking terrible laughter.

‘ Show me. ' The voice thundered with command and she felt her body react, the need to obey it terrifying in its intensity.

A wall of flames bore down on her and Wren cried out, her hands flung out before her, as if to repel it. The column of fire stopped in its tracks, as if frozen, and then slowly, so slowly, the flames turned black.

‘ Oh yes. It's true. I knew you the moment I saw you, beloved. '

‘I… I'm not your beloved…'

‘ But you will be. Oh you will be. My queen and my beloved, and everything in between. A goddess in waiting. I will give you this world and we will make it ours. I will show you such pleasures and you will give me such power. A fair exchange, I think you'll find. '

The waves of need rippling through her increased and she fought against them. This wasn't right. It wasn't real. ‘I don't want you.'

That laugh again, sultry and determined. The very sound seemed to call her a liar and part of her was afraid she was.

‘ You will ,' he whispered, and his breath played along the side of her neck. ‘ Shall I show you what awaits? '

She felt his lips on her neck, his teeth in her skin. Hands caressed her, pushed her back and a weight settled over her.

She could feel him in her mind as well, whispering, cajoling, commanding her to give in, to do as he wanted, to be his…