18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Eldrick

E ldrick, Tovi, and the Gray Fenris trekked through the Void, a barren wasteland of fog, mist, and death. Husks of scorched trees appeared from the mists like skeletal remains, crooked and ominous. Demons howled and mewled unseen, the growls of ones Eldrick had never heard before, grating against his spine and awakening his inner wolf. Desolate, inhabitable. The lack of sunlight for centuries had left its mark on the land swallowed by fog.

Eldrick avoided actual skeletal remains littering his path. Deer, birds, and—

He averted his eyes from a skull that didn’t belong to an animal. It jutted halfway from the gray sand, empty eye sockets and molars distinct compared to the animal remains. Perhaps his own kind, a witch, or human. He shuddered. His inner wolf grew restless, agitated, desperate to shift and prowl through the wasteland as a stealthy beast.

But Tovi had warned them not to shift unless absolutely necessary.

A werewolf’s magic had been gifted by the Moon God, a deity who possessed light. Darkness lived in unison with the Moon God, the moon shone brightest in the night, but there was no balance in the Void. Darkness craved light, to overshadow it completely. Shifting, using their magic, only called to the darkness more, luring the surrounding demons closer .

More aggravating, Tovi led them. Light on her feet, the enchantress glided through the fog, agile and alert. She squatted to inspect tracks, stopped to listen to surrounding sounds, and sniffed the air at certain junctions.

They’d barely spoken since they’d left Lār. As if Eldrick’s angry thoughts reached her, Tovi looked back at him, jade eyes snaring his. For a breath, their two green tones connected. Eldrick’s heart skipped. And then, she whirled back around, the connection severing like a snapped rope.

She continued to guide them onward. As a firstborn, he was a leader, and the sight of her, beautiful yet a vampyr, leading them forward, made his insides twist. He didn’t enjoy following her or how the way she moved made him feel.

Eldrick tempered his pride and attraction.

Though Tovi appeared concentrated on her task guiding them through the Void, not a flicker of alternative agenda, he still didn’t trust her—a detail he’d shared with his Uncle Claus in a recent missive.

He’d hurried and sent an update with the last werewolf they’d come across before entering the Void. They were on course, but he was still wary.

There was no place for the warmth in his belly or dangerous thoughts whirling in his mind, not when one fact above all else overrode everything. Tovi was a vampyr, and Eldrick’s hate for the monsters marred his perception of the princess. The facts spoke loudly, ones he refused to forget.

The fog began to thin and part, like a curtain unveiling the canyon, and Tovi paused. The others joined her, peering down a sloping descent of boulders and brush, the first signs of vegetation since they left Sorin.

Eldrick’s werewolf sight caught the plush canopy of a forest. His brother and Bétar joined him while the others paused to rest.

“There are trees,” he said, unable to keep the shock from his tone.

By the set of his brother’s taunt jaw and Bétar’s furrowed red brows, they were surprised, too.

Tovi nodded. “We’re at the edge of the Void, about six miles south of Drystan. The canyon pass bleeds into the southern forest. ”

“A forest? What else is after the Void?” Todd asked.

“Villages, but I’ll make sure we stay clear of them as we head towards the castle.”

Yennifer paused her water canteen mid-sip. “Vampyrs have villages?”

Tovi rolled her eyes, inspecting the canyon below like a bird of prey would high up in a tree. “Yes, yes. I know we’re all surprised by vampyr civilization, but we don’t have time for a rehashing of it all or a full geography lesson.”

“Speaking of geography,” Bétar said. “The canyon pass looks like rather tight terrain.”

Vines and ferns intertwined into a dense brush. Snow and ice clung to branches, and fog filtered through the empty spaces. Eldrick assessed everyone’s gear and packs. Bleu snorted into Kade’s ear while Maxie sat at the edge, yellow eyes expectant.

“We will have to reconsider our supplies and pack everything else onto Bleu,” Kade said.

Again, the horse snorted into his brother’s ear, shaking his head as if to say, How dare you.

“We should split up,” Tovi said. “Some can assess the canyon pass, making sure it’s clear while the rest sort out the supplies sooner rather than later. The sun might not shine here, but there is still night. Demons and scáths roam in the later hours.”

Silence stretched amongst the group, and Eldrick clenched his jaw. Years of learning strategy warred within him. A narrow, one-way path with no additional exits. She could be setting them up for an ambush. She was wrong. They shouldn’t split up. The team’s silence indicated they agreed.

Kade’s amber eyes flashed with a hint of distrust. They shared a slight glance, a silent conversation. His brother’s left brow twitched a fraction, questioning.

Demons wailed again in the distance, far away from the canyon which was eerily still. Only the fog moved, like a ghost skittering between bushels of green and frost .

Eldrick laid his hand over his axe strapped to his hip. The hilt brushing against his palm gave him comfort. Facts and reason ran through his mind while his dislike for Tovi swam in his gut. Emotions aside, Tovi had a point. The canyon pass was tight. Eldrick couldn’t deny that. In the event they came across scáths or demons, they needed to remain agile. Full packs strapped to their backs wouldn’t do. Eldrick’s instinct as alpha pushed him to keep his pack, his team, safe, and if he had time alone with Tovi, he could assess her further.

“I’ll go,” he said. “The rest can work out the supplies.”

His gaze snagged with Tovi’s. He expected frustration or annoyance, contempt even, but she looked relaxed, thoughtful.

Kade nodded. “That works.”

Eldrick discussed with his brother and second-in-command how far they’d travel, no more no less.

“Ready?” Tovi asked him once he met her at the canyon’s edge.

No, he wasn’t. In the last few days, though they hadn’t spoken, they’d been together. They’d hiked through the Vadon Mountains, slept on bedrolls under the stars, and traveled across the plains. Nothing separated them, yet a distance existed between them like the canyon they were about to enter, and through that distance thrummed a palpable tension. It pulled and buzzed, despite Eldrick’s better sense. At least he’d had the Gray Fenris as a buffer, the eyes and ears of five others watching.

Now, he’d agree to be alone with her, and it spiked his heart rate higher than the thought of whatever darkness lurked in the canyon.

Eldrick inhaled— one, two —grasping for something, anything to give him resolve.

Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. His uncle’s voice filtered through his mind.

That’s what he was doing, wasn’t he? He was letting his emotions blur his rational judgment. Those emotions had taken root the moment Tovi had begun leading them, and Eldrick had grasped them tightly instead of letting them go and finding solid ground with the facts.

Tovi was their guide, and as much as he hated it, they needed her. This was part of the mission. Get through the Void. Make it to Drystan. Get Evelyn out of the castle. With those facts, Eldrick dismissed both his prejudice against her and his unwanted attraction.

“Let’s get moving.” He set his shoulders straight and tamped down all that worming emotion deeper and deeper, until he couldn’t feel its wiggling madness any longer.