Chapter 13

VALLON

Murgha's violet eyes glazed over as she stared into the distance.

"Murgha?" I gripped her hands in mine, rubbing them to get her attention.

She didn't move or answer. Her vacant stare didn't worry me as much as it surprised me. I'd seen this happen before on seers in Gadlizel. When we once had them. King Halvar had excommunicated them all except for the very last, the one he'd slain in his great hall at the Feast of Solzkin. What should have been a time of celebration had turned into an unjust execution.

I pressed a finger to my lips as Gwenda fluttered her wings frantically, not understanding what was happening. But she sensed the magick as surely as I did. She settled and stared up at Murgha expectantly.

Murgha finally straightened her spine and spoke in a hollow voice. "Darkness is here. Very near. The demon of night speaks to many beings. Even a misguided king. He whispers of blood and massacre, of ruin and the fall. When he is set free, it will be the end of all."

Then Murgha gasped and blinked her eyes rapidly, coming back to us. I coasted my hands up her arms, squeezing lightly.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

"Fine, I…"

"You didn't tell me you were a seer." I couldn't help the gruffness in my voice, sounding somewhat accusing.

"I've only ever had one other vision. That was years ago. I didn't know."

"You had to."

"I wasn't sure." She licked her lips nervously. "Sometimes, I get feelings about things. Like down in that den."

"What did you sense there?"

She gulped, her slender throat working. "Evil. I think that's why I had a vision now. It feels so close." She shook her head, tears pricking in her eyes. "What is wrong here in the Solgavia Mountains?"

That she innately knew something was wrong would normally have put me on guard to defend our terrible secret, the one we kept from the world in order to protect them.

I considered my loyalty to the royal family of Gadlizel, knowing that breaking any confidentiality would be breaking those vows. But Murgha was my mate. Though she didn't know it yet, she was owed my full confidence and trust. My deepest loyalty. Even above my king.

"Something I can't quite explain. Not entirely. You felt it in the den. The source of it is stirring deep in the belly of Mount Gudrun, the tallest mountain in Solgavia."

Sudden realization hit me. I stood and searched the skies, still seeing no scouts. It was nearly afternoon. They'd be circling this way soon enough.

Gwenda flew near my shoulder, her wings buzzing. "We cannot take her to Gadlizel. No, no, Vallon. We cannot."

Her black eyes were glassy with unshed tears. She tended to cry when she was afraid.

"Don't worry, my friend. I know. I agree, but we need some place safe tonight so I can figure out what to do next."

"Why can't we go to Gadlizel?" Murgha stood, stepping closer. "I don't understand what's going on."

"Gwenda, go to Windolek Castle. Speak to King Gollaya and get permission for us to visit him there."

"You can't wait here," she trilled, her voice reaching a birdlike screech.

"We're leaving now. We'll not be far behind you. But you fly faster, and we need to give the wraith king warning that a shadow fae is showing up on his doorstep. I don't want his archers to shoot us out of the sky or his dragon to eat us."

"He has a dragon?" Her expression brightened, smile widening.

"Don't flirt with his dragon, Gwenda. Just get there and get back to me."

She was gone in a streak of blue into the sky heading southwest.

Finally, I turned back to Murgha, her brow creased with a deep frown.

"I thought the dark fae didn't get along."

"They don't."

"So why are we going to see the wraith king?"

"We've met before. He's"—I couldn't think how to explain—"he's different. He may help. We helped him once when he needed it."

I didn't want to admit to her the true reason I knew he'd help me. Because the wraith king had a mate he cherished deeply and would empathize with my plight.

"Tell me what's going on," she demanded when I wouldn't answer, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain yourself."

Closing the distance between us, I investigated her coat, realizing it wasn't as good a buy as I'd thought. It fit her well, but there were no buttons to keep it closed. It was stained from the filth of that viper's den and torn at the sleeve.

She didn't deserve to be wrapped in another woman's clothes or the homespun dress I found her in, too thin to keep her warm. She deserved better than this. It wasn't what I'd planned. But I hadn't planned to discover this fae female would be my mate either.

"The gods play tricks," I murmured as I tried to close the now soiled and tattered coat.

"That's not an answer," she snapped.

Her irritation made me smile somehow. She was fiery, my little light fae. She'd need a backbone to deal with me, that was certain. And for what lay ahead, I was afraid.

I coasted my hands around her waist, pulling her close. She flattened her hands on my chest as if to stop me, but she gave me little resistance when I lowered my head and grazed my mouth along her neck below her ear.

"We aren't going to Gadlizel because it's dangerous for you there," I informed her.

"How so?" she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly so that I could kiss her easier.

I smiled against her throat. "Seers have been banned from Gadlizel. The king considers them witches and will either kick them out of his kingdom or kill them."

Her breath hitched. "They would kill me?"

I froze. That was true fear quavering in her voice, and I would not have that. I lifted my head and cupped her face with both hands. "Hear me now, Murgha. You are mine to protect. And I will kill anyone who dares to try to hurt you."

Her furrowed brow rose. "Even your king?"

" Anyone. "

Even the prince.

The truth of it cut deep, reminding me I needed to get her out of here, and fast.

"Come. Let's pack quickly. We have to go before the night patrol circles lower into the foothills. They patrol wider during the nighttime."

I strode back to collect the portable pit and frowned at the rest of our breakfast spilled all over the ground. I wasn't a very good caregiver, it seemed. Hopefully, the wraith king would be hospitable and provide the shelter we needed while I figured out what to do next. Then she could rest and eat properly. She looked worn out from the travel and the near-death experience with the nightwyrm.

"Why do they patrol lower at nighttime?" she asked.

"To protect the world from the creatures that prowl down from the mountains in the dark."

"So the shadow fae aren't really keeping other fae out of their mountain but protecting them from what's in the mountain."

"Both."

We managed to gather our things quickly. I hooked our satchels over one arm then hoisted her into my arms. She wrapped hers around my neck easily, her expression soft and trusting.

"You're looking at me differently," I said.

"Differently how?"

"Than before."

"Well," she murmured, her gaze meeting mine, "things are different now. Aren't they?"

"That is for certain."

I bent my legs and beat my wings, leaping up and lifting off into the air, heading toward the setting sun.