Chapter Twenty-Four

T he next morning, Evienne and Orion rose with the dawn, taking their horses to ride out of the city limits. Evienne went riding often, so their departure wasn’t suspicious in the least. Autumn had slipped away into winter in earnest, and the morning breeze carried a cruel bite.

They rode in silence, anticipation and anxiety hanging in the air as the countryside passed them by. Ichorna’s land was a mixture of rolling fields, grasslands, and wild, mostly untamed forests. The fields were what made Ichorna prosperous; Lucinne sat at the center of the heartland, the jewel in a crown of golden wheat.

Evienne had decided that her plans to find out what nonsense Dominique had been up to could wait; this was important, and they had a morning free from any official agenda. She would find Dominique another time. She knew she was likely just making excuses to avoid the confrontation, but she was enjoying her time with Orion too much to feel truly guilty.

Their destination was the Assombrie Forest, the closest stretch of woodland to Lucinne. Its ancient oaks and romantic drooping pines cast deep shadows across the dirt path as they entered the shelter of the woods. The cold air carried the scent of evergreen and soft, loamy earth.

This place had always felt separate from time as Evienne understood it. She hadn’t come here often, too unsettled by the sentience of the trees and the feeling of eternity that suffocated her here. The forest was desperately ancient and heartbreakingly new all at once, and her soul never quite knew what to make of it. She had thought once that it unnerved her because being here felt like looking in a mirror; her spirit eternal and also just beginning.

They reached a small clearing in the trees. Even the chill fog seemed to recoil from this circle of mossy ground. Tiny, tightly-furled ferns braved the assessing gaze of the gray sky above, while the trees found comfort huddling near their neighbors.

Evienne slowed her horse, and Orion did the same as he took in the clearing. A look of reverence and apprehension adorned his perfect features. The sight of him here in this ancient, wild place nearly took Evienne’s breath away. She knew it had been right to bring him here; he looked like he belonged to this place.

“I think this will do,” Evienne said as she slid off her horse. Orion nodded, his lips tightening into a line. Evienne knew this was a difficult thing for her to ask of him, trying to shift after a lifetime of grief over the Tuanadair’s failing magic. Hope was more cruel than apathy.

Evienne ventured, “Do you know how?”

Orion’s face fell slightly at the question. “In theory, but obviously, it is likely to be quite different in practice.”

Evienne nodded. “Can I do anything to help?”

Orion shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped to the center of the clearing.

·

T he cold mists clung to Orion’s hands and face in invisible droplets. This forest was alive in a way he had never encountered before, but it called to something in his soul. It felt at once like embracing an old friend and the breath taken before leaping off a cliff. The air was rife with ancient magic.

Orion filled his lungs with the forest air, closed his eyes, and sent his attention toward the place he knew his inherent magic was meant to reside. The books he had spent his whole life studying described the sensation as strongest just behind one’s sternum.

He focused on the feeling of the mist and the second, more primal voice in his soul that had long been silent.

The sensation slammed into him suddenly, like he had jumped into icy water. It stole his breath, and he couldn’t open his eyes. One breath the icy pain was there, and the next, only the sensation of raw, uncut power.

Orion kept his eyes shut, overwhelmed by his senses. He heard and smelled things he never had before. The iron tang of blood was on the air; the howls of the wolves celebrating their successful hunt in the distance echoed through the trees. He heard Evienne’s pulse from across the clearing—it raced.

He opened his eyes at last, panic cutting through his shock. If Evienne was frightened, something must be wrong. He could keep trying to shift after they dealt with whatever threat caused her fear.

His eyes immediately found hers, but it was awe, not fear, that graced her lovely face. He moved toward her, confused, and she drew back slightly. From him, he realized.He extended his hand toward her, intending to offer comfort, but found instead a great white paw.

Orion stumbled back in shock, the movement causing him to trip over his four paws. He again extended one into his line of sight and tried to take it in.

He had massive, fluffy white paws dappled with soft gray spots. He whipped his head to look behind him and found a massive, powerful feline body and a thick white tail.

“You’re a snow leopard!” Evienne exclaimed from where she stood, her shock melting into excitement.

“I’m a snow leopard, ” Orion repeated, and Evienne’s eyes grew wide again.

“You just said that in my head.”

Orion knew about this part of Tuanadair magic from his research, but experiencing it for the first time, with his Còmhanam no less, made his throat tighten with emotion.

“I have no words to tell you how grateful I am,” Orion said, moving toward his mate. “ How did you know this would work?” He asked, rubbing against her with a purr rumbling in his massive chest. He stood nearly up to her shoulder, larger than any regular snow leopard would be.

“I didn’t know, I just suspected,” she answered, carefully placing her hand on his head, her fingers sinking into his thick fur.

“After the Còmhanam magic surfaced for you here, I suspected that perhaps all of your magic had found you after being away from Beitar for a while,” Evienne continued.

“As happy as I am to have my magic, this doesn’t bode well for my suspicions about what is happening to the Tuanadair,” Orion mused, savoring the feeling of Evienne’s closeness.

“It certainly doesn’t,” Evienne answered, clearly deep in thought, already parsing through the possibilities. “But I think this mystery can wait an hour while you enjoy your magic, hm?” She looked down at him with a small smile, her eyes shining with joy. It took his breath away when she looked at him like that.

“I suppose you’re right, ” Orion purred. Evienne was already turning to mount her horse, Belle. The brave beast had stayed with them, somehow sensing that Orion didn’t mean any harm.Maisie, Orion’s faithful mare, was tied to a branch nearby. She also seemed to be taking his transformation in stride.

“Then let’s run,” she said, smiling fully now. Orion didn’t hesitate; he launched himself into the forest, savoring the intuitive way this body moved. So graceful and full of power.

A snow leopard. What a majestic beast to share his soul with. Strong and brave and independent creatures, and native to Beitar’s highest peaks. This form, his magic, felt so natural, and his heart was filled with joy and determination that all Tuanadair should know this freedom. He would have to tell Solon as soon as they went back to the palace. Perhaps they could bring him out here to shift too.

But for now, Orion ran, his magic coursing through his veins, his mate at his side, and he felt more hopeful than he ever had.