Chapter Thirty-one

Ayden

"Would you look at that place," Baer said as he nodded towards the buildings we were approaching.

It was the third town we had come across now, though this one looked as though its best days were behind it. Trees grew through the crumbling buildings, the gray stones scattered across the ground at their roots. Even at a distance, it was evident how the nature of this realm had ravaged the once glorious town.

We hadn't discovered the names of the other two towns yet, but our suspicions were raised by the architecture of the buildings and statues. I sensed that we wouldn't receive any hints in this next town either, and the lack of that knowledge gave me a creepy feeling.

I had been on edge for days now. Ever since we found more of the witch's footprints and had begun to follow them, something just didn't feel right. There was a distinct sense of heaviness in the air that I seemed to be the only one aware of as we moved.

Sasha and Aurora mostly whispered between themselves, their faces bright and flushed with excitement. I wasn't sure exactly what could have made them that excited. I was not expecting such enthusiasm when we came across the witch, but it was the only notable difference from the days prior to finding the footprints.

Our journey was coming to an end now with each step we took, following the path that the witch had taken herself. I only hoped it would be a happy end for us all.

"You okay, Ayden?" Baer asked when I didn't immediately respond.

I looked between him and the girls before shaking my head.

"Something doesn't feel right. It hasn't for days now." I said.

Baer chuckled and shook his head. "I think you might just be a little on edge because of how quiet it's been. Don't worry as soon as we catch up with Minerva you'll have somewhere to focus those nerves."

I sighed and shook my head again as I looked up at the sky. "That's just the thing though, isn't it? If we are getting closer to the witch, why aren't there any safeguards to signal our approach? Why wouldn't she have some kind of alarm system or guard dogs to meet us before we get to her?"

"Maybe she doesn't think anyone would be able to follow her here. Who knows what a dark witch is thinking. I've read that many are so confident in their own power they become complacent in believing no one would come to face them." Baer said with an assured shrug.

I looked again at the girls, then at the city beyond them as we came closer to the crumbling rubble.

"Just humor me, will you," I said. "Keep an extra close watch out for anything out of the ordinary. I can't shake this feeling that we aren't out of the woods yet. Something is bound to happen soon, and I don't believe it's just meeting up with that witch."

Baer regarded me for a moment more before nodding his head. "All right, I can see in your face that you're serious. I'm not one to dismiss such a strong intuition as that. Especially from someone with your bloodline. You moon witches often have strong intuitions even if you don't have premonitions like seers."

I smiled and nodded. "It's always been strange. My great-grandmother and her sister have strong intuitions, her sister's is stronger though. That's why she took the position of coven council leader. My great-grandmother took up leadership for the Montana branch and eventually my grandma and then my mother took over from them, though their intuitions aren't quite as strong as their predecessors."

"Where does your intuition stand compared to theirs?" Baer asked then.

The question startled me for a moment. I had never given it much thought before. I had always had a strong intuition, but I never compared it to anyone in my family before. My younger cousin Aylin and her mate were both strong with their magic and set to take over the coven from our grandmother, but it was still unknown if she would take the council position or if it would be me.

Aunt Nikini had stated there would be a test of both of our magic within the coming year. Only then would she truly know where each of us stood with our intuition and magic compared to the rest of my family.

I looked over at Baer and gave a small smirk. "Not sure where I am compared to any of them, but I was in the right place at the right time back in the alley, wasn't I?"

Baer smirked back and nodded with a chuckle. "That you were, Ayden. Great timing for sure."

We laughed as we finally reached the city's outer edge. The girls stopped ahead of us.

Sasha looked back at me and tilted her head towards the decaying buildings and moss-covered ground. I knew without even asking what she was wanting me to do, and I was already way ahead of her.

I reached out through the roots of the overgrowth within the city. I pictured my wolf running over each connected and twisted path beneath the ground, his nose twitching as he scented out for any dangers within the city limits.

I found the rabbit-like creatures and birds sitting in the trees. Their tethers of life shimmered for a moment before my attention pulled back to the roots below to continue through the fallen city block by block.

‘Nothing but animals here,'my wolf said, though apprehension hung in his voice.

I hummed to myself as I drew back into myself, my own apprehension weighing on my mind with my wolf's.

The others all watched me and waited for my verdict of the city. As the sun started to go down, it was clear that they were eager to locate a building where we could rest before continuing on the witch's path.

"Come on," I said as I pressed my hand to Sasha's back gently.

Together we entered the fallen city, the overgrowth beneath our feet snapping and cracking with each step. I nodded to Baer at the first fork in the road. He gave a responding nod before taking the right path as I led Sasha with me to the left.

"This place is barely even a city anymore," Sasha said in a whisper with a frown. "It's nothing more than a shadow of its former glory."

She frowned into the shadows of one of the doorways of a crumbling building. A tree branch reached out like a hand towards us, and the breeze moved around us, giving the impression of the branch's twigs beckoning us over.

A chill ran down my spine again, my hand tightening around Sasha's with a rush of protective energy from my wolf.

"Let's keep moving," I told her and pushed us forward along the broken path.

The shadows continued to shift and grow around us. The boughs above our heads grew thicker the deeper into the center of the city ruins we went. While smaller pathways emerged, we continued to follow the larger paths.

"It's like we're back in the Forgotten Forest again," Sasha said, her voice still a whisper, as if she was worried that there might be someone out there listening to us.

I looked around us again and couldn't help but agree with her. If not for the path beneath our feet never shifting, I would have thought the same thing. The trees held the same shimmering leaves as the Forgotten Forest, and the herbs and plants that sprouted along the path looked strikingly familiar to the very ones the shopkeeper had kept in stock.

We rounded a small bend in the road and the light spilled onto the path and chased away the shadows. Two figures stood ahead of us on the path; their shapes were impossible not to recognize.

"How did you two beat us here?" I asked as we approached Aurora and Baer.

Baer looked over at me and gave a cocky smile. "I guess we walked faster than the two of you."

Aurora elbowed him and laughed. "Or the path we took was a literal straight line to this point. Regardless, you two should come and take a look at what we found."

Sasha and I both frowned at one another before jogging the rest of the way up the path to meet the other two. We were both speechless after making a shocking discovery, unable to utter a single word as we gazed into the distance.

The path leading away from the ruins forked, just as it had inside the city. However, at the end of each path in the far-off distance stood a castle. The castles were equal in size as far as we could tell from here. Both reflected the setting sun's rays off of white stone and spires with golden roofs.

They were perfect mirror images of one another.

"You see the issue?" Baer asked, after giving us both a moment to soak in the view.

I nodded and let my gaze fall to the flat road that led to both of the castles. Exactly the same, just like the structures they led to. And completely bare of any trace of the witch we had been following.

I let out a breath. "We got this far with limited sign of which way to go. This is just a little bump in the path."

"Actually, it's a fork," Sasha said. "And it's the first one we encountered this entire time we've been traveling. Aside from the paths in the cities, the road to this point has been straight and singular. Now we have two paths that lead to what seems to be the exact same place but a different direction. We don't even have Minerva's footprints to follow to know which way to go."

I looked at the paths ahead, the setting sun's rays disappearing into the shadow of the castles. When I looked back at the others, I could see their discouragement at the plight we now faced.

I forced my lips into a smile. "Well, we've all got a different unique talent for magic. I'm sure together we can find our way. We just need to get some rest and face this decision in the morning at first light."

Everyone looked at one another, then back at me with shrugs and nods. The girls turned together to walk back along the path that Baer and Aurora had taken to get here. I could hear Aurora mention a complete house that she and Baer had passed by that seemed promising to take shelter in for the night.

Baer walked beside me, both of us slowing our pace to put the women just out of earshot.

"I think I understand what you were meaning earlier," he said, his voice low.

I looked at him and raised a brow in question.

He shook his head. "Something doesn't feel right here. The moment we stepped foot into this city I've had a bad feeling deep in my gut. I can't shake the feeling that something big is about to happen, and I don't think it has much to do with the split path back there."

I nodded, my gaze shifting to the shadows that seemed to follow Sasha as she walked ahead of us.

"Yeah, I don't know if we'll be getting much rest tonight. I'll take the first watch, but I wouldn't count on that giving you any rest. I don't think that either of us will be able to sleep soundly tonight."

"You think we'll be attacked by some more of those monsters here?" Baer asked.

My eyes stayed locked on the shadows as they grew darker with the disappearing sun.

"We certainly are overdue."