𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙 (Book 2)

Forty-Three

Rhys winnowed us into the woods. I could feel the forest around me. How ancient and old it truly was. How many creatures had walked through. I was more aware of this place than any forest I'd ever been in.

    Knarled birch trees were all around us, knitted together over the years. All scraped and hung with moss-like blankets, so many I could barely see-through.

    I narrowed my brows as I looked around again, "What is this place?"

    Rhys kept his hands within reach of his weapons, stretching his fists every few seconds as if it were an instinct to grab for them. "In the heart of Prythian, there is a large, empty territory that divides the North and South. At the center of it is our sacred mountain."

    My eyes widened as a barely perceptible bolt of panic struck me. Under the Mountain. That was the mountain. "This forest," he continued, "is on the eastern edge of that neutral territory. Here, there is no High Lord. Here, the law is made by who is strongest, meanest, most cunning. And the Weaver of the wood is at the top of their food chain."

    "Lovely," I said. The trees groaned around us, and yet there was no wind. Not even a breeze. "Are these creatures so powerful that Amarantha wouldn't wipe them out?"

"Amarantha was no fool," debatable. "She did not touch these creatures or disturb the wood. For years, I tried to find ways to manipulate her to make that foolish mistake, but she never bought it."

    "So, even the crazy, torture-happy, evil queen wouldn't disturb these woods, and yet we're here for a mere test?" I asked the High Lord with raised brows.

    He chuckled, the sound echoing through the forest, "Cassian tried to convince me last night not to take you. I thought he might even punch me." Rhys said, I snorted.

    Deep inside me, I liked the fear. I barely felt at all these days, my only reliable emotion was anger and sorrow. Fear was a refreshment.

    I looked at Rhys again, "Why?" Why would Cassian defend me like that? He barely knew me.

    "Who knows?" Rhys shrugged, "With Cassian, he's probably more interested in fucking you than protecting you."

    I rolled my eyes. "Does everything that comes out of your mouth have to be dirty?"

    Rhys turned to me then, his eyes glinting with mischief. "You have no idea how dirty my mouth can be." a feline grin.

    I looked away, biting back a snicker. "Males. Such disgusting creatures, you are." I said as I took a large step over a rock.

    Rhys's smirk was full of satisfaction. So much so that I felt the need to roll my eyes again.

    "Maybe you'll change that assumption if you survive this test."

    The forest seemed to grow almost impossibly more wicked as a chill racked through the forest, sending a chill through my bones.  "You sound pleased with the idea that I won't." I stepped up onto a high stone, looking down at him as I spoke.

    "Quite the opposite, Danika," he said as he prowled onto the stone with a grace I admired. The forest seemed to grow quiet all of the sudden.

    A hollow breeze knocked against me, like a flicker of a night wind. Power in my own veins roared as if in answer. I willed it down, to settle.

    I'd gotten better with my power, though I still only refused to dig into that power when I felt it absolutely necessary—or on the brink of a breakdown. I could summon that ball of light when I wished, it had gotten easier. That and the glamour I'd placed on myself to obscure my scars was the only magic I used on the regular.