Stone Sacrifice ✔️Chronicles of Grey BOOK ONE [COMPLETED]

Chapter Four

     I woke to the door banging open. "Get up, we leave in an hour."

I swivelled to face him, being sure my hand was flat over my neck. "Do you not understand privacy!"

But he was already closing the door behind himself.

My heart was pounding. I had locked the door, I know I did, and I'd been under the assumption that I could sleep soundly with relative safety. Of course that had been incorrect. I remembered Jovian's words: It is when you are safe that you are in the most danger.

I understood that while hunting and such, as the feeling of safety caused you to let your guard down which, in turn, put you in danger.

Apparently it applied to locked doors and private rooms as well, at least when traveling with a Shadow.

I quickly rushed to the bath that hid the view of the door and pulled the hair away from my neck. Sure enough, the cream I used to keep my marks hidden had been rubbed off through the night, at least in some places, leaving patches of red and black across my skin. I did not reapply it before bed as I would have had we been sleeping outside. I would not make that mistake again.

I quickly reapplied the cream, rubbing it in with my fingertips. The cream was clear, but it had concealer magic trapped within. Once the cream was over it, I could see each scar just the same, but I could not see the marks. I let out a slow breath of Recife at my now-relative safety and brushed my dark hair. It curled into large, messy ringlets which were impossible to tame. Most would hate it, I supposed, as it was unruly and refused to stay clipped. I, however, was glad of it - it was but an extra lay of protection as it helped hide me from the world.

When I was changing into the clothes I had washed and hung next to the fire in the night, I heard a ruckus outside and tossed my cloak over my shoulders before opening the window and peeking out. Sure enough, a Shadow that was not my Shadow was fighting with a stubborn horse out in the yard. He was trying to get the bit into his mouth but the horse downright refused, neighing and tossing its head. The mountain of a Shadow was cursing the beast while two more Shadows were watching and sharing looks of amusement. One was my Shadow, the other a woman with hair so blond it seemed to blend with the snow around them - a rarity for one of their kind. As I watched, my Shadow looked up and saw me, he made a motion for me to hurry up.

I glared at him but obliged, closing the window and grabbing my pack. I gave the key to someone at the counter who had a different face and attitude from the one last night, then went on out the door. I would have headed to the stables but I recognized my own grey mare out in the yard so changed my direction, noticing there was yet another Shadow with them now. I glared at my Shadow - how many had he brought?

"So you're the missus that's going to get us killed." Said the mountain that finally had the bit in his horses mouth. He had a mass of black hair that stuck up in every direction.

I shot him a look. "I never asked you to come."

The big man let out a gawful. "Bit of a temper on her, eh Arion?"

My Shadow said nothing in reply to that but instead mounted his horse as he introduced the Shadows. "Mir this is Jazera, she's the best archer outside of the elves," the woman nodded at me in simple greeting from atop her own horse, "the silent one is Rian, the best tracker you could find in Nahdiera," the silent Shadow, the newest one, gave a polite smile and said nothing. "And this is the best axe wielder in the land, Aitch."

The big man grinned. "At your service, missus."

"I'm Mir." I said simply, reluctantly. It was difficult to glare at this grinning man.