would solve all our problems. We could just skip Cavra and her forest of
hungry shadows.
Jaxson was unusually quiet as he considered Cavra’s words, and then he
spoke. “What happens if the bloodstone is taken?”
“The shadows will be dispelled and no harm will befall you, if that’s what
you were wondering.”
I studied her face and scent, but her emotions were a blank slate, and I
couldn’t tell if she was lying.
We shouldn’t trust her, my wolf said.
“I’ll go,” Jaxson said, turning to me. “Stay here and keep your eyes
open.”
Irritation flashed through me at his protectiveness. “Like hell. I’m coming
with.”
“She must go with you, or you will fail,” Cavra said quietly, though her
words rang with stone-cold certainty.
For better or worse, this task fell to me.
Jaxson knotted his fists. “Together then.”
I crouched and tightened the laces on my tennies, wishing I’d worn my
magic boots today. “Any pointers you want to give us so we don’t die?”
Cavra smiled down at me and raised her arm, pointing toward the forest
to her right. A swarm of tiny lights shot from her palm and began winding
their way through the dense trees. “Follow them. You’ll know when you’ve
arrived. Move quickly. Don’t speak. And if the shadows envelop you, don’t
look at them directly.”
How did you avoid looking at a shadow if it was surrounding you?
“Got it.” Standing, I pulled my hair into a ponytail as I took a deep
breath. “Okay, let’s do this, Jaxson.”
He glared at me, and I heard the rumble in his chest. “You lead. I don’t
trust this place, and I’m not taking my eyes off you.”
Dread pooling in my belly, I took off after the lights as they disappeared