e have to go back!” I shout over the whipping wind. “We can’t leave Isiah and the others there. We need to help!” I yank on Mikal’s arm, but he only urges the horse faster toward the city below.
“Isiah will kill me if anything happens to you. They’ll find us once they finish searching the castle.” I don’t know who he tries harder to convince, himself or me.
After rounding a bend, the horse picks up speed, and I grip Mikal’s waist. We reach the bottom of the hill, but instead of going into Thorne, he turns right, running us parallel to the castle’s perimeter wall until the once lantern-lined streets turn into woods.
He finally slows the horse to a walk, and I watch the city shrink in the distance over my shoulder. The farther we go from the castle, the more fearful I become about Isiah and the others.
“Where are we going?”
“The five of us have a safe house in the woods if we ever need to escape and remain unseen.”
I brush the bond, but the distance mutes it. The only emotion coming through is anger, which doesn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Isiah’s home is under attack, and everyone he has ever known lives there. Dread crawls up my spine, thinking about what horrors he may discover inside.
Mikal guides the horse off the road into the dark, dense woods, and we continue for a short while until we reach a small clearing with a tiny cabin in the center.
“Come on, let’s get inside. There are supplies and places to rest.” He walks up to the cottage, and as Isiah did back at the Selen border, Mikal raises his hand and touches an invisible barrier. Sparks leap from his fingers at the contact.
“Is this another crossing?”
“It’s similar, but this is a ward. It’s keyed to the five of us so no one else can get in or out.”
The air shimmers, and an opening forms in the wall. Mikal signals for me to follow. Once I’m through, the ward reforms and seals us inside.
The cabin is sparse: a table and five chairs, a small stove with wood next to it, and a stack of cots and blankets in a corner.
“It’s not much, but a real lifesaver in a pinch. It’s also a nice getaway when castle life gets to be too much.” A smile brightens his face as some fond memory must play in his mind, but that soon fades as reality sinks back in. He moves toward the stack of cots and blankets and puts one of each next to me. “Rest, Grace. It won’t help if we’re falling asleep on our feet when they get here.”
He’s right, but I’m not sure I can sleep, not without checking on Isiah again. I reach for the bond and gasp as swells of sadness wash across.
Mikal’s eyes snap to mine. “What is it? What did he say?”
“He didn’tsayanything, but I sensed him and an overwhelming grief.” I stare at Mikal, hoping he can make sense of it, but he looks as panicked as I feel. He paces the small cabin, and I sit on the cot, covering my face with my palms. “How do we just sit here? I’m too far from Isiah to pick up anything besides brief emotions. If something happens…” A dozen scenarios race through my mind, each more terrible than the last.
Mikal stops pacing and crouches in front of me, pulling my hands from my face to squeeze them in his own. “They will survive whatever is in that castle, and whoever did this will be dead. We stay put, Grace.”
Muttering curses under my breath, I lie on my cot and stare at the ceiling. Every few minutes, I check the bond, looking for any changes. There is grief, sadness, and anger, but not physical pain. That is the only relief I get.
Mikal has taken a seat in front of the small wood-burning stove and works on lighting it. It’s not cold here, but I suppose it gives him something to do.
The next time I reach for Isiah, I shoot to my feet.
An image crosses the bond, and it’s enough to chill me to my core.
As I did in the woods, I slip from my mind into his. It’s a vertigo-like sensation, much like using the crossings. I’m aware of myself in the cabin but can see through his eyes.
There’s a dead guard on the ground and another at the pointy end of Thom’s blade. My mind spins as I gather my bearings. I can only see what he sees, not hear or feel anything. Our gaze turns away from Thom and the others until he stares at…no,it can’t be. I pull back from the all-too-familiar gray eyes and accidentally jerk out of Isiah’s mind.
“We need to go! Niethal is at the castle.”
A dozen emotions cross Mikal’s face before he straightens and strides to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “I need you to promise you’ll stay here. I told Isiah I would keep you safe, but I can’t sit here knowing they’ve walked into a trap. Swear you will stay put.” His hand grips the knob harder, as if warring between staying and going.
“I’ll be safe. Just go help them.”
It’s not the promise he wants, but it must be enough. He walks over and embraces me. “I won’t let them get hurt, not if I can help it.” He pulls away and wipes the tears from my cheeks before leaving without another word.
CHAPTER 24
ISIAH