“Close call. That was a beithir, the deadliest snake in the known world. Its venom can kill you in ten minutes if you do nothing to stop it. You’re lucky Kal here knows how to get it out.”
I swallowed hard. “Ten minutes.”
“Come on, let’s get moving,” Niamh said after giving me a gentle pat. “We have a long way to go before we reach somewhere we can camp.”
They resumed their posts at the head of the party and started off down the path. The Mist King lowered a hand onto my shoulder when I moved to follow. He stared down at me with those softly glowing eyes, mist whorling across his face.
“There are dangerous things out here in the mists,” he said in a low voice. His raven soared in to settle on his shoulder. “Be careful where you step.”
Eighteen
Tessa
“We’ll have to make camp here,” the Mist King said as his raven took off into the night to hunt.
Hereturned out to be a hidden cave blocked by a boulder that the four powerful fae easily rolled sideways. When we stepped inside, the mists cleared, revealing slick walls low enough to brush the king’s head. He ducked, pointing at the ashes of a fire left behind from a previous traveler.
“That’s no more than a week old,” he said in a grave voice. “Someone got very close to the castle. They might still be nearby.”
I shivered, and not entirely from the cold. The Mist King’s hawkish eyes cut through me.
“Should I do a sweep?” Toryn rested the palm of his hand on his sword. “Check some of the other caves nearby?”
The Mist King nodded. “Take Niamh with you. We’ll wait for confirmation before we get the fire started.”
After Toryn and Niamh vanished back out into the mists, I settled down on the cold stone floor, pulling my legs up to my chest. A fire would have been nice, but I didn’t want to admit just how cold I truly was. The four of them were so much stronger and more powerful than I was. I needed to keep up.
“Won’t the boulder block the light of the fire from being seen by anyone out there?” I couldn’t help but ask.
The Mist King paced the length of the cave and peered down the end that tunneled deeper into the mountain. “Yes, that’s why it’s there. But a fae would still be able to scent it.”
“So, then what’s the point in hiding the light?”
“There are more than fae out in the mists, Tessa,” Alastair said. He leaned against the wall near the boulder, tensed, head cocked, as if listening to whatever happened beyond these walls. “You’d do well to remember that. Mortals don’t fare well against those creatures. Neither do fae, when caught off guard.”
I swallowed hard and hated to ask. “Which ones are you talking about?”
“The ones that live in that chasm where you’re from. They live on this mountain, too.”
The shadowfiends. My gut twisted. “Maybe it would be a good idea for me to carry a weapon.”
Truth be told, I expected the Mist King to argue. Of course he wouldn’t arm me. I’d agreed to his bargain, but I was still his prisoner. He knew I didn’t fully trust him. He probably believed that given the chance, I’d stab him.
The Mist King moved away from the yawning tunnel and dropped my little wooden dagger onto the ground beside me. “You’re right. We never get through a journey without at least one fight. You’ll need this.”
I sat up a little straighter, my hand inching toward the old familiar thing. My breath nearly stilled when my fingers brushed the edge of it. King Oberon’s blood still stained the pointed tip. “I assumed you’d destroyed this.”
“It’s yours. Just don’t use it against me again, and you can carry it for as long as you’d like.” He turned away again, boots echoing as he vanished down the dark tunnel. I could hear him long after I could no longer see him.
Standing, I flipped the thing in my hand, feeling out the familiar weight of it. A part of me wanted to toss it away and never see that horrible stain again. This was not the weapon that had killed my sister, but it had still caused her death. And Raven’s. I could never forget that.
“I heard you stabbed him with that thing,” Alastair said, his voice quiet. “Try not to do it again, eh?”
I glanced toward him, still flipping the dagger. “He should have included that in my vow if he’s so worried about it.”
He laughed. “You’re going to end up driving him crazy.”
“Good.” With a little smile to myself, I settled back onto the ground, but regretted that decision within an instant. The cold seeped through the leather trousers, freezing my butt. Holding back a shudder, I stuffed the dagger into the front of my tunic and then shoved my hands up into the ends of my sleeves, curling the material over my fists.