"Oh." Warmth blooms in my chest, but it melts into sorrow almost immediately. "Don't say that."
He kisses my temple once, twice. “Get some sleep, you’re exhausted.”
He’s right. The strain of the magic I performed these last two days has caught up with me. My eyelids are heavy as he eases me down onto the mat and then tucks a blanket around me. I’m surprised by his tenderness, but shocked that I never noticed it before Sadal abducted me from the palace. Back then, Altair was a brute; vicious and cruel and arrogant. I laugh softly to myself, letting my eyes slip closed. Back then, I was naïve and ignorant and foolish. But I was happy.
Now, I'm not sure I'll ever be happy again. The darkness seems intent on taking everything from me.
Chapter 7
Altair
Dawn oozes over the horizon, though there is no sun to see. Pink and purple light coats the clouds and soon the others are stirring. I stretch, hand on my sword, and watch Verity roll up onto her knees from sleep. Her hair is mussed, tangled in the braid she slept in. My heart wrenches painfully in my chest. Our lives have become nothing more than a tangled web of darkness, magic, and survival. I wish Verity had a different future.
"Anything interesting on the watch?" Thal asks, joining me as the others break camp.
“No, it was quiet,” I say, sheathing my sword. I don’t mention that it was so quiet I could hardly breathe for all the oppressive silence.
“We’re almost to the portal, we’ll make it by nightfall,” Sadal calls from across the clearing.
I wave a hand at him to silence him. Voices carry in these woods. Thal and I walk a step behind Sadal as he leads us out of the clearing. We hike uphill for a time until the light from the missing sun is truly bearing down on us. I glance over my shoulder towards Verity. She pants, scrunching her face up in concentration as she climbs. A smile pulls at my lips. She works hard to keep up with the rest of us. Despite her Fae heritage, her full abilities aren’t unlocked yet—I’m not sure if they ever will be. But before Thal lost his memory, he told me she once moved as quickly as he can while fighting a demon. The thought gave me hope. It still does.
Slowly, the climb grows steeper, and the trees thin out. I hoist myself up over a small ledge, slinging a leg over the stone easily. When I lift my eyes away from the ground, I inhale sharply. Without even noticing, we've ascended to the peak of a mountain. To the right, I see a valley in the distance, just past a smaller mountain range. The valley is lush and green, covered in trees. The mountains are craggy, sharp slopes of stone and gravel dotted with shrubbery. To the left, The hills go on, forever it seems.
“It’s a sight, isn’t it?” Sadal says. He stands, hands on his hips, oozing pride. As if he built this place.
"It's too bad you couldn't keep it from the Shades," I smirk. "How must it feel to be the master of all this and be weaker than your subjects? Who's the true master?"
Sadal’s lips twist into a scowl at my words but I turn away before he has a chance to retort. Erzur sweeps a stray lock of her spiraled hair from her face. “Where is this portal?”
“At the bottom of the mountain, at the entrance to a pass,” Sadal says.
Erzur sighs dramatically. “We climbed all the way up here just to climb back down?” She cracks her knuckles.
“Going around puts us directly in Shade territory,” Sadal snaps. “You Fae—show some damn gratitude.”
“When you get us where we need to go, you’ll get the gratitude you so crave.” Thal grins.
Verity peers over the edge, her eyes trailing over the sharp decline. “We’re going down that?”
“Through it.” Sadal grins. I furrow my brows at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he simply smiles. “Follow me.”
Sadal slips down the slope, scattering loose rocks and dirt down the mountainside. He skids for a few feet before dropping onto a flattened plateau. Thal and I exchange a glance, one brow raised. He eases down the slope, leaping onto the platform just as Sadal steps out of the way. I go last, making sure the others are down safely. By this time, much of the soil and gravel have been forced away, leaving sheer, sharp rock for me to slide over. It snags against my leather armor and I feel the stones pressure against my muscles. I wince. Some of that might bruise.
Sadal waits until I’ve dusted my armor off before he steps smoothly to the side, revealing a gaping hole in the mountainside. “There are a series of tunnels leading to the bottom of the mountain. This is how we’ll descend.”
I stare into the darkness as a cold wind sweeps out of the bowels of the mountain. “What’s in the tunnels?” I ask warily.
“They were mines.” Sadal shrugs. “I had some of my little creatures dig the tunnels and mine the obsidian within, but the tunnels dried up ages ago.”
“We should take the safest route,” Verity says quietly. I hear her heart beating quickly and I know she’s frightened of the mines.
"These are safe and quick." Sadal glances over his shoulder to the entrance of the mine. "They've been empty for years."
“And your little creatures?” I ask, piercing him with a glare. “It’s empty of them as well?”
Sadal purses his lips. “No, but they prefer the bowels of the mountain. If we stay on the outlying tunnels, we’ll be fine. They won’t obey me anymore, so I have just as much reason to be stealthy as you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “One wrong move, Sadal.”
“I know.” He waves a hand. “And you’ll gut me. As if I’m not
