Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)(63)

“Thank you,” I whispered.

As she hugged me back, it was almost like I was embracing Evanora herself.

***

When Adrian, Violeta, and I entered the courtyard, Ana, Sorin, and Daroc were already waiting with our horses. Ana looked solemn and seemed lost in her own thoughts, though it was possible she was just focused on staying warm. The temperature had dropped significantly since this morning, and even dressed in heavy wool, I still shivered.

“It will snow,” said Violeta, who stood beside me. When I looked at her, she had her head turned toward the clear sky and there was not a storm cloud in sight, though I did not doubt her prediction.

“Let us hope we will be home by then,” I said. “I’d rather not be caught in a storm, and we need the moonlight for this spell.”

A blast of frigid wind roared around us. I drew my cloak tighter, dreading what would come once we made it to Galat Lake. The spell required us to enter the water and because of that, we planned to disrobe so we would not have to make the return journey in wet clothes.

I turned my attention to the rest of our company. Daroc and Sorin stood near one another, but they, too, seemed distant, both from us and each other. I wondered if Sorin had attempted to approach any of the issues he had talked about with me. If so, I had no doubt they were both hurting. “You do not seem to mind the cold like the rest of us, Daroc,” I said.

“It is because he is already so frigid,” said Sorin, and though I knew he was joking, Daroc’s jaw tightened at the comment. When Sorin noticed, his smile faded, and an awkward silence descended.

“Ready?” Adrian asked, and I looked at Ana and Violeta, who nodded, but just as we were about to mount our horses, another galloped through the gates, bearing Killian. He was winded and his eyes were wide and wild.

“King Adrian, you must come with me,” he said. “That man Solaris resurrected two days ago…he has killed his family.”

I felt numb, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

“His family?” I asked.

Killian nodded, and there was a hollowness to his expression. Whatever he had seen…he would never be the same again.

“The wife and two children.”

Bile rose in the back of my throat.

“Do we know where he is now?” Adrian asked.

Killian’s features were hard as he spoke. “No. There is a search party following body parts into the Starless Forest.”

“Fuck,” Adrian said under his breath, and when I looked at him, his jaw was clenched.

“Go,” I said. “We will be fine.”

“You cannot go alone,” he said fiercely, frustrated.

“I’ll go with the queen,” said Sorin quickly, and I wondered if he volunteered to avoid the horror Efram had left in his wake. “I’ll keep her safe. I’ll keep all of them safe.”

Adrian was quiet for a beat, and then a chorus of screams sounded in the night. My blood ran cold.

“Go!” I commanded him.

Adrian reached for me and kissed me hard before he and Daroc mounted their horses and raced from the courtyard with Killian in the lead.

Silence followed their departure. The screams that had chilled me to the bone had ceased, and now the only sound was the howling wind. I watched until the darkness swallowed them and then turned and mounted Reverie.

“Come, let’s go,” I said, my words short.

I was afraid to think too long on what Adrian, Killian, and Daroc were about to face. If I did, I wouldn’t want to go to the lake. This was something that would haunt them forever, and I hoped it meant that Solaris would hang.

“Violeta, ride with me,” I instructed.

Sorin and Ana mounted his horse, Meri, and we left the Red Palace, heading east, following a snow-covered trail that glistened beneath the moonlight. Sorin was in the lead, and though I had taken this path with Adrian only two days ago, it looked and felt so different in the night. Perhaps it was because of the cold, though. Violeta’s death grip around my waist did not help.

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” I asked, hoping she might lessen her grip around me. It was the only thing I could focus on.

“No,” she said, her teeth chattering.

There came a point when we descended into a forested valley which blocked the biting wind, and for the first time since we began this journey, I felt like I didn’t have to brace myself against the cold, and relaxed, my fingers aching as I uncurled them from around Reverie’s reins. I wished Violeta had felt the same, but she maintained her grip on me until we stopped within view of Galat Lake.

It was not a large body of water, which made it ideal for our purposes, and while trees surrounded us, none covered the lake, and I could see the moon reflected in its surface.

“I used to love this place,” said Sorin.

“Used to?”

“We would swim here. Daroc, Adrian, our friends,” he said with a note of longing in his voice. “That was a long time ago.”

I tried to imagine that world for a moment, but there was no reason because it no longer existed.

“Violeta, you can dismount,” I said, needing her to slide off the horse so I could too. With some effort, she managed to get her feet on the ground and I followed.

Then we approached the lake, staring into the still water. Behind us, light flared, and I turned, finding that Sorin had lit a torch he had managed to stick into the ground.