The Hidden (Shadowed Wings #1)(55)
Well, shit. I was really hoping Nadi could just tell me. There’s no way I can find the Ouphe in a land I know nothing about, with threats lurking around that I’ll probably never see coming. That feels like a solid plan if my goal is getting murdered, but since I really just want to get home, this suddenly feels like a hard pass. I rub my hands over my face and heave an exasperated sigh.
“Nadi, I get lost in this castle; there is no way I will be able to just wander out into this world and hope to stumble upon the Ouphe,” I explain and immediately start thinking through what my other options might be. Maybe Tysa can help me.
“You wouldn’t need to go all the way to the Ouphe, child. I can send my essence to let them know to meet you at a rendezvous point. I would also supply you with a map so you would know exactly where you’re going.”
My head snaps up on the word map. I’m a fucking idiot. How the hell did I not think of a map?
“That could work,” I admit, my voice reflecting the shock I’m feeling.
A cream-colored cloth appears in Nadi’s grasp. “It will take half a moon cycle to get there, but when you do, a guide will be waiting for you.”
“Just like that?” I ask, suspicion bubbling up inside of me. This feels too easy.
“I can offer no guarantees about the gate and how it works, but our people will help you to acquire all that you need to be successful. Our existence depends on it,” Nadi explains.
It’s not exactly the answer I was looking for, but at this point, it’s probably my best bet. Fuck knows Zeph isn’t keeping his promise to take me home, and I’d be stupid to think he ever will. Something is going on with him and the Hidden that he’s not telling me about, and I’m just sitting here like a dodo bird, pretending I’m safe and not surrounded by self-serving assholes. It’s time to pull my head out of the sand and start making shit happen for myself.
I take the cloth from Nadi’s outstretched hand, and with that, Nadi disappears. I twirl around just to be sure she’s not behind me or something, ready to freak me out again, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Wind wraps around me like a cyclone, and I’m once again thrown out of Vedan’s doors. I crash to the floor as the stone entrance seals itself, and I go full grumpy old man and shake a closed fist at the now closed archway.
“That’s not funny, Nadi,” I shout into the empty hallway, and my anger bounces all around me, ricocheting off the stone walls.
I hear the faintest tinkling giggle, and I glare at the air all around me. I push up onto my feet and dust myself off, grumbling about hiring the Ghostbusters and how Nadi will be sorry. I unfold the thin, very delicate feeling cloth in my hands and run my gaze over the images that are printed there. My eyes hone in on the Quietus mountain range. There is a purple spot on the map a few inches away from where the foothills start. I also notice the demarcation on the map for the Amaranthine Mountains. There is a green you are here dot, and I know that’s exactly what it is as it’s nestled on a cliff that has a big lake on the other side of it.
The Amaranthine Mountain range is surprisingly not far from where I am now. They’re in the opposite direction that the purple dot is telling me I need to go. Why am I such a bird brain? Why did I think the Amaranthine Mountains were so far away? Zeph flew here with me after he attacked me. He wouldn’t have been far from safety; wouldn’t have risked his precious life and the lives of his pride by doing something reckless like fly where it’s dangerous.
I fold up the map and lean against the stone wall. I could go to the Ouphe and see if they have any suggestions on how to get the gate to work. But if they don’t, I could just end up in a similar or worse situation than I’m in now. Yeah, Nadi said they’re my people, but who is she kidding; I have no people here. I’m too highblood for the gryphons and will probably be too gryphon for the Ouphe. I stare at the stone doors, lost in thought.
Or, I think to myself, I could just go to the gate on my own. Zeph and Nadi made it seem like I need some kind of ancient instruction manual to get it to work, but I sure as fuck didn’t have anything like that when I was pulled into this world. I didn’t do anything to get through the gate other than get electrocuted and knocked unconscious, maybe just my presence will unlock it? Or maybe when I get there, the on switch will be super obvious. Warmth fills me with that thought, and I decide that just going to the gate is the plan that makes the most sense. I mean, worst case scenario, if I can’t get the gate to work, I can always go meet up with the Ouphe. No harm, no foul, and none the wiser.
Determination sweeps through me, and I fist the map in my hand and head for the stairs. First stop, the kitchen, to steal as much food as possible without getting caught.
“Where the fuck have you been?” snarls at me as I walk into my room, and I jump at the sound of it. If he hadn’t just scared the shit out of me, I’d walk over and high five his use of the word fuck. He’s getting good with it.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I demand as my eyes land on where Zeph is perched on my bed.
“I’m waiting for you,” he rumbles, and the sound sends a fluttering of all kinds of yummy sensations through my stomach. He makes a similar noise right before he’s about to come, and my body lights up with a fond remembrance of that fact. “We need to talk about what happened.”