The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(52)

Kai glared down at her. “You’re the one who needs Finn. You need her to take away your magic with the shroud.”

“It won’t matter if we’re dead,” she hissed. “We should make our way to Garenoch and await them there.” Kai was right, but she feared Oighear more than she did her own curse. She wouldn’t venture back into the snowy forest for all the coin in the land.

Sativola watched the scene nervously, seemingly as anxious to put distance between themselves and Oighear as Anna.

“What if they’re in trouble?” Kai countered. “What if the Aos Sí recaptured them, and they’re back in their cells? Eywen is likely dead now. There will be no second rescue.”

Anna wasn’t sure at what point they’d lost Finn, Iseult, and Bedelia, but she hoped the three had at least escaped and remained together. With Iseult by her side, Finn would make it to Garenoch. When she was close enough, Anna would be able to sense her . . . she hoped. At that moment, she saw no hint of the shine that usually emanated from Finn, often visible to her across small distances. She hoped it didn’t mean she was dead.

She stood. “If they were recaptured by the Aos Sí, there is absolutely nothing we can do for them, except to be recaptured ourselves.”

Kai sealed his lips in a grim line, then looked down at the scar on his palm. She knew what he was thinking, that there had to be some way he could rescue Finn, but Anna had always been realistic. Either Finn would meet them in Garenoch, and Anna would be saved from her visions, or she would not, and she’d be sentenced to eventual insanity.

“We should get movin’,” Sativola muttered. “I’d rather not wait for those things to find us again.”

“Yes,” Anna agreed. She led her horse away from the rocks where she’d been seated, then climbed into the saddle, feeling unsure of the creature. None of them had regained their original mounts, perhaps because the new ones were more readily accessible. She’d only had her previous horse since Ainfean, but this new one, even though it seemed a normal brown horse, had her wary. Anything concerning the Aos Sí and their psychotic queen had her wary.

Kai continued to curse under his breath, but he and Sativola both mounted their horses and followed as she led the way. She had a keen sense of direction, but could only hope she was leading them back to the road after how turned around they’d gotten riding away through the snow.

While, for selfish reasons, she regretted the loss of Finn, she couldn’t help taking a measure of comfort in traveling without her. Perhaps now they could travel unnoticed and unhindered by Faie, An Fiach, or anyone else.



Finn felt entirely numb by the time her horse slowed its frantic pace. She’d made her way out of the snow, deep into a forest. Though the sun now shone overhead with early morning light, she had no idea if she was near the Sand Road, or had traveled in the complete opposite direction. Now, she wasn’t even sure of the direction of Oighear’s compound. All she was sure of, was that she was alone.

She looked down at her mount’s white neck as the creature calmly ambled onward. Its fur was stained with her blood. She gingerly pushed her cloak aside and rolled up her sleeve to take a look at the gash. It had stopped bleeding, but the skin gaped like an extra mouth. Knowing little about wound care, she did the only thing she could think to do, and pulled a strip of fabric from the edge of her tattered cloak. Clenching her jaw, she did her best to one-handedly wrap it around her wound, securing it in a knot with her free hand and her teeth. That task finished, she pushed her bloody sleeve back down and focused on her surroundings.

Though she’d left the snow behind, the air was almost unbearably cold. There was a bedroll tied to the back of her saddle, fortunately, but she’d yet to check its accompanying satchels for other supplies, and she had little motivation to do so. All she could think about was what might have happened to the others. If they’d been recaptured by Oighear . . .

She sighed. Even if that were the case, she had no idea how to find her way back to rescue them. If she was even capable of rescuing them at all. She patted her horse’s neck, then stroked her fingers through its long white mane, grateful for the horse’s company.

She worked her fingers further up its mane, marveling at the impossibly soft texture. Seeming to appreciate the touch, the horse stopped walking and turned its head back to look at her. Her gaze moved to the horse’s forehead, and she nearly lost her seat. Right in the middle, its base covered by white strands of mane, was a glistening white horn. The creature looked at her askance with a crystalline blue eye, as if daring her to question its existence.

Finn stared back at the unicorn in shock. Her scant, previous memories let her know unicorns were exceedingly rare. They had been hunted to near extinction, and the remaining few creatures had faded along with the Aos Sí and other Faie. Why would the Aos Sí give up such a precious creature?

Eywen’s plea rang through her mind, to have mercy when the time came. Was the gift of the unicorn an effort to gain the Dair’s favor? She felt oddly guilty, since she had little to do with the Dair, and knew she would not likely sway any judgement passed upon the Aos Sí, unicorn or no.

“We should probably keep moving,” she instructed, not expecting the creature to understand her, but at the same time, feeling odd about nudging such a majestic beast with her heels like she would a common horse.