Thom sighs.
“Same as thirty seconds ago, Your Majesty. The girl hasn’t moved. She’s been stationary for hours.”
“And the interference?”
“Still present.”
My fingers tap against the steering wheel.
“Is she in danger?”
I’ve asked this a hundred times, at least.
“I don’t believe so. It isn’t malevolent, but it’s impossible to tell for certain.”
Jack-Eye leans forward, grabbing onto my headrest.
“What do you think, boss? I still say the mammoth-“O
“Shut up,”
I growl.
“Your hypothetical fight between extinct creatures and modern elephants is beyond asinine.”
Silence fills the car. I feel a slight pang of regret-not for silencing them, but for revealing how tightly wound I am. A king should never appear desperate, even when he is.
You are desperate, Fenris chides. Admit it.
But of course, the silence doesn’t last. Not with my beta in this car. Why did I bring him along, again?
“How does it work?”
Jack-Eye asks after a moment, turning to face Thom.
“Your tracking. Is it by scent, like us?”
The warlock seems grateful for the change in subject, judging by the relief in his voice.
“No, not scent. It’s essence. Everything that exists occupies not just physical space but essentialistic space as well. Every living thing disrupts the essence of an area simply by existing within it.”
Jack-Eye’s brow furrows.
“Like mana? In those, what do you call them… video games?”
“It’s called by many names. Mana, ether, chi, prana.”
Thom’s hands flutter as he explains, then fall back to his lap, trembling.
“But it all boils down to the energy something holds within the world. Your… Grace… has a particularly distinct essence. Bright. Unusual for a human.”
I file this information away, another puzzle piece I don’t yet know where to place. O
Jack-Eye whistles low.
“Must be nice, tracking something so clearly. We lose scent trails all the time.”
Thom’s laugh is hollow.
“It comes at a price.”
I glance in the rearview mirror. The warlock’s skin holds the pallor of old parchment, bluish veins visible at his temples. His eyes are sunken, rimmed with dark circles. Hours ago, when I first dragged him from Forest Springs, he’d been merely nervous. Now he looks half-dead.
“I’ll need at least a week to recover from today’s work.”
His hands tremble more violently as he shoves his glasses up his nose again.
“The spell consumes my own essence to track another’s. A fair trade, usually, but the distance was… substantial.”
Jack-Eye shoots me a look. I can’t see it, but I can feel it in the back of my head. He probably feels bad for Thom, but I can’t pretend to feel anything for his suffering. The warlock is a tool, nothing more-a means to reclaim what’s mine.
You should care more, Fenris murmurs. Magic users are rare. Breaking this one won’t serve you. They’re weak, but they can be useful. His talent is a good one to keep around.
I scoff. My wolf acts as if I’ve done something terrible. I didn’t break him. He’s doing his job.
And if his job kills him?
My fingers tap against the wheel again. Then I’ll find another. 3
The GPS announces our exit, and I take the turn sharper than necessary. Thom grunts as he’s thrown against the door.
“There.”
He points with a shaking finger toward a green sign illuminated in our headlights.
“Pinewood Campground, next right.”
My pulse quickens. We’re close enough now that I can almost taste her in the air, a ghostly Jimitation of blueberry sweetness with each breath.
That’s the pillow, Fenris says, pragmatic as always.
Grace’s pillow sits in the passenger seat, buckled in to keep it from falling onto the ground. Jack-Eye knew better than to say a word when he saw it, but Thom had the audacity to say it wouldn’t help him track her any better.
It’s a silly thing to bring along, but the scent wafting off it is the only thing keeping me calm and in control, like a fresh breeze coming through a bloody field of thoughts. 2)
The brief hint of sanity is something I haven’t felt since before Fenris’s voice came into my head. Before the weight of my crown wore down my soul.
It’s a peace I never felt, not even before.
Because Grace is the one.
I rub my temple with a sigh. Arguing with Fenris only makes the headache worse.
The campground entrance is easy to miss, hidden in the darkness without any streetlights to mark it. Thankfully, many of the campers parked here have LED lighting strips along their rigs, and I slow before I miss the turn.
“Where?”
I demand.
Thom closes his eyes, concentrating.
“Keep going. She’ll be on our left. I’ll know when we get closer.”
I drive deeper into the campground, wheels crunching on gravel. Rolling my window down seems like a mistake at first. The place reeks of humans-their food, their waste, their cheap alcohol. But beneath it all, I catch hints of her scent, growing stronger.
“That interference,”
Thom mumbles, seemingly to himself.
“It’s stronger here. Almost like…”
“Like what?”
I snap.
“Like something’s deliberately masking her.”
He opens his eyes, pupils dilated.
“Something old.”
Jack-Eye opens his own window, shoving his head outside to breathe in deep.
“There’s a shifter… Blue Mountain.”
I can smell him, too.
“There.”
Thom points to a large RV. The lot next to it isn’t empty, but only holds a blue sedan and a tent.
“She’s there.”
I park the car on the opposite side of the road and kill the engine, and Jack-Eye slides out of the car with languid ease.
“I’ll deal with the traitor.”
I grunt at them both, reaching for Grace’s pillow with fingers that itch to crush something. One brief caress over the soft fabric. One deep breath of her scent-blueberry muffins, mixed with fabric softener. C
My chest loosens as the pillow’s scent cuts through the noise in my head.
“Stay here,”
I tell Thom without looking at him.
The warlock slumps in relief.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Opening the car door, I step out into the night, vaguely irritated by the humid heat despite the sun having set long ago.
Each breath I take now isn’t filtered through the car’s ventilation system, and her scent grows stronger. She’s close. My muscles coil with anticipation.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.