Ten miles further down the road, Phelan heard the wolf howl, too, and the sound shot shivers down his spine as he huddled in his cloak and blanket next to his own meager fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell,\u201d he muttered to himself.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve never been scared of critters before.\u00a0 Why would anything be different now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the last time a wolf got close to you, it shapeshifted into a man and shoved a spear into your gut.<\/i>\u00a0 He rubbed gingerly at the wound.\u00a0 Still aching.\u00a0 Still healing.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalm,\u201d he muttered to himself in the darkness, staring at the fire like a fool.\u00a0 \u201cCalm.\u00a0 Nothing out here is going to get you tonight.\u00a0 You warded your camp.\u00a0 They can\u2019t cross the boundary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because the boundary was so much help when the bitches\u2019 minions came to skewer you.<\/i><\/p>\n
He bit down on the inside of his cheek hard, almost snarling.\u00a0 When the hell he started to be this way?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a foolish boy,\u201d a woman\u2019s voice rasped from beyond his wardings.\u00a0 Phelan jerked toward the sound, swallowing a curse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you<\/i> want?\u201d\u00a0 he spat, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Leinth.\u00a0 \u201cCome to out me to whoever the hell\u2019s hunting me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wouldn\u2019t benefit my bloodline at all, now would it?\u201d\u00a0 She crossed thin arms beneath her dark cloak, staring at him with something close to consternation.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a tremendously foolish man, Phelan O\u2019Credne, Wandering One, and now you\u2019ve endangered them all\u2014everyone that you or I have ever dared to hold dear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve turned your coat once,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have any doubt you could easily do it again and come out of this smelling as sweet as clover buds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot this time,\u201d Leinth said softy.\u00a0 \u201cNow it\u2019s about who we really are, what we have it in us to be.\u00a0 What\u2019s dark is darker than night.\u00a0 What\u2019s light is light, brighter than the sun.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s us\u2014the shades of gray that inhabit the world that wakes and sleeps and lives and dies by the whims of chance and fate\u2014and the gods that walk her face again.\u201d<\/p>\n
She took one step closer to the edge of his wardings.\u00a0 \u201cThey need your help, Wanderer.\u00a0 You can\u2019t abandon them now.\u00a0 Turn back or die.\u00a0 Those are your only choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u00a0 If I don\u2019t go back, you\u2019ll kill me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said simply, her thin, pale face turning sad for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cBut something else will.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething else will<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ten miles further down the road, Phelan heard the wolf howl, too, and the sound shot shivers down his spine as he huddled in his cloak and blanket next to his own meager fire. \u201cHell,\u201d he muttered to himself.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve … Continue reading