Chapter 426: Trouble

Igma;

“When?” He asks, and I fall silent.

We can only know for sure if we head back to check. But…We’re too close to Alana to turn back now. However, I can’t say that.

He’s helping me by being here. I can not possibly ask him to choose my mate over his mother. No matter the nature of their relationship, she is still his mother.

“If we return without finding the coven, everything we’ve done would have been for nothing.” His voice breaks into my thoughts, and I look back up at him.

“But…How, then, will we know what… what this is? I can’t…I can’t ask you to choose between my—” I stop as I cannot finish the sentence. Saying it alone feels wrong.

His hands tighten around the reins again, as he closes his eyes. When they reopen, they’re wet. He looks away before I can see another tear fall, and I look away.

I pretend not to notice. Because sometimes love means looking directly at someone’s pain, and other times, it means giving them somewhere to hide it.

“We’ll keep going.” He suddenly says, and my jaw drops.

‘It’s this place. It’s messing with our heads. We’re probably close to Alana, and… and this place is… is trying to turn us away. Alana needs us. We’re sure of that. I won’t…I won’t let us turn away from that for something we’re not even sure of. Alana may not have that much time.” He adds, and tears instantly well up in my eyes.

Without waiting for me to respond, he picks up the pace. Making his horse trot ahead while I just watch.

I keep riding silently behind him, and we stay silent for much longer than earlier. Naturally, my horse once again marches beside his, but we exchange no words.

“Your mother did what she thought was necessary.” I break the silence much to my surprise, and from the side of my eyes, I see him look at me.

“She wanted you strong. She just didn’t know—” I try to go on but stop.

Light! I feel so guilty. He should be heading back to Gravemaw right now. He should be confirming that his Mother is actually okay. Instead…he’s insisting on being here with me to rescue my mate.

“I know, Igma.” He replies as a tear falls from my eyes, and I look up at him.

Never in a million years did I think I would ever try to defend Alpha Liandria… yet, here I am.

“She…” My voice disappears, and he reaches across the space between us to cover my hand with his. I stare at our hands, and then back at him.

I whisper, and he blinks at me. I don’t know why I say it that way. But I do.

He takes a deep breath and nods.

“I know.” He replies, and I force a smile at him.

His fingers turn beneath mine, and he squeezes my hand.

“Still.” I frown.

“What?”

“Forgiving me doesn’t mean I get to pretend I didn’t break your trust.” He says, and I blink at him.

Why is he still bringing up Bram? He’s apologised several times about this; it’s getting annoying.

“Rhydian, you—” I try to protest, but he cuts me off.

“I’ll do better.”

Something about the certainty in his voice makes me pause…and then smile.

“You’d better.” I chose to reply instead, and his smile grows.

“I mean it.”

“So do I,” I warn, and he huffs.

“If you ever need me to stand beside you again…”

“You will.” I interrupt, and he nods.

“I will.”

“Good,” I reply, and only then does he release my hand.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll tell Elián.” Rhydian frowns.

“Tell Elián what?”

“That you haven’t learnt your lesson,” I say flatly, and he glares at me.

“Don’t you dare!” He warns, and I laugh.

This time, I ride ahead of him, laughing.

The mood changes then. We talk. About stupid things, old things, safe things…Anything that keeps our minds away from that nameless ache.

But the deeper we travel into Jaggered Valley, the quieter the forest becomes.

Eventually… I notice it.

No birds. No sound. Nothing. That’s odd.

My smile disappears, and Rhydian stops speaking at the same time.

Our horses continue another few steps before slowing on their own. My hand moves toward my weapon as I look around.

“Rhydian?”

“I know.” His voice is barely audible, and I swallow.

The cold suddenly feels different. Not weather…Something else.

My horse shifts nervously beneath me, and I scan the trees.

But I see nothing. Only trunks, vines, and shadows. Yet every instinct inside me is screaming.

We are not alone. Rhydian’s silver eyes sharpen as he looks around.

“Don’t move.” He warns, and I scoff.

I wasn’t planning to.

A branch snaps somewhere to our left, and my head turns. Yet, we still see nothing.

Then another sound comes from behind us. Closer. My pulse quickens, while Rhydian slowly reaches for his weapon.

“Can you smell anything?” I whisper.

“No.” That’s worse. Much worse.

Something shifts between the trees. Too fast for me to see clearly. My horse jerks, and I tighten the reins.

“Easy.” I coo.

Rhydian’s gaze moves through the forest, then stops. His entire body goes rigid.

“What?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Rhydian,” I call in fear, and his eyes remain fixed on the darkness ahead.

I follow his gaze.

At first… I see nothing. Then I see it.

Two eyes…Watching us.

I stop breathing.

They disappear, but another pair of eyes open farther to the right…Then another.

My blood runs cold. Rhydian draws his weapon. I do the same.

The heaviness from last night is still sitting inside my chest. The grief we cannot name… The fear we cannot understand.

And now, somewhere deep inside Jaggered Valley… Something is watching us. Waiting.

I tighten my grip around my sword. Beside me, Rhydian moves closer.

Because whatever has been following us through these woods…Has finally decided to let us know it’s here.

And that can only mean trouble.

The eyes in the woods don’t blink. Neither do I.

My fingers tighten around the hilt of my sword until my knuckles ache, but I know better than to loosen up.

The forest has become impossibly quiet. So quiet that we can hear the ragged breathing of these things.

My horse once again shifts nervously beneath me. It can smell them. Whatever they are.

Light… They’re surrounding us.

The first creature finally steps into the narrow path, and my breath gets stuck in my throat.

It’s…wrong. Far too tall to be any beast I’ve ever seen.

Its body is covered in dark, tangled fur that hangs in uneven clumps, exposing patches of grey skin underneath it. Its longest forelegs end in claws far too large for the rest of its body, while its hind legs bend strangely…almost backwards.

Its glowing eyes stay dangerously fixed on us. Then another of its kind emerges… then another.

The trees begin emptying themselves of monsters, and as each new one emerges, my heart falls into my stomach.

Some crawl, some walk….And some simply appear between trunks where I could swear nothing stood just moments ago.

“…How many are they?” I whisper, and Rhydian’s equally worried voice answers.

“I don’t know.”

We’re surrounded, and we don’t even know how many creatures there are. Can we fight this??? These are T even normal beasts. What are these??

One of the creatures opens its mouth, and the sound it releases causes my heart to flop out of my chest.

Light!! That isn’t a growl…or even a howl. It sounds almost…like a man. Like laughter buried in a beast’s throat.

Every hair on my body stands, and my horse jerks violently beneath me.

I slowly reach down to soothe the horse.

“They aren’t attacking,” I whisper.

“No.” Rhydian’s sword lowers slightly. “…Not yet.”

The creatures continue closing in slowly, and my heart starts thumping.

I look around, and that’s when I realise. This isn’t like predators chasing prey.

It’s more like…shepherds narrowing a flock. And then a horrible thought crosses my mind.

“They’re herding us.” I breathe, but Rhydian doesn’t answer.

“Yes.” He finally breathes, and the single word lands heavily between us.

He understands it too. They could have attacked already. Instead… They’re giving us somewhere to run.

That thought frightens me more than the monsters themselves. They want us to go somewhere.

The creature closest to us suddenly lunges, and Rhydian’s voice booms through the forest.

“MOVE, IGMA!!” I don’t hesitate. My heels dig into my horse’s sides, and the animal bolts forward.

Branches whip against my face as we burst through the trees.

Behind us, that horrible laughter comes again. Then dozens more answer it. The forest erupts.

They’re chasing us.

I don’t dare look back. Not until I hear Rhydian shout.

“LEFT!”

I wrench my reins. Something big crashes through the place I was, just seconds earlier, and splinters explode into the air. A tree.

A tree?!! It just snapped an entire tree in half?!

“They’re gaining!” I yell.

“I know!” Rhydian’s mortified voice replies with horse racing beside mine now.

Another creature drops from above, and Rhydian swings instinctively.

His sword slides into the creature and blood bursts. Green blood.

The creature staggers…then keeps coming. It doesn’t even scream.

It barely notices. My blood runs cold.

“We can’t fight these things!”

“I know!” His answer is immediate. No pride, or Alpha stubbornness. Just brutal honesty.

“We have to outrun them!” He yells, and I gulp.

Branches tear at our cloaks, and roots try to throw our horses.

Something keeps crashing through the undergrowth beside us, but I might know no magic would make me look back to see.

The creature keeps chasing…following almost as though it already knows where we’re going.

The realisation strikes me so suddenly that I nearly pull my horse to a stop.

“Rhydian!”

“Yeah?!”

“They’re driving us!”

“I KNOW!”

Ahead…The forest suddenly starts thinning. Light spills between the trees…then smoke.

I blink. Smoke??

Another few strides, the trees end, and my horse bursts into an open clearing so suddenly I have to pull hard on the reins.

The animal skids across damp earth, and Rhydian stops beside me.

We both stare in shock at the sight before us. A village.

Small cottages with moss-covered roofs stand in neat circles beneath towering ancient trees. Lanterns sway gently outside carved wooden homes…Children laugh somewhere deeper inside the settlement, and women carrying woven baskets pause to look at us.

The scent of herbs fills the air, and I swallow. Looking at the marking on their skins…it’s clear that these are witches and warlocks.

Yet… the village looks…Peaceful.

Impossible!

It almost seems like…like this place doesn’t belong inside the nightmare forest surrounding it.

Neither nor I move. Behind us… The creatures emerge from the trees.

Dozens of them. They stop at the edge of the clearing…watching.

None of them crosses into the village. None of them attack. They simply…stand there.

Watching us. Watching the village….Watching everything.

I slowly turn toward Rhydian.

“They never meant to kill us. They were bringing us here.” He whispers, and before I can answer…

Someone laughs softly. Not the creatures, but a woman.

Our heads turn together, only to find a young woman standing gracefully between two cottages.

She cannot be much older than us.

Long dark curls spill over a cloak embroidered with silver thread.

Her skin gleams warmly under the afternoon light, and strange glowing markings wind lazily around her wrists before disappearing beneath her sleeves.

She looks at us… with a massive smile. One that isn’t cruel or kind. Simply Expectant.

“As expected, you found your way.” She says as she opens her arms slightly toward the village behind her.

“Welcome…” She pauses just long enough for the silence to settle “…to our precious Coven.”

My fingers tighten around my sword.

Something tells me…We didn’t find this place. It found us.

The Peony Beneath His Sword is out now. I hope you enjoy it