Page 92 of In Rising Tides

He was starved for information about his court. He hadn’t been locked up too long, but it had felt like a lifetime.

“They sent a list of demands to the High King, and he refused to respond. Their attacks have grown in frequency,” Maelys said.She gripped the reins tighter as she spoke. “He hasn’t even sent word to outliers of the danger.”

That wasn’t surprising in the least.

As long as it didn’t impact the nobility, King Oberon wouldn’t deign to intercede.

“We’ll alert all we pass,” Wilder replied.

It was the least they could do.

They moved silently through the wood, and with each step they took, Wilder felt the last few days melt away.

He was free.

Their path veered this way and that as the moon steadily rose higher.

It was strange for them all to be together without Otto. Wilder couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t been there.

Maelys jolted to a stop.

There were several large pieces of timber blocking their path.

“Is it a trap?” she whispered, her head swiveling to scan their surroundings.

Ridge slid from his mount and threw the reins to Maelys. He approached the timber on steady legs.

Wilder’s mount stomped its feet and took a step back.

“Ridge … careful,” Wilder warned.

Ridge reached the blockade and squatted down.

“They were buried here,” he said.

Dust approached from the rear, squeezing in between Wilder and Maelys.

“It’s most definitely a trap.”

Oak dropped from his saddle, his boots but a whisper against the forest floor, and led his horse off the path. “We should scout on foot. They obviously expect us to go around.”

“I agree,” Wilder sighed. “It could very well be cautious creatures now that wulvers are on the attack. But we should investigate it, nonetheless.”

Maelys dismounted before walking the horses to the nearest tree and tying them up.

Drawing her sword, she turned and faced Wilder. “You and Ridge with me. Dust, Oak, Oron, and Cedric, you take that way.”

Their group split and took opposite paths.

It was quiet in the wood, too quiet.

“There’s danger,” Ridge whispered.

Maelys nodded. “The animals are all bedded down. Even the nocturnal ones.”

Wilder raised his hand, swirling the wind and bringing the scents of the forest to him.

A putrid, hair-raising scent hit his nose.