Page 21 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

Chapter 8

Kalel

Alira’s shoulders tense when I ask her if she’s okay.

She slowly looks back at me, her lovely silver hair drenched. My little godling is sitting in a few inches of water, but it looks like she was completely submerged at one point. Did she fall in? She must be freezing. I reach for her, and she flinches, watching me with a stare that I haven’t seen on her since the day her kingdom handed her over.

Distrust.

I retract my hand, fingers curling into my palm as I do.

My pulse is racing.

What did the wisp show her?

The wariness in her gaze cuts me deeper than any blade ever could. It edges my soul with the need to fix whatever is wrong. The gods have made it clear by sending the wisp that they intend to show her things…to turn her against me, I’d bet.

I need to tell her the truth first. She needs to hear it from me, or it will only be worse.

But how do I tell her? My gut wrenches as I offer her my hand once more.

“We need to warm you up, Alira,” I say gently, and after a moment of hesitation, she slides her hand onto mine. It’s ice cold. Dusk has already come upon us, so there’s no sense in hurrying out. Whatever phantoms we may see must be dealt with on sheer will. As long as we stay together, we will be fine. “How did you get completely soaked? The water is only a few inches deep here.” My voice carries the worry in my chest.

She blinks and looks down at her hands, which have paled significantly as her circulation slows from the cold settling in. “I…I don’t know.” Her voice is distant with thought.

I scoop her up and wrap her in my cloak before carrying her alongside the cliffside until we reach an area where the incline isn’t nearly as steep. She’s quiet as I make my way up. There are a thousand things I try to say, but they won’t come out.

Did the wisp show her the demigods waiting outside the veil? Ready for war? Or did it show her Pluto granting my prayer after she led the raid on Thornhall and me placing a curse on her? Horror seeps into my chest. The time-loop curse was cruel of me, but we are only here together because of it.

My thoughts are enough to run me ragged. No. If she saw any of that, she would be fighting to get away from me.

It’s not hatred in her eyes. It’s uncertainty.

The gods are anything but vague when they choose to send wisps. I try to push these thoughts away as we finally reach the horses on the top of the plateau. Thankfully, I managed to find my comrades before descending. Nikolai and Tessa have the horses secured, so if they get spooked again, they won’t be able to run off.

My eyes linger on Tessa. Her expression is set like stone, but I know her better than most. She’s furious that Alira broke formation on purpose. And with how high the tensions have been with the looming war at our kingdom’s door, I’m not sure she’ll risk not telling King Achill.

If she does, he’ll lock Alira up for this stunt.

I place my godling on my lap so I can keep her warm on the ride back to Devicit.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here before something sinister shows up. A wisp is the least of our worries,” Nikolai says as he tugs the reins. His horse turns sharply and starts running toward the bridge.

My heart races, and I look around the thick mist warily. “He’s right. I’ll deal with you once we are on the other side.” My tone has a bite to it, but I’m not sure she even heard it. Alira’s mind seems elsewhere.

It’s long past nightfall thanks to the detour, but luckily, we don’t run into anything too otherworldly before crossing the bridge back onto the mainland. Though I know the stories of unexplainable things happening after dusk must be true because shadows have been following us since the sun set. Thank the gods they keep to the fog. Every hair on the back of my neck stays up until the moment we cross the bridge.

The eerie feeling that wrapped around us falls like a sheet, and I can breathe again.

We won’t make it back to the palace until late in the evening, and the fresh snow was unexpected, so I find the old cave I use from time to time when the weather acts out like this for us to spend the night.

Tessa opposes the plan to make the trip back longer, but I remind her that Alira isn’t immune to the cold like we are. She wrinkles her nose but ultimately agrees.

Nikolai gets a roaring fire going rather easily. His arcane skills come in handy more often than they don’t. He’s been quiet since the wisp ordeal. We all have. Everyone is upset with Alira and she knows it.

Alira sits with her arms wrapped around her legs and my cloak over her shoulders while I hand out the food rations and take off my armor. Her ocean eyes are glued to the flames, lost deep in thought. At least her hair has finally dried, but I’m still worried about her core temperature. I’ll sleep close to her tonight to warm her up.

Nikolai gives me a concerned frown from across the cave as he stokes the flames and nods toward the entrance, likely to talk about what the fuck just happened and what we’re going to do about it.