Blood & Steel: A Dark Fantasy Romance (The Fae of Pantera Book 1) by Shana J. Caldwell

Author:Shana J. Caldwell [Caldwell, Shana J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

28. Killian

Killian

Killian steers his stallion down the narrow path, urging him forward slowly to avoid any trips that may be fatal. After breaching the skeletal forest that surrounds the castle they’d emerged on the top of a large cliff, below, a lush forest stretches on for miles; breaking in random sections to the small Valarki villages that border the cliff. Killian's magic had been tied to following the traitor from the moment the king had bestowed this mission upon him, he refuses to think about the other request that the king demanded of him. He only wants to focus on the sickness and the traitor.

“Holly gods,” Adalyn gasps, her mare begins the descent down the cliff face; happy to follow Killian and his stallion. Killian doesn’t dare look over his shoulder, knowing even the slightest loss of concentration could be the difference between life or death.

“Stay calm and don’t panic. I’ve made this descent hundreds if not thousands of times. It’ll be another half hour or so before we reach the bottom.” Killian grimaces as loose rocks tumble down the cliff side from his stallion's heavy hooves. He doesn’t tell Adalyn that most of the times when he’d taken this path with others, more than one in his group had slipped and never lived to tell the tale.

“I’m…I’m afraid of heights. What if my horse falls?” Adalyn’s voice borders on panic. Killian goes against all instincts and turns in his saddle, trusting his stallion to be surefooted. He sends a wave of magic into his stallion and Adalyn’s mare, lending them the strength and courage to keep all of them alive on this descent.

“She won’t fall, she’s made this descent as well,” he assures, anxiously looking over Adalyn. Her hands are white where she grips the horn of the saddle, all the colour has drained from her face; brightening the constellation of freckles over her cheeks and nose.

She doesn’t take her eyes from him, trying her best to control the short rapid breaths that become smaller with each inhale. Killian feels himself begin to really worry. It’s one thing for a Valarki to travel down the path of the fallen, it’s another for a human. He forgets Adalyn isn’t like him, doesn’t know this land or have the experience when travelling it.

“You need to calm down Addie,” Killian’s sleek raven hair ruffles in a sharp cold breeze. Adalyn trembles in her saddle, fear grasping her in its deadly hands. The last thing he needs is for her to panic, panic on a cliff side is a one-way ticket to death. He’d seen it happen far too many times.

“I—I” her wide eyes look away from him, and down to where the forest is a green expanse to their right. She begins to teeter sideways, losing her grip of reality as fear digs its sharp talons in.

“Adalyn!” Killian snaps, desperate to get her attention. She snaps her eyes to him, terror shining in their amber depths. Auburn strands whip around her face as another relentless breeze tries to tug her away from the safety of her horse.

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