Realm of Trials and Trickery by Claire Wright

Author:Claire Wright [Wright, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

Aisling

Darkness coated the cottage. As gravel crunched under her feet, Ash willed her heart to steady as her other senses warred for attention at the danger lurking within her old home. She was not unacquainted with danger, not after her kidnapping, but this was a new kind of fear. One wrapped around two people with kind hearts.

Glancing behind, her eyes narrowed toward the space they’d entered the realm on the deserted country road. Bright spots danced around her vision, a light-headed sensation tugging on her stomach as she willed herself to fully adjust before they encountered anyone. Or anything.

With a shaky breath, Ash crept forward, gravel betraying each careful footfall. She found herself holding her breath with each step, inwardly cringing at the minuscule betrayals beneath her feet.

Set, however, was a different story. Merging with the shadows in a dance only he seemed to know, he moved with a haunting grace that left no trace behind, not even a rustle. His presence was like a wisp of smoke, there but not. And she was damned if he didn’t look exquisite doing it.

Her eyes slithered over his figure and the new attire covering his muscular frame. Even as a throb dipped in her lower stomach at the mere sight of him walking, a pang of resentment snaked its way up her chest. The boundless hours of his absence, each tick-tock a sting to her patience, and he’d returned with a new spear and sexy battle-suit while she’d been pacing her tent, ready to tear her hair out. He had made her promise to wait for him, and she had no other choice but to do just that.

Amidst her internal storm, she bit down on her lower lip, but a grunt of dissatisfaction slipped past her defences, breaking the silence. He looked her way, but she ignored him. Set’s late, fashionable return had brought relief, but had also added a touch more vinegar into her already sour mood, a bitter aftertaste that she would need to swallow down.

Usually, the farm buzzed with animal noises, but an ominous hush fell like a veil. Light never failed to spill from the cottage’s open door and windows, yet restless shadows prowled where warmth and comfort once shone. Glancing left, her heart froze. Gone was the comforting bulk of Newgrange’s brooding watchful guard over their home.

“Look,” Set breathed, stepping toward the hedge separating them from the passageway. “It’s gone here, too.”

Heart hammering, her gaze fixed on the shadow across the field. Set’s torch flared to life and a moment later, it trained on Newgrange. Or what was left of it.

Scattered piles of loose stone replaced orderly concentric rings with no sign of a grassy mound; only rubble and fractured ruins remained. The sight of it here was worse. Mary and Dom had refused to leave despite her warning. Her breaths were laboured with some nameless grief. For losses too profound for tears alone.

“Do you think they could be over there?” Ash’s voice was not her own.

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