What Hunts Inside the Shadows by Harper L. Woods

Author:Harper L. Woods
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

18

ESTRELLA

Adelphia strolled at my side, her presence calm and soothing. Caldris had only begrudgingly allowed me to walk alongside her and the others chattering about their lives, which must have been wholly interesting for Adelphia to recognize Caldris on sight.

“How do you know so much about the Gods? About the Old Rituals?” I asked, staring down at the bag strapped across her chest. I suspected the skull of a God rested inside it, something I couldn’t see the older woman parting with.

“We come from a village that resisted the New Gods as long as they could. Eventually the King sent his Priests and Priestesses to convert our people by force, but by that time we had already hidden our forbidden texts and artifacts in a safe place. The people of our village have done what we can to preserve that knowledge over the generations that have passed since,” she said, nodding her head as we continued along the snowy ground. “It was how I was able to recognize your mate.”

I nodded as well, having already suspected as much. With the Veil separating the realms, portraits held within forbidden texts were the only way a human woman with a mortal lifespan could know what any of the Gods looked like. My attention swung to the book Holt had given me, strapped into the saddle bags across Azra’s rump.

“The night the candle predicted you were slated to die, I sensed the truth in that premonition,” Adelphia said, drawing my attention back to her. “I wouldn’t have guessed it was a reference to the God of the Dead. I don’t typically believe the magic understands nuances like that, and you are very much alive,” she mused, reaching out a hand to grasp mine. She kept the movement casual, her voice low as she eyed Caldris cautiously where he rode beside Holt. “Stay close to your mate. I fear something else may be coming for your life, Estrella.”

“I fear there are a great many who would want me dead,” I said, scoffing with laughter as I brushed off her statement. When I’d stumbled across the ritual in the woods, I’d been shocked by the candle’s declaration that death waited for me before the next Samhain. It was my first brush with mortality—the first moment when I was reminded of just how temporary a human life could be. In the weeks that followed, I’d become far more acquainted with death. I’d danced with it more times than I cared to count, and the life where I didn’t need to worry daily seemed farther away.

Like a different life entirely.

“All the more reason to stay close to the male who would do anything to see you alive and well,” Adelphia said, finally releasing my hand. She cleared her throat, turning her gaze forward on the path we walked across the open plain and heaving a sigh. “I am certain your village did its best to turn you against the Fae. That much was obvious from what I saw in you that night in the woods, but you were willing to join us in our chanting.

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