The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,58

it was easy to decipher her uncertainty.

Noc placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’re more than capable. I trusted you to watch over the guild last time.”

“You trusted Darrien—”

Noc held up his hand. “And you to keep an eye on him. Don’t doubt your abilities, Emelia.”

Astrid sidled close to her, gaze slanting from Noc to Oz and finally to Kost. “What if Darrien returns?”

“He won’t.” Noc abandoned Emelia to step into the stirrups and settle onto his stallion’s back. Oz and Kost followed suit wordlessly, but there was a thread of tension between Noc and Kost riddled with unspoken words. Oz’s brow furrowed.

At least I’m not the only one picking up on what’s not being said.

“How do you know?” Emelia looked up at her guild master with so much steely devotion that my frustration with Noc subsided for a moment. I’d only recently become a member of the Council—my name was virtually unknown to my people. But I would protect them, help them, because that’s how they looked at the Crown. With total and utter belief that she—that all of us—would guide them to safety and keep our land a haven.

Noc allowed himself a tight smile. “Because I know Darrien. He has wounds to lick and plans to devise. He won’t harm Cruor. His biggest concern is bolstering his ranks. If anything, he’d try to win you over.”

Kost nodded once. “If that happens, do not resist him openly. Win the war, not the battle. Keep everyone safe until we return.”

A visible shiver raced through Emelia, and she dropped her chin to her chest. “I’ll do my best.”

“I’m not in the business of making false promises.” Noc shifted, and his mount pranced in place. “I’m in the business of being prepared. I don’t think he will come. He’s after me, not you. But if he does, do as Kost says.”

False promises? I bit my tongue. He’d certainly been good at those as of late. I could only hope last night’s promise, that we’d finally talk once we were outside the walls of Cruor, wouldn’t turn up false.

Astrid placed a firm hand on Emelia’s back, wide smile steady. “We’ll be fine. Emelia and Iov are strong. I’m new, and I’d still follow them anywhere.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Good.” Tilting his chin in my direction, he nodded to my mare. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I hiked my leg over my mare’s back and settled into my saddle. Yazmin’s directions burned in the inner pocket of my overcoat, sending heat straight through to my heart. “Let’s go.”

Noc and Kost led the charge, kicking their mounts into a steady canter and heading north parallel with the Kitska Forest. On our left, swirling purple vines thick with thorns wrapped around dying brush. Trees with flaky dark bark and gnarled branches stretched in unruly patterns. Shimmering pinesco pods, with their eye-like patterns, winked in the stirring winter breeze. Such a stark contrast to the wide, open plains of dormant grass rolling toward Wilheim. A faint glimmer twinkled in the distance, just barely visible through the morning fog. Those diamond and ivory walls were a beacon in any season.

An errant screech rattled from somewhere deep in the wood. Pulling my coat tighter, I dipped my chin to my chest as we rode. Oz’s mare shifted closer to mine, and he hunkered down against the chill. For the most part, the pace set by Noc and Kost kept us silent. Between the cold and the jostling from our Zeelahs, our tongues were liable to be caught by chattering teeth. It wasn’t until after the late-afternoon sun dipped below the tree line, leaving behind a smearing of burnt orange across the sky, that Noc and Kost stopped. They dismounted, surveying a particularly flat portion of the wide, open plains across from Kitska Forest. The monsters deep within the festering wood likely wouldn’t come this close to the edge of their territory, but I had no doubt Kost would have us sleeping in shifts. Just in case.

Oz and I joined them, and immediately set to work pitching our tents. As soon as we finished, Oz busied himself with the fire while Kost rummaged through our bags, searching for our provisions. Noc stood slightly apart from it all, arms folded across his chest and jaw tight. Flames from the fire reflected in his faraway stare.

“Everything okay?” I asked, sidling up next to him. We were finally out in the open, away from Cruor, and it was high time he