A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,74

about her intentions in a bid to buy herself time and a chance to escape from the imperial palace. Maybe she was remorseful with regard to her son. It wasn’t impossible to believe her. It was hard, but not impossible.

While Sofia was fetching a map, silence settled over the room. Petra and I stared at each other for a few minutes. There weren’t any words left between us, only a sea of disdain and distrust. As long as we got something useful out of this conversation, I’d be content. And if it didn’t come back to bite us in the ass, I’d be downright happy.

Ridan

Equipped with new intel from Derek, our crew moved north. We kept our distance from populated areas as Kelara helped us jump across dozens of miles at once with her death magic. We’d agreed to fragment the journey beyond Azten in order to assess the land and spot any hostiles along the way. The last thing we needed was a repeat of Dieffen.

We walked along the wide path leading up the snowcapped mountain. The nights were cold out here, and the chill seeped into my bones, making me shiver. My inner fire burst once in a while, sending heatwaves through my body and relaxing my muscles. Amane stayed close, constantly looking around, her orange gaze analyzing every single detail.

Trev walked behind us with Soul and Kelara. In about a hundred feet, we’d jump again, since I could already see the fork in the road up ahead.

“Does this remind you of Strava in any way?” I asked Amane.

She gave me a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re back in the wild, constantly looking over your shoulder, hunting, defending yourself, fighting for your life,” I replied. “Doesn’t it bring back feelings of a bygone era?”

“Yeah, sort of. At least Strava was nice and hot. It’s absolutely freezing here,” she grumbled, and I put an arm around her shoulders.

“Hang in there. We’re almost at the cabin.”

Soul chuckled. “Your optimism is adorable.”

“And your snark is overrated,” Kelara retorted, stifling a grin.

“Is any of Petra’s intel verifiable?” Trev asked. Ever since we’d heard about Petra’s arrival, there had been an air of tension between us. It wasn’t aimed at each other—it was just a generally unpleasant vibe. We were all the way out here, while Petra had made it inside Roano. That fiend was up to something, I could feel it. Knowing that Derek was keeping an eye on her did take some of the edge off. “I can understand the Whips changing their positions and safe houses because I know too much, but how can we be sure that Petra is sending us in the right direction? What if we’re walking into a trap?”

His concern was natural, and we all shared it. But at the end of the day, risks had to be taken. In the absence of better information, we had to try to find out whether Petra was telling the truth. Ancient fir-like trees rose around us, their rich, dark green crowns loaded with snow. The bark was thick, almost black, and various furry creatures had found shelter in its nooks and crannies. I could feel their beady little eyes following us as we moved.

Silence dominated the area. I figured it was too cold for us to worry about any predators, until I spotted a large silhouette slumping somewhere to our left. I stopped, forcing the others to come to a halt, as well. “What’s that?” I whispered.

The creature raised its head from the base of a tree, its snout covered in snow. It looked like a bear, but it was twice the size of an American grizzly, and its claws were huge. It didn’t seem at all interested in us. Steam rolled from its nostrils as it dug back in, sniffing and searching for something.

“Fascinated by the local wildlife, I see,” Soul muttered as we resumed our walk up to the fork in the road.

“It’s a black barnum,” Trev said. “They usually dig for roots, mushrooms, and other fruits of the earth. They eat fish and any small animals they can catch, but they’re pretty slow. Their claws look intimidating, but they usually keep to themselves.”

I didn’t want to give Soul any satisfaction, but I had definitely developed a fascination for wildlife ever since Strava. From the moment I’d first laid eyes on turquoise tigers, I’d been mesmerized by what nature could design in different parts of the universe and under different conditions. Earth’s fauna was