detectable. I take in a deep breath and call to my power to see spells, just as Mother taught me. The sensation of a feather flows down my arms and across my fingers. We’re back on track, thank goodness.
“Fuck me, but tell me that’s a river,” Crius states, and before I can even scan the woodland to find what he’s talking about, he charges ahead of me like a mad bull. “This walking so slow is rubbish,” he growls. “I’m fucking bored out of my brains.”
My heart leaps in my throat at the web of magic lines I spot right in his pathway. Thin threads sparkle beneath the light right in front of the river that comes into view. Of course, no one else will see it, but to me, it’s golden and sways in the breeze like a temptress waiting for her victim.
Crius is rushing right toward the water and into the trap.
Ice floods my veins.
“Stop!” I bellow, chasing after him before I can think straight. I drop my bag, my heart banging in my chest. “Crius!” I scream. “It’s a spell, stop before it’s too late!”
My feet pound the earth to reach him, and the others rush forward with me.
Crius is fast, so caught up in the freedom the glistening river offers, he’s insane with the sense of escaping this gray world.
I snatch the back of his top, trying to get him to pay attention to me. Not that I actually bring him to a standstill, but my weight dragging after him has him finally pausing. He pushes my hand away.
“What the fuck?” he snarls.
“Which part of stop don’t you understand?” I snap.
“Shit, man, are you fucking deaf?!” Nikos roars, and well, I can’t help but appreciate him taking my side for a change.
“I didn’t hear you,” Crius admits, and I believe him. We are in a place where nothing can be trusted.
“Well, you were just about to walk into a massive magical snare.”
The guys are all looking in the direction of the enormous web, but they are looking right past it, Stone’s nose creased as though confused.
“There’s a magical net between us and the river. As much as I’d love to know what it will do to us if we touch it, I promised to keep you four safe, so we can’t go that way.”
“Alright, so which direction then?” Ragnar asks, and I notice he’s carrying my bag over his shoulder.
I scan the landscape and point away from both the spell and the path. “You all wait here and I’ll go check how far it stretches out.”
Crius gives me a deadpan expression, and well, he may not like it, but I won’t be blamed for one of them dying.
“Agreed,” Ragnar adds. It surprises me that he conceded so quickly.
With quick steps, I hurry beside the net that intrigues me in how truly beautifully it has been crafted. When the light hits it from different angles, it shimmers with a rainbow of colors, but what’s stranger is that it appears to be bending in my direction, as if sensing me.
My hands are also buzzing, and when I glance down at them, the magic lines are arching outward as if attempting to reach for the spell. The notion of them connecting terrifies me, so I take a few more steps to put some distance between me and the net.
I work my jaw back and forth, toying with the idea that maybe going to the path would be an option if I can’t find a way to pass.
Up ahead, I spot where the net abruptly ends, and I’m practically jumping up and down on my toes. I don’t even care if the men see me, but I’m speeding up my pace now. “I think we’ve found the end,” I shout to them over my shoulder.
The shrubs are densely clustered in this part of the depressing woods, skeletal things that tear at my pants and snap with each step I take. I swing to where several dense trees huddle together. This is where the net halts, and beyond lingers the gray mist that chokes the light out of this whole damn place. I breathe heavily, hating how sorrowful the depleted forest is.
Not missing a beat, I move hastily past the trunks, only to have strong hands snap around my waist and draw me back against a solid chest.
I flinch, shuddering in my own skin.
“Don’t take another step,” Stone whispers in my ear.
I freeze, my head spinning with confusion. “Where did you