“I really don’t want to.” Naill sighed.
“We’ll meet at the Gold Rock.” Casteel addressed the group. “Remember, no one goes anywhere unaccompanied. Stay together in groups no larger than three.” He turned to where Beckett was finally sitting. “Do not explore. Do not answer any calls.”
My stomach tumbled. Was Casteel referencing what the wolven believed they had heard from me?
“I expect to see everyone at Gold Rock, all in one piece with their minds intact,” Casteel continued, and a shiver curled its way down my spine. “Be safe.”
There were several nods as the group began to break apart, Beckett leaving with Naill and Delano, who said, “I’ll make sure he shifts.”
Quentyn stayed with Jasper and Emil, but before they headed to our right, Jasper rode to our side, clasping Casteel’s hand. “Be safe, Cas. You’ve been gone far too long and are too close to home to not arrive.”
“You have nothing to fear.” Casteel’s voice softened.
Jasper nodded, and then his attention shifted to me. “Stay close to them, Penellaphe. The magic in these mountains has a way of getting under your skin. Trust them but be wary of trusting what your eyes and ears tell you.”
And with those parting words, he rode off, the now pale and quiet Quentyn in tow.
I looked over my shoulder at Casteel. “What in the hell is this mountain going to do?”
“Nothing,” he replied, urging Setti forward. “As long as we don’t allow it to.”
Quiet.
Casteel and Kieran didn’t speak. The thick moss along the path cushioned the horses’ steps. There were no sounds of birds or any animal life, nor the echo of any wind rustling the golden canopy of leaves above us. With every passing hour, the temperature seemed to drop another couple of degrees as we climbed the mountain. The heavy cloak I’d all but forgotten while in Spessa’s End was donned. Soon, a tingling numbness invaded my cheeks. It wasn’t long after that when Casteel tugged the hood of the cloak up over my head and pulled the halves of his around me, too. We continued on in eerie silence and the unnatural beauty of the mountain. Gold leaves above glimmered, and along the ground, flecks of gold spotted the moss and glistened from the bark, reminding me of the Blood Forest.
All too soon, the beams of sunlight filtering through the leaves faded, and the streaks of mist thickened, blanketing the moss as we continued climbing. The fog grew, swirling around our legs and then our waists. The last of the sun reached us, and we forged on. Several hours into the evening, we stopped when the mist stretched above us.
Casteel guided Setti to a halt as he glanced around. I had no idea what he was looking for as I could see nothing but streams of white mist. “This appears to be as good a place as any,” he said, his breath forming misty clouds as he turned to Kieran. “What do you think?”
The wolven was a faint shape behind the mist. “We’ve definitely reached the peak, so this should be fine.”
Should be? “How can you tell we’ve reached the peak?”
“If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be able to see more than a few inches in front of us,” Kieran answer as he dismounted, stirring the mist.
I frowned. They could see more than a few inches?
Casteel shifted the reins to my hands. “Hold onto these. I’m going to get down and walk you two over to the tree.”
Taking the reins, I wondered exactly what tree he was talking about. He swung off Setti’s back, and for a moment, the gloom spun around him, seeming to swallow him. My heart kicked against my ribs. His face cleared the mist as he walked to Setti’s front, curling his fingers around the horse’s halter. He walked us through the chilled, churning air and then stopped, taking the reins from me as he spoke to Setti, crooning softly to the horse. I picked up something about carrots and orchard grass before he came back to my side.
Casteel lifted his hands to my hips, and I gripped his forearms as I leaned back, pulling a leg over the saddle. He helped me down, taking my hand as he unloaded one of the larger bags and the rolled blankets.
“Will it be like this?” I asked as he guided me forward, hating that I had to go blindly. “All night?”
“It will, but you’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“How about here?” Kieran’s voice came from somewhere. “The ground is pretty level.”
“Perfect.” Casteel seemed to know exactly where Kieran was because after a few moments, he appeared from within the mist.