A Curse of Shadows - Page 60

One second, I see a shimmer of energy around his human form and then in the next, his six-foot-tall wolf stands there, staring at me with an intensity just as strong as his human half.

Stepping forward, I reach out and his head nudges against my palm. “It’s good to see you again,” I say to the wolf with a sweet smile.

The beast growls softly as I scratch his head, sending vibrations through my body that release any bit of nerves I had about jumping on his back.

It doesn’t matter that he’s an animal. I know without a doubt he would never let me get hurt.

With that at the forefront of my mind, I move toward his side, never taking my hand away from his fur. “You’re going to need to lie down if I’m expected to get up there.”

His back is as tall as my shoulders and without anything to use as a step up, I need him to get lower. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to mind and lowers himself for me.

Here goes nothing, I think as I throw my leg over the wolf. I hold on to his thick coat and when he starts to stand, my ankles dig into his sides, but he doesn’t make a noise, allowing me to hope that’s not uncomfortable for him.

Glancing down, I shudder. Yep. I’m not going to do that again. The ground looks much too far away, but that doesn’t matter. This wolf isn’t going to let anything happen to me. That’s all I need to focus on, or so I tell myself as he starts to trot.

His movements are slow at first until we get closer to the forest. As his speed picks up, I expect to feel every step he takes, but the quicker his pace, the less jostled I am. It’s almost as if his paws are barely touching the earth and if the wind weren’t whipping past us, I could almost believe we were barely moving.

My eyes close and I leave my cheek pressed against his back, keeping my trust in this powerful animal as I choose to enjoy the ride instead of the scenery. That’s something I can check out on the way back, hopefully when I’m running on my own.

I quiet my mind and breathe deeply as a tightening in my chest begins to take root. Not as if I’m scared, but something else I can’t seem to identify.

My emotions seem to be at war, feeling safe and content yet also wanting to burst free. Though I can’t tell what they want to be free from.

The harder I try to understand, the more my head begins to pound until I have to stop. Tension riddles my body and I groan, grinding my teeth together.

Asher’s wolf starts to slow and I try to tell him I’m fine, but when I open my eyes, I realize we’re no longer alone.

Malimorte stands under a weeping willow tree next to a river bend and beside him is a woman I can only assume is Elyn.

Her hair is all silver and fine wrinkles appear around her eyes and mouth as she smiles at me. I try to return the gesture, but with her lavender eyes locked on me, it’s almost as if I can’t even breathe.

She takes a step forward, her forest-green skirt swishing around her ankles. “It’s okay, Isobella. You’re safe now.”

Hearing the name that I was originally born with sends shivers down my spine that seem to force life back into my body as I start to sit up. My legs feel wobbly, but as Elyn comes closer, I know I have to stand on my own.

She pushes the sleeves of her black blouse up and reaches for me. “You have the strength of the gods within you, child.”

I blink, unsure how I’m supposed to respond. Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to need me to as she continues. “Come.”

For an elder, she’s still quite strong, dragging me away from Asher and toward the water. I glance back and Asher is already back on two feet, watching us with concern.

“What are you doing, Elyn?” he demands, following us.

“What you’ve asked me here to do,” she quips without looking at him or stopping.

Asher’s chest rumbles and not in the sexy way it did earlier. “You have my respect as an elder, but I won’t play games. Tell me what your plans are for my mate.”

This has the older woman pausing. She stops and slowly turns her head, one greying eyebrow arched. “I don’t care who you are, Asher Josiah Cromwell. At my age, I no longer live by other people’s desires. I think that’s something I’ve earned after a thousand years of life. Now, do yourself a favor and go away.”

I cover my mouth, trying to hide my laughter because I shouldn’t love that she just put Asher in his place, but also knowing that this woman is incredible, and I want to be her when I grow up.

Malimorte joins Asher’s side and whispers something to him that I can’t hear. When Asher looks at me, there is only defeat on his face. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

“She won’t,” Elyn replies for me before dragging me toward the river again.

I at least wave to Asher and blow him a kiss before following the elder shifter.

I expect her to stop when we get to the bank, but fully clothed, Elyn ushers us into the water until we’re waist deep. When she looks at me again, her eyes are glowing, appearing to be a bright purple. “I felt you the moment I got off my ship,” she says quietly. “Your soul is screaming so loudly that I don’t know how you’ve been surviving, but we’re going to fix everything, Isobella. I can assure you that.”