Ronan walked through the dark forest, branches scraping overhead, the canopy so thick no moonlight broke through. The forest smelled weird – rot and old smoke – and Ronan knew they were close.
Aura moved beside him, silent except when her foot snapped a twig. A few paces behind, Freya followed, her breathing too loud in the quiet.
"Where are we going?" Freya asked. Again. That made it the tenth time, maybe more.
Ronan kept walking.
"I mean, I know you said we're doing a ritual, but that's not making me feel any better."
"Then stop asking," Aura said, her voice flat. She glared back at Freya.
Ronan noticed the tension there. Aura had been hostile around Freya since the contract. Freya returned the feeling, too. Made sense on Freya's end. Aura had humiliated her, knocked out her assassins, and forced her into submission during that courtyard meeting. Deeply petty people like Freya didn't forgive that kind of thing easily.
