Page 31 of Wings of Snow
“Plenty of footprints.” Sandus nodded toward the sand. Fairy prints littered the shore.
“Barefoot, though.” Haxil hunched down and pointed out the distinct marks indicating webbing between the toes. That trait disappeared slowly once Lochen transformed into their land-walking form. “These are from Lochen emerging from the sea, in the process of shifting, not from Ilara or Cailis.”
“He’s right.” I placed my hands on my hips and tilted my head back. “Let’s fly up to Vockalin and question if anyone’s seen the sisters.”
A gust of wind shot toward us, coming from the south just as my wings spread. I let it pull me up, then flapped hard, using the current to soar upward. My guards easily kept pace as the icy forest passed beneath us in our steep ascent.
We reached the top of the fjord in minutes, and a few cries from Lochen fae pierced the skies when several of the city’s residents spotted us.
We flapped to the city’s center before we touched down, and when we landed, the mountain shuddered as a huge burst of power flowed out of me.
Haxil, Sandus, Ryder, and Nish flanked my sides, but none of us drew our swords. Fear filled the faces of the Lochen nearest us. Several of the males bared their teeth, hissing as they backed up.
I held my palms up, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible, just as a male shoved his way through the crowd and stormed toward us.
“You have no right setting foot on our shores, Prince Norivun!” Gray hair brushed against his ears, and his portly belly made me think he’d given up on the sea and was spending his remaining days on land until the gods took him to the afterlife. “King Drachu isn’t here, and we haven’t been raiding your coastal cities. You have no reason to be angry with us!”
Indignation filled his tone, yet his scent reeked of terror. The sour smell poured from him in waves even though he kept his shoulders back. Despite being old, he was brave. I gave him that.
I lowered my hands, placing them on my hips. “I’m not here to cause any strife. I’m looking for someone and am hoping you can help.”
Those surrounding us released a collective sigh, but the older Lochen bristled in spite of my reassuring words. “Oh? Who is it you seek?”
“She’s an unusual-looking Solis female. She has black hair and no wings. Her name’s Ilara. She may have come here within the past two days.”
The male frowned. “I know nobody by that name.”
His scent carried no hint of deceit, and the Lochen around him all looked to one another with growing frowns. I sniffed the breeze again. Not one scent carried the trace of a lie.
Worry began pulsing through me, and my jaw locked. I scanned the crowd. “Does anyone know of her whereabouts? Any of you?” I described Ilara again and watched all of them closely.
A few of them looked down, fierce resolve in their expressions. Lip curling, I was about to stride toward the nearest one when a child ran forward and pointed at me.
“Look, mumma, he has wings like the other one!”
His mother snatched him back, but not before the scent of her hatred hit me.
A snarl worked up my throat.
The female sneered. “A few of us saw her and another female yesterday. They were here, but not for long. They’ve since disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” I prowled toward her but stopped short when a strange scent wafted to me on the wind. The emotional scent was filled with hatred and spite. That in itself was something I was used to since it was how most fae felt toward me, but this one was different. The subtle fragrance of my mate’s roses and dew scent clung to it.
My dragon affinity instantly reared, and the urge to shift and bite off the head of whoever carried my mate’s scent on their skin threatened to break my composure.
I inhaled again, then strode through the crowd as power rose around me while I followed the trail.
The Vockalin citizens parted, giving me generous amounts of space as I homed in on a female. She wore next to nothing, and her creamy flesh and soft curves were on full display. As I got closer, bloodlust began to consume me. The female reeked of not only my mate but of sex and Drachu.
Magic flooded my veins, and blood pounded through my ears.
The female peered up at me, eyes widening, but I couldn’t stop my reaction. She smelled of my mate, the Lochen king, andfucking. If she or that king had laid a hand on Ilara in wonton longing, something I knew would have been against Ilara’s wishes since she was mated tome, I would?—
“Nori,” Haxil said cautiously at my back. “Rein it in. We don’t know what’s happened.”
His words cut through the red haze growing in my mind, and I loosened my fisted hands, not even realizing they’d been balled or that I’d been on the verge of succumbing to my baser instincts. I took deep breaths and opened my Outlets more as the female’s scent shifted to terror when she realizedshewas the reason for my growing rage.
“Why do you smell like my mate?” I growled. Somehow I managed to get the question out even though my tone barely sounded fae as a hint of my dragon rolled into it.