Page 85 of Wings of Snow
I grunted. I’d like nothing more than to level the entirety of the Glassen Barrier Islands after what Drachu had done to my mate.
Ilara’s dark hair hung down her back as she continually smiled in wonder. She’d banished her animal affinity back in the fae lands, so her wings weren’t present, but her wingless back only drew my attention to the delicate curve of her neck and swell of her hips.
I began to harden as I watched her, and Ryder snickered in my direction. I punched him in the arm as the hunter forged ahead.
Budding and sprouting grass brushed against us with every step. All of the grass was green, not like the rainbow of colors one found in the grass of our realm.
“Something to keep in mind,” the hunter called over his shoulder. “Sven likes his privacy, so when we reach his house, don’t talk and don’t touch anything until he gives you permission.”
Nish rolled his eyes and did a mock bow.
I gave him a side-eye, and my guard had the decency to look sheepish.
“Why didn’t you portal us right to his doorstep?” Ryder asked.
“Let’s just say that Sven doesn’t do well with surprises,” the Fire Wolf replied. “It’s better if he feels us coming.”
I frowned, wondering how powerful his friend was.
Warmth from the sun shone down on us, and with every step we took, the temperature increased.
“Oh look!” Ilara said in delight when a flock of birds took flight from the meadow. They flew across the sky, their bodies tiny against the strange white clouds.
“What are those?” Haxil asked, his tone equally mesmerized.
“They’re called warblers,” the hunter replied, his stride never slowing. “They’re very common around here.”
“Warblers...” Ilara repeated, the foreign word sounding slightly different with her accent.
Despite the uneasiness this new magicless realm provoked, I inhaled deeply as my sensory affinity alighted on hundreds of new and interesting fragrances.
“Ilara, look at this.” Haxil brushed his hand through the grass, then pulled something from one of the stalks. In a flash, Ilara was at his side.
A growl worked up my throat as a stirring of jealousy rolled through me. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to endure the torment of her giving attention to another male.
“What is that?” Ilara asked with a grin as she held out her finger.
Something small with spindly legs jumped from Haxil’s palm onto her outstretched nail.
The hunter glanced over his shoulder. “That’s a grasshopper, and this is why you’re paying me a thousand rulibs more.”
Ilara and Haxil quickly straightened, guilty expressions on their faces for stalling the Fire Wolf’s walk once again.
“We’re still moving,” I called as I shifted to stand between my mate and guard. My hand automatically went to Ilara’s lower back as I propelled her forward.
Haxil arched an eyebrow mockingly but stepped back, and some of the territorial reaction swirling within me lessened.
“Sorry,” Ilara said to the hunter. “No more questions. Promise. We’ll keep up.”
The Fire Wolf did a one-eighty and headed through the meadow again toward what I assumed was a lake or river at the meadow’s edge. A fjord rose alongside the body of water.
The hunter walked fast. His giant strides ate up the land, but the six of us easily kept up, even though Ilara and Haxil glanced at everything they could along the way while touching just as much.
The edge of the meadow appeared, and the channel of water twisted along the fjords base. Music sounded ahead, and at the water’s edge, not even a quarter millee away, waited a small rustic cabin.
“Is that where we’re going?” I asked.
The hunter gave a curt nod. “It is.”