Page 41 of Tanglewood Magic (The Three Sisters 2)
“If you touch it, don’t touch your mouth,” he said.
“Noted,” Isis replied.
They rounded the farm’s protective wards and descended into the valley of the Ice Forest beyond. Medea pulled the hood of their strange clothing over her ears. “Daluk wasn’t kidding about this fabric. It’s thin and light but somehow as warm as a fur.”
“Mine too,” Isis said. “It’s as insulating as my hunting parka.”
Circe said nothing. She hadn’t said a word since they’d left the temple. She was afraid if she parted her lips, all the bitterness she was feeling toward Rhys would fly out of her.
After another hour of walking in silence, Isis stopped abruptly and turned to her. “What in Hades is up with you and Rhys? You haven’t said a word to each other since we left Rogos.”
“Shh,” Circe said. “Quiet down. Have you forgotten the people here want us dead?”
Isis gestured toward the frozen ground and the trees encased in ice and laughed. “There are no people here, Circe. Not even Brody comes this deep into the Ice Forest.”
“Why not?”
“Skelna,” Isis said.
“Who’s Skelna?” Medea asked.
“Possessed tree,” Isis murmured, waving a hand dismissively. “Now tell me, what’s going on, Rhys.”
Rhys cleared his throat. “Well, some say Skelna was a witch whose dark magic backfired and turned her into a monster.”
Isis grunted. “I wasn’t asking about Skelna, and you know it.”
Circe saw something move across the ice ahead. “Whatever she is, I think she’s here.”
Isis turned and gave a long, low whistle. One of the trees pulled up its own roots and stepped toward them, its bark morphing into a face that made Circe want to turn and run. Despite herself, she stepped closer to Rhys.
Isis pulled off her pack and unwrapped an elderbeast roast. No wonder her pack had seemed heavier than theirs. The thing was huge. The tree opened its mouth, and she chucked the meat into its gaping maw. “Follow me. It’s best if we are out of her territory by the time she finishes.”
Circe did as she was told, resisting the urge to huddle closer to Rhys and instead sidling up to Medea, who was watching Skelna with an odd fascination.
“She’s certainly frightening, isn’t she?” Medea said absently. “A fine guardian.”
“I’d rather not analyze it,” Circe said.
Later, when Rhys and Isis were out of earshot, Medea turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “So, what’s happening with you and Rhys?”
Circe gave an exasperated sigh. She wasn’t getting out of this. Medea was like a dog with a bone. “He doesn’t want to go with us to the new world.”
Medea’s face fell. “You can hardly blame him. It’s risky and terrifying. We’ll be somewhere we know no one. We know nothing about the land or its people.”
“The problem is, I love him.” Tears formed in her eyes, freezing as they dropped so that they pinged like glass on the ice sheet.
Medea slipped her gloved hand into hers. “I’m sorry, sister.”
Their gazes met. “Me too.”
Isis motioned for them, and they hurried across the ice to her. “This is it. The base of Maelhaven. Are you ready? I’m going to attempt to take us directly into the garden. Remember our plan.”
Medea toyed with the diamond at her throat. “How could I forget?”
Circe gripped her hand, and then, before she could object, Rhys slipped his fingers into her other one. Shadows crept in from the mountains, the trees. Isis’s wand circled above her head, and then they were flying, blowing toward the palace inside a dark wind.
They landed circling the Tanglewood tree. But something was wrong. A shimmer of purple light surrounded them. A ward.Fuck. It was a trap. So much for their plan.
