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Soren’s eyes glinted.

I wiggled my finger. “No funny business.”

He clicked his tongue and took his sweater off. I lifted his t-shirt and peered at the glowing antler tattoo on his pec muscle, carefully avoiding a greedy look at his muscled abs.

Given I’d consumed a lot of Cernunnos’s blood over the last few months, I had a pretty good feel for his magic. I hovered my palm over the tattoo and closed my eyes. No other influence other than his. Thanks to the top-up he’d given me, I was almost overflowing with magic—power I’d stored away in anticipation of seeing my mother again.

“I might be able to undo this,” I murmured, smiling a little to myself. Cernunnos knew I absorbed some magic from any blood donor I took, which was why I’d used humans for the longest time. A logical move at the time, but a bad one as apparently, I needed the magic stored in others’ blood to fuel my body.

Soren pressed my palm against his warm skin, curling his fingers into mine. “No,” he said softly. “The bargain will be done when you’re free.”

“And what’s the rest of the bargain?” I whispered.

He smirked and pulled away. “It’s getting late. Finish your terrible protein bar and let’s call it a night.”

I snorted and grabbed my backpack. “Mind turning around?”

To my surprise, Soren didn’t make a single joke. He turned and allowed me to pull on a pair of soft Merino wool leggings, a tank and a loose Merino pullover—warm clothing to sleep in, but if it got too warm, I could pull off the sweater.

I tugged my hair from its braid and ran my fingers through it, then sat on the ground and pulled on a pair of warm socks.

“I’m finished.”

Soren turned and blinked, his bright gaze going straight for my hair. “It’s so much longer than before,” he murmured.

“Yes, well, there were no salons in Mom’s prison.” I grimaced at the joke.

Soren’s eyes darkened. “Tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll end it tomorrow.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I nodded anyway. “Mom’s slippery. She may even know we’re on the way up. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Never,” Soren promised. He wiggled his index finger, and I put my back to him while he dressed down for the night.

When I turned, Soren wore a pair of joggers and a long-sleeved t-shirt. He yawned and laid down, his height so immense, he had to keep his knees up.

I clicked my tongue. “Are you sure you don’t want to shift?”

His wolf form eluded me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen it before.

“My wolf form is large as well and difficult to see at night. If we have to run, I don’t want to get separated.”

“I have great night vision.”

“I’m fine, Moira.”

His tone brooked no argument. “Fine.” I lay down a few feet away, pulling the thermal blanket over me. The damn thing crinkled like tin foil.

Soren reached over to turn off the lamp. Darkness fell so quickly, I froze, blinking rapidly while I tried to get my bearings.

Like Soren, I could see well in the dark, but there was a difference between what the humans considered darkness and the true darkness inside of the wilderness on a moonless night.

“There wasn’t room to bring any other blankets,” Soren said.

My brain registered he was speaking, but I couldn’t see a thing. My heart began to pound, my breath coming in little pants.

“Moira?”

I heard my name through the fog, but I was stuck at the bottom of a dark abyss filled with pain and grief. Minka’s face leered at me from above, and I knew I would never get away, never be free. I would die there alone and in the dark.