Blood of the Wolf: The Crown (Mackenzie Grey Book 11), Karina Espinosa [top 10 ebook reader txt] 📗

was trying to tell me something about the ring and something in his room. I never asked, and I ultimately forgot. Maybe now was the time to start asking. Whatever secrets the MacCoinnichs were hiding, I needed to know.

With my hand dug deep into the soil, I suddenly felt the earth beneath us start to tremble. I couldn’t feel it under my feet, but I felt it in my fingers. I didn’t know if I was imagining it or not, so I dug my other hand in the ground and the quaking intensified.

“Do you guys feel that?” I asked the others. “It feels like a herd of horses is galloping toward us.”

“I don feel anything, Yer Majesty,” William said.

“Me neither,” Bash agreed.

I looked around the loch to see calm waters. I looked toward the forest, but since the birds were gone, I couldn’t even tell if something had startled them.

“Something is coming,” I whispered. “Get the horses.”

Without hesitation, William and Bash ran toward the tree line where the horses were tied. The trembling in the ground intensified and I tried to get an idea from which direction it was coming. Just as I was about to pull my hands out of the soil, my eyes rolled back, turning my vision milky white until all I saw was the forest.

In my vision, I was deep in Caledonian. The forest was serene until the ground beneath started to crack and splinter, causing what I could only describe as a tsunami on land. Trees split and plummeted, falling into the chasm forming across the ground. A deep, dark void raced ahead, heading toward Loch Lomond.

My vision slowly began to clear, and suddenly I was back at the loch’s shore and Bash and William were bringing the horses to me.

“We need to go!” I yelled. I grabbed Shadow’s reins from Bash and jumped onto his back. “The ground is breaking and heading our way! We need to head toward the highlands!”

We raced down the shoreline, our horses galloping at full speed as we headed toward the hills. It was an area I hadn’t explored yet, but it was our safest bet. The ground beneath us started to quake and we fought to stay astride our horses.

“We don get earthquakes in Scotland!” William yelled. “At least none that are felt!” William’s horse whined as the ground in front of him lifted, tossing my guard off his horse. The moment William hit the ground, his horse bolted for the trees.

“William!” I shouted, bringing Shadow to a halt.

He landed on his back, rolling to the edge of a gap between the cracks. I tugged on Shadow’s reins and we raced toward him, reaching down to grab William. I skidded Shadow to a stop and snatched the back of William’s shirt, stopping his descent.

“Get on!” I watched in horror as the ground before us rolled in waves. “Hurry!”

“Mackenzie!” Bash yelled, his eyes wild and frantic as he spun back toward us.

“No!” I stopped him. “Keep going! We’ll catch up!”

Once William was situated behind me, I kicked Shadow into gear and hauled ass as far away from the incoming disaster as possible. I could hear the loud thud of trees falling and the whoosh of leaves and branches. What was once a silent forest was now louder than a rock concert. The water in the loch started to tremble and the waves quickly became out of control. We were almost to the mountains where I hoped we’d be safe.

I saw Bash cut in between two of the hills, so I knew he was fine. Unfortunately, William and I still had a bit to go.

“Don’t look back, Yer Majesty!” William shouted.

I snapped the reins for Shadow to go faster and felt a tightness in my stomach. We had to make it. I couldn’t fathom why I would receive the vision if it wasn’t to make sure I could escape.

Just then, a fissure opened before us, creating a gap wide enough for us to fall in.

“Shit!” I yelled. Tugging on Shadow’s reins, he bounded over the newly formed opening and we made it to the other side just in time to slide in between the hills where Bash was waiting for us.

“What the hell is that?” Bash gasped, catching his breath.

“No clue.” I shook my head. “But I’m pretty sure it’s Abaddon’s doing.”

“How are we supposed to get back to the castle?” Bash started in a trot and we followed him.

“There’s another way through the highlands, but it’s pretty far,” William suggested. “We definitely won’t make it today.”

“Fuck,” I sighed. “Alexander is going to freak out.”

5

We made camp deep within the highlands, the landscape a vast green with rolling hills. Unfortunately, there weren’t many good places to hide, which left us exposed to whatever lurked within Caledonian. Darkness began to descend, and we were cold and tired. My thighs ached from riding all day, and I wasn’t on my A game in the first place. My body was exhausted, and I was coming down from an adrenaline high.

Luckily, I’d had the foresight to pack water and food, so we weren’t completely out of luck, but we also couldn’t start a fire because we were afraid it would attract unwanted guests. We huddled together with our horses, trying to ward off the late-night chill. Bash and I volunteered to take the first watch, and William was asleep before we finished our first perimeter walk.

“Here, take my sweater.” Bash started to take off his sweater, but I stopped him.

“No, I’m fine, relax. You’re cold, too.” I leaned into him and sat between his legs. “I’m not completely helpless, Bash. Don’t treat me that way.”

He wrapped his arms around me. “I can’t help but worry,” he murmured.

I rested my head against his chest and heard the steady thump of his heart. “I know, but I’m fine. I’m freaking Mackenzie Grey! Don’t forget.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. You’re unstoppable. But a baby just might be your kryptonite.”

I growled. “Shut up.”

He squeezed me tighter and nestled