Once Lisa''s finished eating and we feed the wolves who came with her—including Kellan, who seems determined to keep some level of distance from his mate, even as he sneaks glances at her when she''s not looking—the entire tent goes down, including our stove.

It isn''t long before I''m tucked back into my sled, despite protesting that the next area isn''t far and I can walk there.

Lisa waves at me as she heads off with Mira, their forms growing smaller against the stark white landscape. The young she-wolf''s animated gestures make Lisa laugh, and something in my chest loosens at the sound. It''s good to see her making connections beyond just me, Kellan, and the gnomes.

"Time to move." Vanessa takes her place behind me; the guards are already in their wolf forms and harnessed.

It''s still weird, even after having experienced it all day yesterday.

The sled glides smoothly over the packed snow, Marcus and Greg working in perfect sync at the lead, their fur gleaming under the weak winter sun.

You''re brooding, Grimoire says, materializing beside me in his silver fox form.

"Just thinking about the late start."

You thought it was worth it.

"It was. I just wish there was more time in a day, that''s all."

Have you noticed the change? He''s adopted the tone of a professor to student again.

"Yes. It''s denser than yesterday when I first sensed it, and it''s moving, even though it''s slow. Like a crawl."

The magical corruption pulses at the edge of my awareness, a nauseating weight that makes my skin crawl. It feels different. Concentrated. Wrong.

Keep your senses alert.

"I know. I have a theory, though."

Oh?

"I think it might be gathering all the local corruption. That''s why we aren''t seeing much. All the little bits are getting drawn to the big bit."

His tail swishes. It is possible, but we haven''t seen it in action. It''s a workable theory, but the question would be to what end.

Ten unknown wolves, moving without scent, near a pocket of corruption. None of my companions spotted them despite our vigilant travel here. They''re likely aggressive, and they''re headed in the direction of... Lisa.

Shit.

"Alert Kellan."

The corruption pulses behind us, a reminder of why we came here in the first place. Ten mysterious wolves or not, this taint needs to be dealt with. But the tracks... Something about their presence here feels wrong. Calculated. Maybe it really is coincidence, but why would they be using scent blockers?

My stomach twists as I turn to Marcus.

"How long to catch up with Lisa and the others?"

Marcus''s eyes narrow as he calculates the distance. "Hour and a half, maybe less if we push hard."

Too long.

"We need to move." I glance toward the taint one last time. The dark energy is heavy, but it will have to wait. "Let''s go."

The wolves shift without question. My boots crunch through the snow as I head back to the sled, my pulse beating hard in my neck. "Vanessa, is Kellan aware?"

"Yes. They haven''t noticed anything yet, but if they''re using scent blockers..."

Right.

Her breath comes out in white puffs as she settles in behind me, her feet solid on the runners. "You think they knew we''d be here?"

"Someone did. Why else use scent blockers?"

Ten wolves don''t just happen to wander through our territory disguising their scent.

In little time at all, wind once again cuts through my blankets like icy daggers, forcing me deeper into their protection. My exposed skin burns from the assault of wind and deep winter cold, but I can''t bring myself to care about the discomfort. Not when Lisa could be in danger.

"Faster," I whisper, though my wolves need no encouragement. Their muscles bunch and stretch as they power through the deep snow, following the path we made earlier.

Kellan reports no sign of them yet, but the snow''s picking up. Visibility''s getting worse.

Strange. It isn''t snowing here, and we aren''t that far apart. In fact, the sky is pretty clear.