56. Kaiya
”He lost a lot of blood,” Corinne said, hunched over Jaiel. ”But Fae heal quicker than humans. He”ll survive if we can keep him from reopening these wounds.”
She wrapped torn pieces of cloth around his shoulder and arm, staunching the bleeding, and I stared at him, pale cheeks streaked in blood.
Did he truly think I was trying to force a relationship with him? ME? I”d think it were some sort of twisted joke, but that panicked look in his eyes had been so real. Fuck.
I rubbed my hand across my forehead, then turned away. Now wasn”t the time to dwell on it.
And while he didn”t want my help, there were plenty of others who did.
Bending down, I finished wrapping the leg of an old woman, ancient scars covering her wrinkled skin.
”Thank you,” she said, voice shaking.
”You”re welcome. Let me get someone to help you walk?” Smiling, I called over another mostly healthy-looking shifter. ”Take her and catch up to the others.”
He nodded, and they hobbled together toward the escape.
Letting out a long breath and pushing my ever-escaping hair back out of my face, I moved to help another refugee. There were only a few left.
I”d just taken a step when a loud boom shook the entire structure.
Fuck! More explosives?! Once they”d gotten in, we”d thought we were safe from those. That likely meant they”d figured out we were down here …
”Go!” shouted Alpha Blackwood. ”Get everyone out!”
Healthy shifters picked up the remaining injured, and we ran for the exit.
Tye hoisted a slumped Jaiel to his shoulders and motioned with his chin toward the tunnel. ”Let”s go.”
Nodding, I ran over and waited for him to enter, then ducked in behind him, clambering into the dusty stone tunnel as quickly as I could.
Alpha Blackwood tapped a button in the stone as he crawled in, and a stone door that looked like a wall closed behind us.
We moved in the darkness for what felt like hours, squeezing through portions that had partially collapsed, and across sections of the passage flooded with stagnant water. Until finally, we stumbled outside.
Cool night air brushed against my skin as I took a deep, steadying breath. And far in the distance a wolf howled.
We made it!The tunnel had led to a break in the forest right outside the stone wall surrounding the town.
Tye waited nearby, his yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight with Jaiel still slug over a shoulder.
”Help me, Kaiya?” Alpha Blackwood growled, gesturing to the passage.
Nodding, I helped him place stones and brush over the exit, hopefully delaying anyone from stumbling upon our route and giving chase.
He gestured to the forest in the direction of Dragon”s Peak. ”If we run, we should make it to the stronghold by sunup.”
I nodded as something passed above, blocking out the moonlight for a moment.
My heart thumped, and I lifted my gaze to see a large shadow moving against the dark sky.
A few pinpricks of light lit up the sides, and there was a slight glow on a white, curved surface.
Was that an airship?! Holy hells!
We stared as the large ship disappeared behind the trees, heading for the front of the stronghold.
If an airship was coming here, that could only mean one thing —
”Frexin?” Tye asked, putting words to my fears.
I nodded as my mind spun.
”How do you know the Reaper?” Alpha Blackwood asked, voice hard.
”The Reaper?” I hissed.
The older man nodded and turned to Tye. ”I think it”s time you told me what you”re doing here, son.”
Tye looked to me and then to Alpha Blackwood. ”Lady Frexin sent Kaiya and Jaiel to this Isle for a mission. I followed them … hunting her. But we”ve all stumbled into some dark project she”s keeping secret from the Empire under the supervision of that mage. I — we were not aware, Alpha, and I”m sorry for the pain it”s caused your people.”
The hairs on my arms stood on end, and a chill ran up my spine as Alpha Blackwood watched us, unmoving, unblinking.
After what felt like an eternity, he nodded.
”I thought I was keeping her at bay, but it would appear the Reaper fooled me as well,” he said. ”Turning my son against his pack like that was unexpected.”
Wait. Frexin was the Reaper Japhire had spoken of?
No — it wasn”t possible. She wouldn”t do that. Her mission was to help people …
”I tried to warn Japhire about her,” Alpha Blackwood continued. ”But it appears I was the one who should”ve listened when she spoke. That monster is far more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.”
Fuck — my breath came fast, and my knees threatened to buckle as the truth came crashing in. Some part of me had known when I saw the relic … but I”d buried the thought, refusing to face it.
Now, though —
My chest ached from the weight of the truth and my knees gave out, sending me to the ground.
This massacre today was my fault.
I”d handed over that relic to Lady Frexin…
I”d trusted her when she said she”d gotten rid of it.
Pain tore through me, twisting my insides and burning my eyes.
I”d handed her countless weapons over the past two years, trusting that she was doing what she”d said.
How could I have been so blind?
I lifted my hands and stared, half-expecting them to be covered with blood.
Tye”s growl sounded behind me. ”Take him. We don”t have time for this. We need to get away before Japhire”s men find —”
I could hear him, but couldn”t respond as memories flooded me.
Still bodies on the ground.
In the Great Hall.
In Karemi.
In Gleyma.
All because of me.
Strong arms lifted me. A gentle hand took hold of my chin.
”You feel guilty. I can feel it. You”re drowning in it, Witch. And for all I know, you deserve it.” His eyes hardened. ”But right now, we need to leave before Japhire”s men get here, and the witch I know always stands up — always fights.” He leaned closer. ”You”re no easy prey. Even for Lady Frexin.”
Yellow eyes stared down at me — into me — through me.
He didn”t know me, though, not truly. He didn”t understand.
”Do you know how many relics I”ve given her?” I whispered, voice ragged. ”For two years, I”ve been working myself to the bone, retrieving relics so I could save humanity — when in reality I”ve been supplying weapons to a murderer … a monster. I”ve been HELPING a monster for TWO FUCKING YEARS, Tye!” My voice broke, and the burning behind my eyes released, sending tears tracing warm paths down my cheeks to match the fire burning through my body.
”We don”t have time for this, Witch. We need to go with the others —”
”I”m not going.” The words were torn from my lips, and Tye”s eyes went wide.
But it was true. I had to make things right … or at least try.
I stared at Tye and Alpha Blackwood through the haze of tears. ”I gave everything I had to stop the horrors — but all along, I was helping create them instead.”
Pain shattered me, twisting like a cyclone through every part of my body, and I was helpless to stop it.
Tye growled low in his chest as he stared down at me, his body rigid, those bright yellow eyes wild. ”If you go, she”ll kill you.”
As if that mattered?
I wanted to scream as I stared at him — the wounds crossing his chest and face — then at Jaiel, slumped and pale against Alpha”s shoulders.
I was somehow bonded to these two men … and they”d almostdied because of me. Just like Eli and Aunt Grace before them.
And back in the hall — so many bodies lay motionless. Their dead eyes staring at me, exposing the truth of what I”d done.
Burning pain and sorrow drowned out everything but my goal.
I would stop Frexin — no matter what it took.
Gritting my teeth, I climbed to my feet, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
”You can”t do this,” Tye growled again.
I tilted my head and looked up at him. ”You know she won”t kill me, Tye,” I hissed. ”I am her gods forsaken Savior of Karemi. Remember?”
Perhaps it was true … she did seem to care for me more than one would expect.
But I didn”t truly care what happened to me so long as she was stopped.
The woman I”d known and respected would never have been capable of that massacre.
Who knew what else she was capable of?
Tye”s fierce gaze bit into me, those yellow orbs full of fire as he searched for some answer.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned away, stalking toward the forest.
I exhaled, relief filling me. At least he and Jaiel would be safe —
”Take him with you.” Tye”s words filtered through my burning mind as I watched him gesture between Jaiel and Alpha Blackwood.
Alpha Blackwood nodded, looking down at the injured man.
Turning, Tye strode toward me, muscles bunching as his tattooed skin glistened in the night air.
”No,” I snapped. ”You can”t go. It would be suicide for you. We know she hates you! Look what she did after the ball!”
”I”m not going for you, Witch. I need fucking answers, too.” He took his position at my side with a scowl.
I gritted my teeth. I”d need to find a way to lose him before we got to Frexin. He could get his answers some other way.
I”d caused enough death tonight.
”You know the Fae here will try to join you when he wakes,” Alpha Blackwood said, gesturing to Jaiel.
I bit out a harsh laugh as Jaiel”s words from earlier came back to me, tearing even more holes in my chest.
”I think not. He can”t even stand. And he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. All he can do now is heal and get back to his precious life.”
He”d been right to push me away, though. Hadn”t I done the same thing just a few hours earlier?
It hurt, but at least this way he was safe.
Alpha Blackwood”s jaw tightened as he examined the sleeping man. ”Perhaps, but I don”t think he —”
”Thank you for your hospitality,” I interrupted, dipping my head.
Honestly, it didn”t matter what Jaiel wanted. He was going to stay safe. I refused to consider anything else.
Alpha Blackwood huffed softly, muttering under his breath about stubborn women, then turned and let out a loud howl. Moments later, a diyre wolf burst through the trees.
Alpha Blackwood threw Jaiel onto the massive beast, then climbed up behind him. Giving us one last nod, he motioned toward the forest, and the diyre wolf bounded off.
Gods — let them be safe!
I turned back to Tye, fists clenched at my sides. Now. To get him to stay behind —
A laugh interrupted my thought, and Tye turned, growling at the source hidden within the darkness to our left.
”I hate to interrupt,” a voice called out. ”But — well, the Reaper is on a warpath. She”s looking for you, ”Savior of Karemi,” and I won”t be the one to keep her waiting.”
A dozen wolf shifters emerged from the trees near the wall, led by a familiar tall bald man.
”Holden,” I hissed.
He growled with delight. ”You remember me? How lovely. Now come along —”
”Run, Tye!” I screamed, panic twisting in me as more wolves slunk out of the forest. We stood no chance — not in this state. And Frexin didn”t care about Tye like she did me. Maybe they”d ignore him, and he could get away.
Tye just snarled and shifted into his wolf form, crouching low between me and the dozen dark shapes before us.
Responding in kind, the figures shifted into wolves and sprang forward.
Body buzzing with fear, anger, and exhaustion, I dropped into a fighting stance as two shifters lunged at me.
I lashed out, upper-cutting the first wolf while spin-kicking the second.
But it wasn”t nearly enough, and I was weak after the fight earlier.
A third wolf tackled me hard to the ground, and another helped pin me.
Holden appeared behind them, a cold smile on his lips. ”Good night, little bitch.”
His fist lashed out and everything went dark.