Chapter 41
The best part of having a wolf’s ability? You can track anything.
I find water in less than half an hour.
It’s freezing, but I dive in with no hesitation, scrubbing the dried blood off my skin and hair. If there’s ever a time I can let down my guard in this forest, it’s now.
And actually, it doesn’t even feel that cold.
My night vision is clearer than day.
I hope this magic doesn’t wear off for another week.
A part of me wants to rest, but I’m afraid this super strength will fade by the time I wake. I need to make the most out of it whilst I can, especially when I want to track down the others.
I scrub blood from my dress as best I can, wishing I could wear it beneath the wolf pelt, but it’s still dripping wet.
So I just wrap the skin tight around me, sling the dress over my arm, and drag along another carcass I haven’t carved yet—who knows how long I’m going to be stuck here for. A girl’s got to eat.
I follow the stream, senses sharpened, catching every trace of scent the forest offers.
Problem is, I don’t know how to tell humans, Fae, and monsters apart.
I recognise one scent, though—blood.
So much of it. So close.
I follow the trail, the stench sharpening with every step until I find the source.
It’s Oliver.
Bleeding into the cold dirt next to Leon—shapeshifter Leon—silver blood seeping from his corpse.
My guess is his nightmare came back to finish him. Maybe he managed to kill the shifter, but something else got to him instead.
I stand over the body, not a drop of pity left in me.
Good fucking riddance.
At least he’s not entirely useless.
I need some layers.
I crouch beside his body, already tugging off his clothes. They’re baggy on me, but anything will do at this point. Let’s see what else you had on you, Oliver.
Hm.
A few snack bars. A knife. And a compass.
Great find.
I shove them all in my pocket—Oliver’s pocket—and move on as quickly as I found him. Don’t want whatever killed him to come back and get me too.
The moon is rising on the horizon, bright and yellow.
Wind rattles the trees in the dark, its whispers haunting and echoing.
I’d be scared shitless if it weren’t for the power my twilight dagger stole.
And as much as I want to keep hunting, I should probably find shelter while I’m still strong enough to drag this direwolf carcass around with me.
Sleeping on a tree sounds like the best move, but I can’t risk leaving the carcass on the ground to attract other predators.
There has to be a cave or something.
I keep moving, eyes scanning every inch in front of me—until I finally spot a hole in the side of a hill, wide enough for a bear to crawl into. I drop everything and poke my head inside, using my wolf sense to sniff the air.
Empty.
An abandoned den.
My new idea of a haven.
I roll the carcass in first, then pile up enough dried leave to cover the entrance. The wolf pelt will keep me warm tonight, and the carcass is my brand-new mattress.
Home sweet home.
Something thick and slimy drips onto my arm. Then hot, rancid breath hits me like a gust. I snap my eyes open and come nose to nose with a giant serpent the size of horse, its eyes massive and hollow.
A scream tears out of me before I can stop it. I scramble for my daggers, hands slick with panic. The serpent jerks it head back, like even it wasn’t expecting me to shriek in its face.
I no longer feel the wolf inside me, but I still slash it on instinct—with the wrong dagger.
Fuck!
The serpent rears back, its body thrashing against the den walls. A hit rattles the entire den, saliva dripping from sharp fang onto the dirt. The hollow eyes lock on me. I’m cornered—trapped at a dead end with nowhere to run.
I stumble, searching for the twilight dagger, but my hands are too shaky to grab anything.
The serpent launches itself, and for split second, my whole life flashes before my eyes, Kieran’s voice ringing in my ears—
The world goes still.
I don’t open my eyes until the ground shudders with a heavy thud.
The serpent lies sprawled, its skull split clean through by a spear that came out of nowhere.
Two Fae in black stand silhouetted at the den’s mouth, wicked smiles curving their lips as they drag the serpent’s carcass out. Their eyes gleam when they see me—their new prey.
“Well, well,” one of them drawls, ducking his head inside. “If it isn’t the King’s little toy.”
Without thinking, I throw the moonstone dagger at his face, but he snatches it out of the air like I’ve tossed him a ball.
“That’s not very nice, my dear.” He hums.
A second later, he’s crawling inside. I clutch my twilight blade, but a single flick of his wrist and the dagger rips out of my hand and lands neatly in his grasp.
No!
I hurl everything I can find at him—rocks, twigs, snack bars. I kick and thrash, but he only laughs as his hand closes around my ankle. With one brutal yank, he drags me out into the daylight, my nails clawing at the dirt, leaving nothing but torn grooves in the earth.
The other one joins in, shoving me down hard, his weight pressing me into the ground. My skin crawls where he touches me.
“Where’s your precious Kieran now, huh?” He sneers, laughter laced with cruelty. “Think he’ll still want you after this?”
I spit in his face.
“You dirty little bitch!” The sentence comes with a slap so hard it makes my ears ring. “I’m going to ruin that body until you beg for it to end—then I’ll wrap you nice and pretty and leave you at his deathbed.”
The cold floods my chest as I realise exactly what they have planned for me. Panic claws up my throat. I thrash, kicking my feet as hard as I can and screaming at the top of my lungs, praying someone—anyone—will hear.
The prick who dragged me out of the den steps closer and starts unfastening his trousers, while the one on top of me slides his hand to my thigh—fingers digging in, bruising.
Disgust coils my stomach as he forces my legs apart with his knees, one hand pinning my wrists, the other tearing at my clothes—
And that’s when the world erupts.
A blast of light and power shakes the ground beneath us.
“Hands. Off. My future wife.” The voice is pure, lethal rage. “You fucking ghouls.”
Kieran.
Oh, my Gods.
Every colour in existence leaves both Fae. They scramble to their feet, desperate to flee, but Kieran just curls his fingers into a fist, yanking them back through air with his magic without breaking a sweat.
He’s here.
And he’s well.
Mother of the stars.
“I should burn you both to dust right now, but that’s far too quick for what you just tried to do,” he says, voice low and shaking with fury. “This is your Queen. And you will remember to kneel before her.”
He drags his fist downward. Both Fae collapse, their knees slamming into the dirt, faces twisted in agony as Kieran’s power forces their spines to bow.
All while I’m still frozen in time at the sight of him.
Is he really here?
How?
And he recovered from the iron dust?
Oh, Gods.
The storm-lit eyes soften, his voice gentle as he asks, “You okay, Little Star?”
I blink.
I breathe.
And then I hurl myself into his arms, sobbing like a little kid.
Oh. My. Gods.
I thought I’d never see him again. I throw both of my arms around him, holding him so tight it hurts, feeling the warmth of him and realising he’s real.
This is real.
My whole body shakes. My knees buckle. I cling to Kieran as my tears spill fast and uncontrollably. Everything that’s happened in the past week crashes into me all at once—the frozen hell, the day with my family, the trial I was dumped into—but the entire world stills in these arms.
Calm. Safe.
Mine.
This is the only place I ever want to be.
“I thought you were almost dead,” I choke out, cupping his beautiful face with dirty, trembling hands.
“Me?” Kieran smiles, head tilting. “Not before I marry you, love.”
And now I cry again.
Gods, I can’t believe him.
Last I heard he was on a brink of dying, and now he’s making a joke about marrying me?
“What happened? How are you here?”
“Long story,” he mutters, exhaling slowly. “First, what do you want to do with them?”
I turn to the two Fae still kneeling, drenched in sweat, their faces pale like their souls have already left their bodies. I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and pick up my daggers, flashes of their hands on me still in my head.
They didn’t hesitate.
And if Kieran hadn’t come—
I stalk closer. My twilight blade kisses the first one’s cheek, dragging down painfully slowly.
“Please, milady. We didn’t mean to—"
“Oh, now you didn’t mean to?” I huff a cold laugh, pressing until the steel slices skin. Blood wells, and with it, a rush of stolen magic surges into my veins.
The Fae flinches.
“Maybe in the next life,” I whisper, slicing deeper, dragging the blade lower, carving a thin red line all the way to his throat. He cries out in pain, but Kieran’s power keeps him rooted. “You should think before you act.”
Then I drive the dagger upward, just beneath his chin, burying it deep.
He gasps, choking on blood, his last breath stolen within seconds. More surges of magic slam into me.
The other one opens his mouth, terror spreading across his face, but no sound comes out.
“P—please, I’ll do anything—"
“Aw, I’m touched.” I offer him a smile, sweet and kind. Blood drips from my dagger in steady drops as Kieran releases the first body, letting it collapse in the dirt.
I step closer, tilting his chin up with the blade, forcing him to meet my eyes. “But you see … I only need you to die, so—”
I breathe in deep, then drive the dagger slowly into his skull. The crack of bone splintering fills the silences, a grotesque lullaby. His eyes roll back, body convulsing once—then nothing. He drops to the cold dirt, dead before his body hits the ground.
Kieran blinks at me, arching a brow. “That was”—his breath hitches, storm-lit eyes burning—“so fucking hot. Some would say we’re made for each other.”
I run straight into his arms, and Kieran doesn’t care how filthy or blood soaked I am.
Our lips find each other, and the world explodes back into colour.
“I missed you. Gods, I missed you so much,” he murmurs into the kiss, hand slipping in my hair. “I’m sorry I was late.”
“I don’t care. You’re here. You’re here,” I whimper, wrapping my legs around his waist, closing the gap between us as I kiss him harder, my heart racing frantically in my chest. “I’m sorry I poisoned you.”
He laughs low in his throat. “A little dust can’t kill me, but being away from you almost did.”
Oh, Kieran.
Here I thought it was impossible to love him even more than I did.
Turns out I was wrong.
I refuse to let go, and Kieran kisses me like he might die if he stops—I purr into the kiss, seeing nothing but him in front of me.
Until a noise interrupts us from behind.
“Glad to see you’re safe, Cassandra,”
I don’t even think—I flick my wrist, and the stolen magic shoots out of me.
“Ow, that hurts.”
I freeze, realising what I’ve just done—but Kieran only laughs and pulls me back into another devouring kiss. My head spins, bliss clouding everything … until recognition hits.
Gideon.
Oh.
I just blasted Gideon for interrupting our kiss.
I pull away and find not only Gideon, but the entire Council, including Aurora, all in their fighting leathers and armour, flanked by a whole army of Fae and other creatures I don’t even want to ask about.
I don’t know whether to comment on the fact that they look like they have been to war—
Or mock Aurora for wearing trousers.
“Sorry, Gideon,” I whisper, blinking at all of them. “What—” I swallow hard. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on,” Virgil says, smirking as he folds his arms, “is we just crushed the rebellion at the Court and came looking for you—because it’d be irresponsible for us to leave our King and you in this deadly forest alone. Though … it looks like you both want to be.”
My eyes go wide.
The rebellion is defeated?
And did he just say King?
I whip my head towards Kieran, and he’s just grinning like he was just given a new toy.
“What do you say, love?” he drawls, amusement flashing in his storm-lit eyes. “Up for being a queen?”