Chapter 16 Poppy
Poppy
We left without telling anybody. Jade assured us he’d relay a convincing excuse to the rest of the family about why the two of us had suddenly disappeared, so that was a relief.
But I couldn’t help feeling sorry that I hadn’t at least spoken to Rorik.
I agreed with Viol that he shouldn’t get involved—Jaki and Andri needed him safe at home—but I knew my old friend would’ve wanted to help. Especially if it came down to a fight.
“Poppy,” Viol rumbled.
I looked up at his handsome dragon face. It was the first word he’d said since we left Chromatimaeus Island.
“Yes?” I replied. Even in wolf form, my voice sounded small against the rushing wind.
Viol was silent for a few beats. “There’s something I should tell you about Sorrel.” With a growl, he added, “No, it’s about Konrad.”
My stomach, already twisted into knots, went fully taut. “What is it?”
As I waited for Viol to continue, thin streams of dark smoke began flowing out from his nostrils. He swallowed back the rising fire in his throat, but the smoke kept coming, like he couldn’t fully contain his temper.
“The night I saved you from that house and we sneaked away together,” Viol began gravely, “I saw Konrad talking to Sorrel.”
The way he said it made me shudder in cold anticipation.
“He was manipulating your brother,” Viol growled. “Like he wanted to prey on him.”
Ice seized my heart. I felt ill.
Even though Konrad was long dead, and Sorrel hadn’t been as much a victim as he could’ve been... it still hurt.
“I’m sorry,” Viol said, voice laced with pain. “I didn’t tell you back then because I didn’t want you to panic. And because I was determined to save him. Just... please know that, before all hell broke loose, I tried. But then...”
We both fell silent. After the incident, there’d been no time to talk about anything. I didn’t blame Viol for it. Now, knowing what he’d just revealed, I felt a deeper understanding of his actions.
“Rorik saved Sorrel that night,” Viol said tightly.
“I was stuck watching in the shadows. Couldn’t blow my cover because I was trying to rescue you.
But Rorik saved Sorrel. Took him away from Konrad, back to the barracks with the other omegas.
And if Rorik was as noble back then as he is now, I know he’d never let anybody—not even Konrad—touch a hair on Sorrel’s head. ”
A bit of warmth seeped back into my chilled heart.
Rorik had been there for me longer than I realized.
Back during life in the tundra, I was afraid to get too close to him for fear of rejection.
I never dared tell Rorik about my desire to leave the clan.
But in hindsight, that seemed silly. He was family—he had been family for a long time.
“Sorry to dump this on you now,” Viol mumbled.
I exhaled a sigh. “It’s all right. Thank you for telling me.”
I was grateful. But Viol’s confession stirred the old guilt I’d buried beneath layers and layers of survival. Sorrel didn’t deserve to be left behind. I was responsible for him, and I ran away.
But this was a chance to right my wrongs. I’d rescue my brother—and I wouldn’t bend to the alphas’ whims to do it.
Viol banked smoothly around a low dark cloud. Its frosty moisture made my fur bristle. The air temperature was dropping fast; even its scent was crisper now.
“Won’t be much longer now,” he announced. “We should mentally prepare. They want me in exchange for Sorrel, but obviously, that’s not gonna happen.”
As he spoke, I stared down at the expanse of familiar dark water. It frothed and churned like a reflection of my emotions. A dark part of me felt as if the last fifteen years were a dream, and that this cold and dreary landscape was my true reality.
But I knew that wasn’t true. I swallowed my own words to Viol: This is not the past. We do not live in the past.
Instead I focused on the feeling of Viol’s paws, careful and gentle. I knew this was painful for him, too, yet he’d carried me all this way without a single complaint. And he’d returned to the tundra for me. For Sorrel. He didn’t have to, but he did.
“We’re here,” Viol said quietly.
When I raised my head, I shuddered at the familiar sight of the tundra clan.
Time had not been kind to the village. It looked worse now; charred roofs, shabby new buildings.
Many of the old ones were left in ruin after the avalanche destroyed them.
Everything seemed smaller. I didn’t know if it was my memory playing tricks on me, or if the clan’s population had decreased and the village shrank to compensate.
The clan alphas were expecting us. We knew that when Jade relayed their threat. They had technology we omegas lacked access to, including television; it was only a matter of time before they reacted to Rorik’s failed mission with outrage.
But to see Sheba and Knox waiting below sent a chill across my skin that spiked all my fur on end. It was like seeing a pair of ghosts, a jarring visual reminder of everything I’d tried so hard to forget.
As Viol descended, I noticed with a pang of dread that they weren’t alone. The remaining omegas in the clan were present, too. But my heart squeezed painfully when I noticed a white wolf standing beside the two alpha bears.
Sorrel.
He’d finally grown into his big paws, yet even from a distance, I noticed he was skinny. My chest ached. Was there not enough food to go around? Or were the alphas starving him on purpose to hurt me?
When Viol touched down, he released me without a word. The cool, hard earth felt painfully familiar beneath my paws. I didn’t want to be here for any longer than we had to be.
“So, Poppy the traitor. You got our message,” Sheba began, spitting my name like a curse. “Let me repeat it. Your brother, Sorrel, in exchange for the dragon.”
Cautious optimism pooled in my chest when I glanced at Sorrel, but he met my gaze with a neutral expression that made my tail droop. He looked oddly restrained, as if holding back. My hope fluttered. Maybe he was excited to see me, but the alphas wouldn’t allow him to show it?
“Sorrel,” I greeted softly.
“Poppy,” Sorrel said.
His eyes flashed as he gazed down at me. His height had shot past mine, just like I knew it would. Despite his thin flanks, he was a large omega wolf. He must’ve been proud.
“You’ve grown so much,” I murmured.
“Where have you been?” Sorrel demanded. His sharp bark startled me, as did the way his lips curled into a snarl. “It’s been years. Years. You think I’d be happy to see you after you ran away with the dragon that killed Konrad?”
My heart sank like lead. But at the same time, confusion tore me up. Weren’t the alphas offering Sorrel’s safety in exchange for Viol? Why was he acting so aggressive?
“I know. I should have returned,” I agreed. “Can we please talk without bringing up the past?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Sorrel snapped. He took a step forward, advancing on me. “Don’t you understand what’s happening here?”
I didn’t move. I wasn’t afraid of my little brother. It didn’t matter that he was bigger than me now. He’d always be a pup in my eyes.
“No,” I admitted. “Tell me.”
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Viol stiffen. His eyes sharpened into purple slits, darting to glare at the alpha bears, but he didn’t move.
“The alphas told me. I know all about what Rorik did,” Sorrel growled. “He failed his mission. He was supposed to kill the dragons. But just like you, he was a total failure.”
Viol’s sharp gaze slid back to Sorrel. “Who saved you during the avalanche?” he asked suddenly.
The fur on the back of Sorrel’s neck rose. “I’m not speaking to you, dragon.”
“Who saved your life that day?” Viol snarled. “Because I’ll bet it was sure as fuck wasn’t Sheba or Knox. It was Rorik, wasn’t it?”
Doubt crept into the edges of Sorrel’s face.
He shook out his pelt. “Yes,” he said grudgingly.
“Rorik dragged me out of the snow, and Charon tended to my wounds. But it doesn’t matter.
I looked up to Rorik. We both did. We wanted him to succeed so badly.
But he was weak. He let the dragons control him, and now he’s under their spell. ”
My heart couldn’t take this anymore. “There’s no spell,” I cried. “Sorrel, please listen to me.”
“And if an omega as powerful as Rorik can’t resist the dragons’ magic, then you obviously can’t, either,” he snapped. “So don’t waste your breath, Poppy, because I can’t believe a word out of your mouth. You’ve been dead to me for a long time.”
I closed my eyes.
Without knowing it, Rorik had protected me again. I knew Sorrel thought I was dead. I knew he’d grieved for me. I knew that, despite his venom, his grief had been earnest. The barbed words spewing out of his mouth now were dampened by that knowledge.
But it still hurt.
“Enough, Sorrel,” Viol growled, angrier now. “Leave him alone. Your problem is with me.”
“You’re damn right it is,” Sorrel growled back. “You took everything from me, dragon. My brother. My love—”
“Konrad was not your love,” Viol snarled. “He was a predator, and he was using you. And trust me, I regret making a martyr of him.”
Furious tears welled in Sorrel’s eyes. His nostrils flared, and for a few seconds, he didn’t speak.
“Let me fill you in,” Sheba said coldly. “Since Konrad’s death, Sorrel has been training as a fighter instead of for his original duty. When Rorik failed, Sorrel proudly offered to take his place as a dragon-killer.”
“And that’s why you sent that message,” Viol muttered. “So Sorrel could kill me. Is that it?” He laughed bitterly. “You stupid idiots never learn. Go ahead, Sorrel. Come and get your fucking revenge if you want it that badly.”
Sorrel’s ears briefly flicked back before he put on a brave face. He wasn’t really going to attack Viol, was he?