36. Wolf
Chapter 36
Wolf
I didn’t know who the girl was, but by the way the blood rushed from Huntyr’s face, it wasn’t hard to guess. Panic rushed at me through our bond, followed by Huntyr’s anger.
“Huntyr,” I warned, pulling at her hand. This was what he meant when he said he would ensure our obedience, I realized. This was what my father planned all along. “This is a trap, Huntyr. Don’t fall for it.”
“Rummy!” she called out. The girl—Rummy—stilled immediately, no longer fighting against Lord’s grasp. She was covered in dirt, and dried blood clung to her lip. Her clothes were worn and ripped at the hems. Whatever journey they had here, it was not kind on her. “Rummy!”
I gripped Huntyr’s arm to stop her from running to them, but she fought against me. “Let me go!” she yelled. “Let me go, Wolf!”
“He’s only doing this to hurt you!” I reminded her.
“I don’t care! I’m not leaving her!”
Asmodeus stepped between us. “If you want your friend to remain safe, you’ll come with us.”
A burning pillar fell from the ballroom ceiling in the distance. Jessiah froze, too, as he realized what happened.
This was no random fire. We were under attack.
I had a vague idea of what was happening, but Huntyr had no clue. All she knew was that we were about to fight for our damn lives to get out of this mess.
My mind snapped back to the girl still tight in Lord’s grip. “Let her go!” Huntyr screamed.
“Come with us, and she’ll be just fine!” Lord yelled.
Huntyr was glancing between us and the front of the ballroom, where most of the crowd now funneled out. “This is a trap,” I whispered against her ear.
“I don’t care. I don’t have a choice, Wolf. They’ll hurt her.”
She pushed her bond open, flooding me with the terror and dread that came with the simple thought of leaving her friend behind. Whoever that girl was, she was important to Huntyr. “We can’t leave her,” she whispered.
My eyes searched her face as she took a deep breath, jaw clenched. “Fine.” I turned my attention to Asmodeus. “Let’s get the fuck out of here before this place crumbles to the ground!”
Then we were moving. Jessiah and Luseyar came with us, pulling us to a tunnel located in the back of the ballroom. Not everyone was going to make it out of the fire. The smoke was thick, almost too thick to breathe. Tears rimmed my eyes, blurred my vision.
I darted toward Huntyr’s friend, but Lord dragged her ahead of us, not letting her go for even a second as he followed Luseyar through the small, dark tunnels.
Asmodeus tailed behind us, and Jessiah caught up to us at the first turn. “Is everyone alright?” he asked. “What is going on out there? Are we being attacked?”
Luseyar didn’t slow down for a second. We turned right, then left, then another right.
“Where are we going?” I asked when nobody responded to Jessiah. “Where are you taking us?”
“Somewhere safe,” Luseyar answered. “Somewhere we aren’t being attacked.”
“Why would anybody attack us here?” Huntyr asked. “I thought people wanted this union to happen!”
We reached the end of a tunnel and Luseyar stopped. He turned so quickly, we all almost ran into each other. “Why don’t you ask Wolf?” He pushed open a door above him, one that opened to the outside. The sun was just setting, which left plenty of light for us to see.
Luseyar jumped out first. Lord lifted Rummy next, and she didn’t resist as Luseyar pulled her from the top.
“Here,” Lord said to Huntyr. “I’ll help you up.”
“I don’t think so,” I answered. Jessiah stepped forward.
“You go,” Jessiah pushed. “We’ll help her.” Damn him for being so calm in a situation like this. Damn all of them, actually.
That was our one fucking chance at getting out of this.
Lord hoisted himself out of the tunnel. Jessiah went next, then leaned down to offer Huntyr a hand. I lifted her from the waist while he pulled her up.
I moved to push myself out of the tunnel, but a hand came down on the back of my neck.
“Is this your doing?” my father asked, voice sharp. “Did you plan an attack on the castle to try and escape the wedding?”
“No,” I answered. “I’m not a damn fool, Father. I would never put Huntyr in danger like that.”
He considered my words for a second as I tried to swallow down my fear. I wouldn't put it above my father to slice my throat right now for even thinking I might be involved in an attack like this.
But he knew about my bond with Huntyr. He knew I would do anything to protect her.
“Go.” He let go of my neck and I pushed through the door.
Huntyr was already rushing over to Rummy and pulling her into her arms. Lord stepped back for just a moment while they held each other.
My chest tightened. They dragged that woman here to ensure Huntyr would obey. Why my father’s cruelness still effected me, I wasn’t sure. I stopped being surprised by his actions long, long ago.
Still. Seeing the two of them cry together put a sinking feeling in my chest.
They didn’t deserve this. Neither of them fucking did, and I wasn’t sure how much more Huntyr could take.
“Are you alright?” Huntyr asked, pulling away just enough to examine her friend.
“I’m fine,” Rummy answered. She tried her best to calm Huntyr, to brush off her own injuries. “I’ve just been worried about you. I didn’t know if you—I didn’t know if you were alive or dead this whole fucking time.”
Huntyr smiled. A real smile. “I’m not that easy to kill, apparently.”
Fuck. I was going to do whatever it took to get us out of this.
“What was that back there?” Jessiah asked. His voice was low, and he spoke only to me.
“I don’t know,” I answered, but I shot him a low glare. Not now.
Jessiah knew nothing of the attack. He knew nothing of the rebels, or of what we were building in the blood kingdom.
But he was my brother, and he cared about Huntyr too.
Now would be the time to test his loyalties. The truth would come later.
“We have to keep moving.” Asmodeus closed the latch to the underground tunnel. “We don’t know who’s following us.”
“The castle is under attack,” Luseyar said from the back of the group. “Should we not return and fight whoever is responsible?”
Asmodeus shook his head. “If the castle is under attack, they are only after one thing. And we have that one thing right here in our possession.”
“What? Huntyr?”
Asmodeus looked at Huntyr.
Then to me.
“The blood queen and her king.”