16. Rosalina
16
Rosalina
I stare at the fae, trying to understand the fear in his golden eyes.
“Run?” I repeat.
“Run!” he cries, but the command turns into a raw scream, and he doubles over.
“Are you okay?” I reach for him.
His skin ripples, a strange yellow glow emulating around him, and his scream of agony turns into a deep rumble as fur sprouts where his skin once was. His form doubles, then triples in size, changing, mutating. A new creature heaves in a shuddering breath, steam crowding the chilly room as it stands.
A horrifying monster towers above me. It has some resemblance to a wolf, with the long snout, pointed ears, and four paws. But it’s like something gruesome and monstrous has happened. From its body protrudes black twigs and sharp branches. Rotten, mulchy leaves coat its red-brown fur, and the smell of burning wood steams from its breath.
It reminds me of the goblins and their hounds. Except it’s giant, over six feet tall and twice as wide. Terror clenches a fist so tight around my heart I can’t even scream.
Suddenly, the giant collar on the ground makes a lot more sense.
The monstrous wolf’s gaze is entirely on me. Those golden eyes are the same as the fae man’s. But no recognition flashes as he looks at me.
A deep snarl erupts from its maw, and it lunges. Some inch of self-preservation awakens, and I scramble out of the way, reaching for the cell door. My movement accidentally closes it, locking me in here with the monster. A terrified scream erupts out of me. The creature swipes, and pain blossoms on my calf as its massive claws drag across my leg.
Desperately, I try the cell door again, prying it open and slipping through. Pain radiates with every movement as streams of blood trail down my leg. Holy fucking shit . I hobble as fast as I can, making for the stairs.
Behind me, the monstrous wolf gives a vicious howl, then lunges through the cell door, its massive body tearing the iron rods from the hinges. I propel myself down the staircase as fast as I can, hoping the narrow space will slow the creature.
I scramble through the thorny branches, using my arms and body to plow a path. Looking back, I see the briars closing in around the monster. But it barrels through them, snapping them like bone. The thorns tear at its fur, but the beast is undaunted, and a flurry of broken branches litter the ground in bloodied bits of purple. Stone and bark crumble from the castle ceiling.
A scream tears from me and raw terror floods my body. Help me. Someone help me.
The briars snatch at my cloak, tearing and ripping. My hair tangles, ponytail pulling free, and my long hair falls in my eyes. I trip over the last of the thorns, tumbling into the main foyer of the castle. Blood pools beneath me from the wound on my leg.
A rumble sounds from the staircase, falling rock and cracking stone as the thorns are ripped away from the walls.
I try to scramble up, but my hand slips in my blood and I fall back down, smacking my jaw on the hard stone. Get up, get up, get up.
My throat feels raw and tears drip down my face as pain slices up my body. I work through the ache, muscle by muscle, until I stand. My ruined leg flares with agony as I force myself to continue hobbling through the entrance hall.
Strange eyes peer at me from the shadows. The eyes… of animals. A raccoon, a bird in the rafters, a rabbit—
My breath leaves me as I’m knocked face first onto the ground. It caught me. I scramble, desperately trying to cover my face with my arms. A giant paw digs into my shoulder, pinning me to the ground, and the other cuts across my arms.
A row of sharp teeth shines as it snarls at me. The smell of burning wood fills the air. It opens its maw wide.
And the only thought in my mind is at least death by a monstrous wolf is a bit more awesome than falling off the bookstore stool. And it’s certainly better than drowning. A cold chill creeps over me, and I wonder if getting eaten by a wolf will feel like drowning: icy until your whole body burns.
A different rumbling snarl fills the air.
The deafening howl of pain explodes in my ears as a new set of jaws clamp around the neck of the reddish-brown wolf above me. Another wolf is here, this one twice the size of the first. The larger wolf slams its jaws shut and lifts the brown wolf away from me with terrifying force. The smaller beast sails through the air in a flurry of fur and blood, yelping until it crashes into the stone wall and lands with a sickening thud.
As the larger wolf advances, paralyzing fear clings to me. Shimmering shards of ice adorn its body and a mesmerizing blue glow embellishes its white fur in a swirling pattern.
The brown wolf across from us heaves itself up from the ground, red blood dripping from the wound on its neck. Its eyes still fixate on me, and it snarls. Saliva splatters on the floor.
The white wolf takes one step, then another, until it’s covering me with its massive body. It crouches low enough I could touch the soft underbelly of white fur.
A faint hint of wet snow clings to the air, a chill growing in my lungs like the first breath of winter.
The white wolf opens its mouth and howls.
The sound reverberates down to my bones and shudders through the entire castle, quaking the stone. Even the briars shiver away.
If I thought my heart couldn’t take anymore, I was wrong. Because two other massive shapes dash into the entrance hall.
Oh my god, it’s more fucking wolves. They leap in front of the white wolf and advance toward the brown wolf. These two are slightly bigger than the brown one, but not as big as the white wolf.
One’s dark gray, almost black, and he growls low, locking his gaze with the brown one. A show of dominance. The monstrous black wolf has thick fur that is mottled with the bones of small animals: I spot bird skulls and tangled antlers. Pops of brightly colored fungi and moss grow atop its back and legs. The wolf’s yellow eyes glow brilliantly in the dark, and it bares its gnarled teeth.
The brown one gives a yip of annoyance but doesn’t back down.
All the while, the heavy breath of the white wolf surges over me. It’s crouched, ready to spring. I eye the stairs between its massive paws, and it gives a growl of annoyance, as if it knows I’m thinking about running.
Now, the fourth wolf leaps. Rotten seaweed tangles through its golden fur. Coral and sea stars are stuck along its legs. Shells and sea glass rim its eyes and maw. It clamps down on the back of the brown wolf’s neck.
The brown wolf whines, but the golden wolf places a massive paw over its back and forces it down to submission. Finally, the brown wolf gives a final yip and closes its eyes.
A satisfied growl emits from the black wolf, and the golden wolf releases his jaws from the brown one’s neck but keeps its paw there. Both of them turn to look at the white wolf.
The super-giant icy white wolf that is still above me.
Oh no, I’m not sure what is happening here, but I really hope it isn’t some wolfy battle to see who gets to eat me. I have to get out of here. I scramble out from beneath the white wolf, a terrified scream on my lips. “Keldarion! Help!”
In a smooth movement, the white wolf steps to block my escape route. It’s so fucking huge, the head right in front of me. Glowing blue lines swirl around its face—but it’s the eyes I’m stuck on. Ice-blue and light as a frozen lake.
“It’s you…” I breathe out.
I turn to the other wolves. If the brown wolf was the boy from the tower, then…
The golden wolf with coral and seagrass stuck to it… I know that gold. I’d seen it on the head of the fae prince from the hot springs. And the black wolf whose fur shimmers gray in the torchlight, like the masked fae’s armor…
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The four fae princes.
“You’re beasts,” I gasp. “You’re all beasts.”
A rumble sounds from the white wolf and all the remaining heat leeches from the air. Then Keldarion, the fae Prince of Winter, turns his icy gaze on me and opens his massive jaws.
Holy fucking shit, maybe I am here to be a wolfy meal after all. He scoops me up in his mouth. My initial panic fades as no teeth pierce into me. He’s carrying me through the castle.
A moment later, I’m tumbling across the floor of my room. The wolf nudges me with his nose until I’m on my stomach. He places a paw on the back of my bloody calf. There’s a shock of pain and a tingling numbness. I look down to see a small layer of ice sealing off my wound.
“What’s going on?” I gasp, looking up at the wolf, but he’s already turned away. “Keldarion?”
But I’m alone again, in a castle of beasts.