Chapter 5
Briar
Ajolt of fear slammed through me.
Yuki’s wounded hand flopped limply behind Veralt’s neck. Blood trailed from it in thick, steady rivulets, soaking into his tunic and splattering the marble floor.
The bandage had come loose. Crimson streamed from her palm, each drop a warning.
Vad, how close are we? Yuki’s bandages have slipped. She’s bleeding bad.
I chased the others around the corner, panic pounding in my ears.
We couldn’t stop, and I couldn’t even signal Thalira to help.
I stayed close, heart galloping as we poured into a narrower hall.
The smoke thinned, but my vision swam. Breathless gasps and frantic footfalls echoed off the stone around us.
We had to move faster.
The corridor narrowed again, funneling us through a hall lined with towering columns like the northern hallway. My paws hit the marble hard, claws scraping with each stride. My lungs burned, every breath tinged with the metallic tang of blood and soot.
Then—there—I spotted our goal. The entry to the royal family chambers.
Vad surged ahead, silver eyes locked on the heavy black doors at the end of the hall. His wings flapped once, sending a gust of stale air past us as he tore into the folds of his tattered surcoat. Keys jingled as he yanked them free.
He jammed one into the lock.
Metal scraped, and the tumblers groaned.
Shnkt!
Vad staggered. His jaw clenched in pain as he reeled back with a hoarse cry. Pain flared across the bond like a hot blade.
A bolt stuck out of his side, buried through his already shredded surcoat.
Vad! I snarled, the sound ripping from my throat as my claws skidded across the marble. My jaws snapped at the air, helpless and enraged.
“Vad!” Thalen shouted.
Cries erupted from behind us.
“There they are!” a voice rang out from farther down the corridor. “I hit the prince! I need more bolts!”
I’m fine. Vad tossed the phrase back to me. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the door open. The hinges shrieked in protest as they parted.
He grabbed Silus, who was still carrying Elara, and shoved him through.
The guard at the end of the hall fumbled with his crossbow as he tried to reload. More footsteps pounded from around the corner, closer now.
Vad braced against the doorframe, one hand pressed to his bleeding side, the other clenched around the key ring.
His eyes swept over us. Veralt charged through first with Thalira and Yuki.
Quen and Vyraetos followed with the lamps, their footfalls harsh and quick.
Many-Greats darted in behind them with a worried glance at me, his brow furrowed.
Thalen and Myantha darted after them, and I closed the distance.
Vad jerked his head at the door. Inside.
I lunged forward, ears pinned, fur slick with blood.
Twang.
Pain exploded in my hip. Another bolt, buried deep.
A choked yelp ripped from me, and my back legs buckled. I stumbled, the marble sliding out from under me, but I didn’t stop. I dragged myself forward, each step agony. Blood dripped from the wound, trailing in vivid streaks across the floor. No way to hide it. No way to outrun what came next.
Briar?
I’m fine, I bit out through the bond, even though I wanted to collapse.
"Get inside!" Many-Greats shouted.
Vad growled low behind me. His eyes burned like silver flame as he glared down the corridor. “When we meet again,” he shouted at the reloading crossbowman, “You die!”
Two more crossbowmen rounded the corner, weapons raised.
I stumbled past the threshold and into the front hall of the royal chambers, my body screaming. Vad followed me and slammed the door shut.
My legs gave out.
Thalen grabbed a narrow table from beneath a crooked painting and shoved it against the door. Rhielle ran up beside him and stabbed her sword through the handles, locking it tight.
Silus rushed to an alcove and gently laid Elara across one of the black-cushioned couches. Veralt did the same with Thalira and Yuki, his tunic now soaked in blood.
Quen set the oil lamps on the floor and slid to her knees beside me. “You all right there?” Her voice was tight. “Do I need to pull the bolts out?”
Spots swam in my vision. I dropped my head to the cool black marble, my breath wheezing from my lungs. The pulse in my hip throbbed in time with the aches in my shoulder and side, but I managed a weak head shake. Not yet. I needed to brace myself.
Vad dropped beside me, his hand moving to my neck and muzzle to support my head. What do you need?
Pain flared through the bond in both directions, so sharp it left my vision spotty. Just a few breaths. My mind clawed for focus. I'll shift back. It should heal me.
I didn’t tell him it could also tear me apart.
Shifting wasn't safe for me in this state. Not with this many wounds. Not with three bolts buried in me like thorns. But I couldn’t stay like this.
I’d shifted during the last trial, when I was nearly as bad off.
I could only hope my body would survive it again.
Many-Greats started forward. "We need to have her treated."
"We will. Stay back and let her focus. She'll tell me what she needs." Vad’s hand swept over my head, gentle despite the tension in his jaw. Whatever you need, my love. We’ve got a few minutes.
Then his expression turned hard. “Tend to the wounded now. Stop the bleeding. We can’t leave a trail.” He looked to the others as Many-Greats drew back, his manner tense and cautious. “Barricade the door. Use anything you can find.”
I tried to focus, but the agony was unrelenting—the bolt in my hip throbbed with each heartbeat, sharp and deep.
The one in my shoulder made it hard to breathe, the muscle torn and twisted around it.
My side burned as if someone had poured fire beneath my ribs.
Each wound pulsed like a war drum, refusing to let me forget how broken I was.
I had no choice.
Vad, I pushed through the haze, you need to remove all three bolts so I can shift.
He stiffened, silver eyes snapping to mine. All three?
If I shift with them still in me like this, it’ll shred me from the inside. I whimpered, unable to hold the noise back. I can’t heal otherwise.
His thumb brushed under my jaw, soft even as his other hand clenched into a fist. Briar… pulling them will make you bleed even more. You’ve already lost too much blood.
If you don’t… I took in a breath. I’ll die. My head lolled against his palm. Do it, Vad. Please.
His jaw flexed, his silver eyes flashing with something feral. Then he looked up, voice snapping like a whip. “I need hands—now! Cloths, bandages—anything to press against the wounds the second these bolts come out!”
Rhielle and Quen were already moving. Silus tore a strip from his tunic, while Veralt ripped a tapestry off the wall.
They gathered around us in a half-circle, weapons still in reach as the pounding on the door grew louder.
The others remained at the door, putting more furniture against it to barricade it for as long as possible.
“Hold her steady,” Vad barked. “When I pull each bolt, press down on the wound and don’t let go until I say.”
I’m ready, I pushed through the bond, though my body trembled.
Look at me. He cupped the side of my muzzle, forcing my gaze up to his. Stay with me. Stay here.
I gave the smallest nod.
He wrapped his fingers around the first bolt—the one buried in my side—and wrenched.
Agony ripped through me like claws tearing muscle from bone. My body arched, a strangled yelp breaking from my throat as hot blood spilled over his hand. Many-Greats pressed hard with a cloth, staunching what he could.
“That’s one,” Vad whispered. “Two more.”
"You can do this, Briar. You're strong," Many-Greats murmured, though his hands trembled a little.
My vision blurred to gray at the edges. Hurry, I gasped.
His hands slid to my shoulder. “This will be worse.” Then he yanked.
I howled hoarsely, the sound muffled against his arm as I writhed. Blood sprayed the black marble. Rhielle shoved more fabric over the wound, her palms already slick.
“Last one,” he said, voice rougher now. “Stay with me, Briar.”
I barely heard him over the hammering in my skull, but I forced my eyes open. Do it.
His grip closed around the bolt in my hip, and he pulled.
The pain went white-hot. I nearly blacked out, jerking once before I collapsed in his lap. Everything inside me wanted to let go—to drift away into dark silence—but his voice dragged me back.
“Shift now,” Vad ordered, his forehead pressed to mine. “Pull the wolf back, Briar. Do it now.”
I’m too weak…
I can’t lose you! Imagine if I were in your place. He forced determination toward me.
Imagining him bleeding out with a potential way to save himself shook me. I dragged my wolf back, even as the pain tried to tear me apart. Bones cracked, muscles twisted, and the sound of my shift filled the hall.
Then, with a final lurch, it was over.
I lay on the cold stone, my body trembling as blood loss fogged the edges of my mind.
My wedding dress clung to me once again, the shimmering silk torn and stained, the delicate lace dark with blood. A symbol of the bond I’d been willing to fight and bleed for.
Now it was soaked in proof that I had. Somehow, it had survived the transition from my wolf form back to human. I'd never seen anything like it, and I was grateful to not be naked, even if I didn't understand how this was possible.
One of Vad’s wings curled around me, shielding me from the others as he slid an arm under my back. “Easy,” he murmured, voice rough with unleashed fury. “You’re safe. Just breathe.”
But beyond him, the door rattled again. This time, it buckled inward a little.
Quen hissed. “They’re almost through!”
Vad’s gaze flicked to mine. “Then we move with her.”
He lifted me gently, like he could shield me from the worst of it with just his touch.
The pain still lingered—sharp in my side, raw in my shoulder—but dulled enough for my vision to clear.