Chapter 22 Briar
Briar
My feet locked in place, and my hands froze against the door frame. I couldn’t draw a breath.
I knew that dagger.
It was the same one Colm had used to kill Vad’s father and frame me for the murder. And now it was lodged in Vad’s heart.
That must have been the horrible pain that had sliced straight through me and broken our sacred connection.
My fingers tightened around the door frame.
Colm’s voice echoed through the Ceremonial Hall, ringing with false grandeur and venom. “This traitor prince—this false king—sought to destroy the unity of our realms by defying Fate herself. It is only fitting that he be executed here, before your eyes, as my bride and I take our rightful place.”
I clenched my jaw, the world spinning. Where was Finbar and his fucking army?
Ember edged closer to me, her voice low and her hand tight over my arm. “I smell wolves.”
I finally drew in a breath, slow and quiet, but all I caught was the scent of blood and death…until three sets of crimson eyes glowed from the far shadows in the doorway behind us.
Shadow wolves.
They crept silently into the groom’s chamber, their massive bodies barely visible in the darkness. Behind them, more eyes appeared.
My mouth went dry. We were pinned, and there was still no sign of Thalen and Finbar.
Colm approached the dais, his robes trailing behind him, and stopped beside Vad. “When I remove this blade, I remove the curse that every single one of these kings and queens has placed upon our realm.”
He turned to the nearest servant. “Bring me the ceremonial wine.”
No. This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t lose him, and especially not like this.
Ember leaned in, her voice a breath of panic. “We have to go. We can’t fight off this many. Is there any other way out?”
I shook my head.
Colm was twenty feet away. The guards would see us and attack before we took more than a few steps, but Vad would bleed out the moment the blade was pulled. We didn’t have time to delay, but getting caught right away wouldn’t save him either.
I scanned the chamber for an answer. We wouldn’t make it far if we ran, not with the guards and the shadow wolves both watching for threats. I bit my lip and looked toward the shelves near the thrones. They were tall enough, and the crowd’s eyes were fixed on Colm and Calla Lily.
“We crawl toward the back and use the shelves and the thrones as cover. Then...” I stopped myself. I couldn’t say the rest out loud, but I unsheathed my sword. Ember would object to me making a death run.
If I could get directly behind Colm, I could charge him and take him down with my own blade. Maybe the wolves would follow us and create a distraction, or maybe they’d rip us to pieces. I didn’t give a fuck.
Ember nodded, her jaw set.
I slid to the ground, heart thundering, and began to move on all fours along the edge of the wall. Ember followed, quiet as a mouse. She remained in human form so we could communicate since I couldn’t pack link with her anymore.
The low growl of a wolf reached my ears.
I glanced back to find more than a dozen of them were halfway into the groom’s chamber now.
Most had glowing red eyes, but there were a few orange-eyed and yellow-eyed ones in the back.
Their massive bodies moved forward on silent paws, smoke curling off their flanks like mist in the dark.
One snapped its jaws with a sickening clack of bone meeting bone.
Another growled low, the sound vibrating through the stone beneath us.
On the dais, a servant in dark gray robes stepped forward, head bowed, and presented a jeweled goblet to Colm.
The scent of spiced wine drifted through the chamber, tainted with something bitter.
Colm turned to face Calla Lily and said, “To the one person who has never faltered in the face of adversity. The one who has proven herself, time and again, worthy of queenship. The one who has never failed me and whom I’ll never fail.”
He brought the goblet to Calla Lily’s lips, and she lifted her chin, eyes shining, and placed her hands around his, parting her lips to drink.
Ember and I crept forward, inch by agonizing inch, the cold stone seeping through my tunic. My elbows scraped the floor as I dragged myself along, ignoring the sting. The dread inside me pressed against my ribs like a stone slab, but I didn’t stop.
Running would trigger the shadow wolves' predatory instincts. We couldn’t draw their attention. We’d never reach Vad.
We made it to the open floor just in front of the dais, where we were barely hidden behind a low, decorative railing. Still about twenty feet from Colm and the opportunity to stab him to death.
Ember glanced over her shoulder and tensed.
I followed her gaze.
The shadow wolves were coming. Hunting us. The largest of them stepped from the groom’s room into the Ceremonial Hall, head lowered, a low growl rolling up its throat, accompanied by the faint click, click, click of claws on stone.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
The far doors to the Ceremonial Hall crashed open. Metal slammed against metal, and shouts rang out, echoing through the hall. Startled gasps rippled through the assembled guests, and several surged to their feet. A woman in midnight blue screamed and clutched her companion’s arm.
I flattened myself against the marble floor, bile rising in my throat.
Colm turned sharply toward the double doors.
His smile tightened, no longer serene. “Honored guests, please,” he said, lifting his voice above the rising noise.
“Do not be alarmed. This… disturbance was anticipated. The odious Captain Finbar and his band of traitors have chosen this moment to reveal themselves. But rest assured, they will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy.”
He looked over the crowd, smooth as ever. “We know each of Finbar’s points of attack.”
“You’re so clever,” Calla Lily purred, staring at him like he’d hung the stars and promised to make her a gift of them.
She lifted the goblet toward him. “To the one person who has never faltered in the face of adversity. The one who has proven himself, time and again, worthy of kingship. The one who has never failed me and whom I will never fail.”
Colm smiled, placed his hands over hers, and drank.
My focus snapped back to Vad.
The dagger in his chest gleamed under the flickering light, a sick reminder of what Colm had already stolen from me.
Ember and I crawled faster, using the chaos of the crashing doors and distant battle cries to our advantage.
The cold stone bit into my palms with every drag forward, but I barely felt it over the pounding of my heart.
A soft click from across the dais made me pause. My gaze darted toward the bride’s side door, where Thalen’s silver-white head poked through. When he spotted us, relief softened his expression… until his gaze locked on something behind me. Horror twisted his face.
I whipped my head around to see that shadow wolves had moved onto the dais with their teeth bared and their hackles raised.
Something massive slammed into the ceremonial hall’s main doors, stone cracking and metal shrieking, followed by another crash of metal colliding with the door.
The wolves snapped their heads toward the noise like they'd been triggered. The yellow-eyed ones in the back began pacing and snarling, froth building at their jaws.
Then, as if some unheard command set them free, the wolves attacked. The one nearest to me raced forward.
I ripped my sword free of its sheath, muscles coiled to strike, but the wolf didn’t slow.
As I prepared to swing, it leapt clean over me and crashed into Colm full force.
He staggered backward into Calla Lily, sending the goblet soaring from his hands.
Blood-red wine arced through the air, splattering the dais like spilled blood.
Screams exploded from the audience, and panic rippled outward.
Guards shouted orders, and weapons were drawn. Shadow wolves tore through them with wild fury, jaws snapping, limbs thrashing, and snarls echoing off the marble walls.
Calla Lily shrieked as she tumbled backward with her gown tangling in her legs. Colm stumbled but didn’t go down. With a snarl, he pulled an onyx-and-silver dagger from its sheath and drove it into the wolf’s side.
Thalen, Veralt, and Rhielle burst through the bride’s door, weapons flashing as they charged, cutting a path toward us through the chaos.
I bolted upright and ran to my mate.
“Vad!” My hands trembled as I cupped his face, then flew to the chains binding his wrists and ankles. Blood smeared my fingers.
He’d been beaten brutally. One eye was swollen shut, his lips were cracked, and cuts littered his throat and arms.
His eyes fluttered open with a hazy glaze. “Briar?” His voice was barely a rasp, wet and broken.
“I’m here,” I choked, brushing blood from his cheek. “I’m right here.”
His right hand twitched in its bonds, trying to reach for me. “You shouldn’t be here, beloved. Get out while you can.”
“No.” My voice broke. “I’m not leaving you.” My gaze dropped to the dagger still embedded in his chest.
The same blade that had killed his father.
My breath caught, and my chest locked. What if pulling it out finished him? “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be fine.”
Vad gave me a half-laugh, half-wince. “We need to talk about what fine means.”
Tears slid down my cheeks. “You live through this, and I’ll give you an entire essay with citations and footnotes.” But my hands kept shaking.
I couldn’t pull the blade, not without a plan. Too much blood had already pooled beneath him.
All around us, the room had descended into chaos.
Shadow wolves attacked the guards and guests without pause, painting the polished stone red.
Ember hacked at a yellow-eyed wolf, her blade slick.
Veralt grabbed a snarling beast by the scruff and flung it into a guard.
Thalen and Rhielle carved their way forward, steel clashing as they took down anything between them and us.
Colm threw the dead wolf aside and yanked Calla Lily to her feet. “Guards!” he bellowed. “End this now!”
Calla Lily’s face twisted in terror. She screeched, “How did they get in?”
A red-eyed wolf and an orange-eyed wolf flanked the altar. I hesitated, questioning whether they were about to attack. They crouched low and snarled at the chaos, but not at me.
Wait. Were they helping me?
I didn’t care. All that mattered was saving Vad. Except… “Ember!” I cried out.
She ripped her sword free from a wolf’s corpse, eyes flicking to the two wolves flanking the altar before she sprinted to me. “What?”
“Briar,” Vad breathed, his eyelids slipping. “You have to go. Get out of here while you still can.”
“No.” I cradled his face, my palm sliding to his muscular chest. “I’m not leaving you.” I looked at my sister. “Can you heal him?” My voice wavered. “Maybe you have your magic from Earth.”
Before Ember could answer, the orange-eyed wolf pivoted toward us, baring its teeth. As soon as it took one step toward us, the red-eyed wolf lunged sideways and slammed into it with a snarl, knocking it back. Protecting us.
Ember pressed a hand over the one I held against Vad’s chest, her brows pinched in grief. “I tried healing Elara earlier. Nothing happened. I…” She looked at him, and her voice softened. “Hi, Vad.”
Nothing was happening.
He blinked groggily, voice wet and fragile. “Your sister… Ember… do me a favor—take Briar and go—”
“I’d rather die than leave you.” My throat burned.
Then something warm flickered in my chest. A spark of energy, near my heart like a coal that had waited too long to be set ablaze. My focus snapped to Ember.
Her breath caught, and her eyes lifted to mine, then dropped to where our hands were touching Vad.
I sucked in a breath as the sensation spread outward and curled through my ribs as if it had been there all along, buried under grief.
I looked at Vad again and gasped.
His bruised eye, the one nearly swollen shut, had started to open. The cuts across his cheek and neck were no longer leaking blood, and the wound down his jaw was knitting closed.
“Ember,” I whispered, shaking. It was too good to be true, but it had to be. Please, Fate, let it be true. “He’s healing!”
Her hand pressed harder against mine, and her fingertips touched Vad. “Something’s changing—I can feel it.”
A guard sprinted toward us with his spear raised.
No! We couldn’t let him reach us. I tried to remove my hand so I could fight him off, but it wouldn’t budge, like something was holding it there.
The red-eyed wolf homed in on the guard just as the man hit an invisible wall with a crash like shattering glass. Silver light flared. He flew backward and slammed into the far wall, then crumpled in a heap. The red-eyed wolf pounced on him.
The entire hall shook.
The marble floor groaned beneath us. Columns cracked overhead. More dust and stone fragments fell from the ceiling in a choking cloud.
The warmth in my chest expanded, and a heavy droning sound filled my ears. It vibrated through my teeth and down my spine, the hum deeper than anything I had ever experienced.
Vad blinked again, dazed, staring at Ember and me. “Your eyes, they’re glowing… both of you…”
I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was that he was healing.
I glanced at Ember, noting her eyes were indeed glowing gold with hints of green. Warmth flooded me, building and building. The butterfly tattoos on my wrists fluttered, driving away the ache and the chill.
“Your magic is back,” I breathed. “We can save him.”
Warmth swelled until it felt like it would split me apart. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“You’re healing him! Your magic really is back!” A knot formed in my throat, tears still spilling from my eyes as I looked up at him. “I love you, Vad. You hold on and show me just how fine you are.”
Then I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the dagger and ripped it free.