50. A Surprise Ally
fifty
A Surprise Ally
*SHAYAN*
I hear a cough behind me, following the voice that just talked to me. For a moment, I am frozen in shock. I’m busted! Fuck, I’m busted. All hope I had is gone now. This will mean mine and Royan’s certain death. I try to think of a good excuse while turning around to the person who just spoke.
What I see is a peculiar sight. A young teenage girl is sitting on my bed, her legs crossed, and a curious look in her eyes. Her ears are… fluffy.
“Your ears,” I manage, because I have no idea what else to say.
“Oh, dang it!” She moves her hands towards her head and squeezes her ears. “I always mess up when I shift back.”
“You are…”
“The fox,” she helps me. “Thank you for saving me, by the way.”
“The fox,” I echo, still not able to understand what’s happening right now. This girl here… is… “You are a shifter. You are the fox I saved in the cave.” She nods excitedly, while I frown. “You have been here all along? Young girl, I change and sleep in this room!”
“I never looked,” she says. “I want to save that for my mate only.”
“How come they didn’t detect your presence?”
“Oh that,” she beams and shows me a necklace. “It’s to hide me from prying eyes. I’m a countess.”
I can only stare at her as she reveals one shocking fact after another. “You are a…”
“My father is the Count and leader of the only existing fox shifter pack,” she says proudly. “I’m his heir. Oh, my name is Noemi. And, you are Shay, though that’s probably a lie.”
“But, how did you end up in this area?”
“I was straying from my pack,” she admits. “I sometimes do that. Go on an adventure. I’m an excellent tracker, and know plenty of secret paths and hidden passages.”
Slowly, I’m starting to put two and two together. “Countess,” I say quietly. “It’s dangerous here.”
“I know, but you saved me. I would be dead if it weren’t for you,” she shrugs. “I’m a future leader. I need to make sure that justice is served.”
“This is very commendable, but this place…”
“I know, the witch is gaga,” she says and points at her head, before looking at me sadly. “She has your
friend.”
“He is in grave danger,” I declare.
“So, what are we going to do?” she asks, her head perking up. “You have me as an ace up your sleeve now! We can do something.”
“I’m not going to endanger a teenage girl,” I say shortly.
“But, we already are in danger,” she says. “Being here is a danger.”
I’m stunned at her approach. On the one side, she seems to be so juvenile and na?ve, and then she just hits the nail on its head. She is right. Being here endangers her massively. It’s only a matter of time until Penelope will find out that I’m a fraud, and that a fox shifter is with us. And not just any fox shifter.
I cannot let Penelope kill Royan, but time is running out.
“Shay?” she probes.
“I’m thinking,” I say. “We can’t do anything reckless. We need a plan.”
“So, we are doing something?” she beams.
I want to answer her, but before I can do so, I feel something pushing against my mind. Grabbing my forehead, I try to rub the feeling away.
“What’s wrong? Noemi asks.
“My head hurts, it’s… like something wants to push into my thoughts,” I explain, wincing as another wave of headache hits me. “Hopefully it’s not the witch.”
“Sounds like a mind link,” Noemi muses.
My head snaps up. A mind link? This could only come from the kingdom. “What am I supposed to do?” I ask her.
“You are fighting it,” she says with a smile. “Don’t fight it. Close your eyes, and imagine you have walls all around your mind. Then lower them one by one.”
I hope this won’t be the worst mistake I’ve ever made. Because if this is Penelope, I’m doomed. But then, if it’s someone from the outside, it will change everything. I do as Noemi said, lowering my walls one by one. It’s more difficult than I thought it would be…
“Wow, you are a control freak,” Noemi comments when she sees me struggle. “It would be easier if you had a mate.”
A mate? Her words hit me, and out of nowhere, I start thinking about Tynan. I have tried to shove these thoughts aside ever since I stepped foot into the witch’s lair, but now…
Shayan?
Unexpectedly, thinking of Tynan has lowered my walls, it seems.
Shayan, are you there? It’s me Tynan.
I have to fight hard not to chuckle. Of course, it’s him. I would be able to distinguish his voice from hundreds. Took you long enough, Tynan, I tease.
What!? I’m risking my life here! You almost didn’t let me in, and it could have killed me, you know? This shit is dangerous!
I hide my amusement. He is like a kitten sometimes. Hissy and gruff, and very adorable . And you think I’m not doing anything dangerous here? I ask.
Oh, he goes silent for a few seconds. Right! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?
His worry touches me; he truly is a kind soul. I’m fine. The witch bought my ruse and made me her bodyguard. Tynan, tell the others that she is enchanting old deities and creatures. She awakes them, traps them, and then breaks them.
Azadeh said something similar, Tynan says.
Relief fills me. She is fine, Aza is fine. Did she reach her potential?
You knew? He asks, surprised.
Yes, and no. I knew the stories, and we all knew she was born with the gift. She carried a mole shaped like a sun on her palm. We all knew that every now and then, one or two desert princesses would be blessed, but the knowledge about their powers vanished slowly as they mostly grew up locked away. I pause. I just read a lot.
This is crazy, Tynan ponders.
Yes, but we have more urgent matters at hand, I tell him. Royan is in the dungeons and in grave danger. I’m not sure if he will survive another day! The witch, Penelope, has not made the connection yet that we work together, but I don’t think I will be able to hide it much longer. You need to come fast!
Where to? Tynan asks, clear panic in his voice.
I go ahead and brief him on how Royan and I ended up here. The werebears are a problem, Tynan. They probably have been manipulated and enchanted.
We will get past them, he says. Even if it means having to fight our way through.
I frown. I don’t doubt that they could do it, but I think creating such a huge fuss will alert Penelope.
And it will also cost us important time. There has to be a better way. My gaze shifts towards Noemi. “Noemi,” I ask. “You said you know plenty of hidden passages. Do you know how to cross this area secretly without passing the bears?”
“Yes,” she says. “Why?” She looks at me, her eyes widening in hope and excitement. “Oh, oh, oh! I know what you plan. You want me to sneak out and-”
I put my fingers on my lips, signaling her to be quiet. The kid is so excited, she shifts back to her fox form and then back again. Fortunately, fox shifters don’t need to dress and undress to shift, unlike the wolves, or I would feel like a complete creep here.
Tynan, I will send someone your way. The warriors and you go to the town where Royan and I started our investigation. A fox will come and pick you up.
A fox? I can clearly hear his surprise, but thankfully, he doesn’t argue. I trust you and your judgment. We will head there as soon as possible.
Send Prince Flinn to meet with the fox. He is the easiest to recognize. Meanwhile, I will try to stall Penelope. Royan is going to be in terrible shape, make sure to have a healer with you. And be quick!
Be careful, Tynan begs. Whatever you do, please don’t die, Shayan.
It’s a promise I can’t make, as much as it breaks my heart. I resolve to go for middle ground. I will try not to be reckless. That’s all I can promise.
He groans but doesn’t push further.
Noemi and I go into action, fast. She seems eager to prove herself, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to place my trust in her, as I don’t know her. But at the same time, she is the only true chance we have. “Be careful, Countess,” I tell her, when she has shifted back to her fox form, and I open the window for her to climb outside. She is a beautiful white fox, small, but very agile. So, there is hope for her being able to be fast and invisible.
*AZADEH*
Tynan’s mind link to Shayan was successful, and I’m beyond grateful and relieved that he is well. He emphasized how bad Royan’s state is, which made us all worried instantly. The witch- Penelope- it seems Aylin has heard of her. For now, I need to trust the others to do what’s necessary, though it’s hard to leave them with so much on their hands. They have to meet with the fox, Shayan mentioned, sneak through werebear territory, face a dark witch all while running out of time.
Meanwhile, Elio and I will have to do our own little side mission. Elio has told me in advance that due to his young age he isn’t strong enough to fight in battle or to fly very long distances, but promised he can cross the distance we need. He is Favian’s brother, so I decided to trust him.
I cling to Elio’s back while he flies higher and higher, above the various fields and the mountains. “It’s the mountain chain ahead of us,” I tell him.
He shifts his angle slightly, aiming for the mountains, now.
“There is a forest there, but we need to find the area where the trees are getting fewer and fewer,” I say, while describing over and over again what I saw when the goddess took me to the place. “In the distance, you could see a lake, shaped like a moon.”
Elio picks up his pace and soon crosses the lake I just described. “Let me down in the forest,” I instruct him. “We don’t want your wings to blow up too much snow, it will make it more difficult for us.”
I wait for him to land before jumping off his back and Elio shifts back to his human form. “You never explained what we are going to do here,” he asks curiously.
“This is going to be our way to your brother,” I tell him, while running up the path and out of the forest. Elio follows me. I know he has a lot of questions, they all did, but we were running out of time, so I only shared the most important parts of my plan with everyone. I need them to trust me now.
“What are we looking for?” Elio asks, while I keep pacing up and down the area.
“Look for a huge rock, something that might host a little cave for small animals.”
He nods and shuffles in the other direction. I know this is the right area, it’s exactly where Arianrhod took me, but it’s difficult to find the exact spot now. It has snowed during the last few hours and everything is freshly covered, which makes my task even more difficult. I’m growing more and more frustrated when Elio calls out to me. “Princess! Is this the rock?”
I hurry towards him, my heart skipping a beat when I indeed recognize the place. I push past Elio, dropping to my knees and digging through the snow. Elio helps me, brushing away as much snow as possible until I find the little rocks I used. Beneath them, I spot the teddy bear I hid.
It worked, it worked! Thank Goddess, I had the right intuition.
I take the bear, hugging it to my chest, before standing up again.
Elio looks at me, both surprised and curious. “And now?”
“Now, you need to take me to the place your brother is being kept.”