47. Brinley
Chapter 47
Brinley
T he first time Brinley remembered visiting Zareia was when she was seven years old. She’d been there many times the first three years of her life, but those were nothing but foggy memories by then. When she was seven, however, her mother had brought her to the lake house for the first time since her father’s death. Her mother turned it into a game—sneaking out of the castle in the middle of the night. At the lake house, they met Alpha Donovan and his two children, Gabriel and Rosalyn, as well as their best friend, Paxton.
Gabriel and Paxton were a handful of years older than her, while Rose was a few years younger. Brinley remembered feeling shy upon seeing them, but then Gabriel smiled, and it lit up his blue gaze. He ran to her, pulling her into a hug like they were the best of friends. In an instant, she’d felt at home, clinging to him. That was when her mother explained that, as a young child, Brinley had been brought to visit this family a lot, and Gabriel had, in fact, been her friend. Despite being older, he’d cared for her, always offering to play with her and look out for her.
She’d admitted that she didn’t remember him, and hurt had flashed through his eyes before he shrugged and said it didn’t matter because they were back together.
Her mother and Donovan then brought them all to Zareia, and it had been one of the most magnificent places she’d ever seen. After being kept in the castle for so many years, this quaint village felt like a fairy tale. With its cobblestone streets, cute cottages and tall homes with latticework and curved arches, and a stone wall surrounding it all, there was a sense of comfort and safety she had never experienced before. The sun had been shining high that day, and she recalled the sound of laughter coming from the main square.
Zareia was nothing like that now. The sun had set, sparse moonlight casting an eerie glow upon the world between the heavy clouds that had finally let loose upon the village. They had needed this rain so badly. Now, it almost felt cruel to tease them with it. She had no doubt that its absence had been part of the curse, helping to make the pack suffer even more.
People were screaming, shouting. Moaning in agony as they lay dying in the muddy grass outside the walls.
Brinley’s stomach twisted. She dismounted and let Stella free to leave this nightmare. André followed suit before moving to her side. They looked at the broken gates in horror. The fighting beyond it made her want to run back into the forest and hide until it was all over, but the people standing on the battlements trying to protect their town from above… they made her want to join them.
“You’re sure about this?” André flexed his fingers before him.
“You don’t need to come with me.” She meant it sincerely. In fact, she wished he wouldn’t. Losing him a second time might actually obliterate her.
He took her hand in his and squeezed. “I’m not letting you face this alone.”
She nodded. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” he said, releasing her. “Let’s go save your mate.”
With a smile, she pulled the dagger Gabriel had given her from its sheath and rushed forward. They made it to the gate without any trouble, dodging a few bodies of the fallen without looking at them too closely. Once inside, she skidded to a stop.
It was absolute madness. Some of the DeLoup had shifted or partially shifted while others fought with blades. The sorcières mostly used magic, but even some of them had weapons drawn like the humans. More bodies scattered the ground in here. Blood tinged the cobblestones. She looked around, frantically searching for anyone she knew.
A wolf she didn’t recognize turned in their direction. It crept forward, its teeth bared as it growled. But then, it stopped and cocked its head to the side, as if trying to decide whether or not to attack her. And for the first time, she understood why. She had the scent of both witch and wolf.
“I’m on your side,” she said, slowly approaching as she internally cursed herself for not getting to know the rest of the pack better. If they made it through tonight, she vowed to try harder for her people.
When a figure caught her eye from behind the wolf, Brinley raised her hand out of instinct. For a brief second, the witch hesitated, just as the DeLoup had upon seeing her. That gave Brinley enough of an advantage. She flicked her wrist, and the witch’s eyes widened in realization as she flew backward and smacked into the nearest building. The wolf turned to watch the commotion then looked at Brinley. It dipped its head once before running back into the fray.
Brinley followed, needing to find Gabriel. She ducked as a sorcerer raised his hand and directed a burst of wind in her direction. André shielded her, fighting the man off fairly easily. When the next one charged, Brinley was close enough to drive her short blade into his side. He fell, clutching the wound. When he lifted a hand toward her, a crack resounded as his head snapped to the side. She whipped around to find André glaring at the man.
“You can’t hesitate, Brin. They’ll kill you if given the chance.” He nodded behind her. “Move.”
She knew he was right, but the thought of killing her own people made her sick.
Together, they raced farther into the village. Brinley saw Darren fighting in the distance, half-transformed, but she still couldn’t find Gabriel. She fought with everything she had, which admittedly wasn’t much. She didn’t have full control of her magic; she’d only been training for a couple weeks. No one had prepared her for this sort of battle. Physically or mentally.
There was so much blood and death around them. The rain continued to pour, making the road slick. Thankfully, the streetlamps had been lit and were covered to keep alight in such weather. That light was often their only guidance through the dark. The wolves had numbers on their side, but they could only do so much against the powerful sorcières. A glint of silver had Brinley ducking, and she spun out of the blade’s path. Straight into a hard body that steadied her with strong hands.
“How are you here?” Joel pushed her aside to strike the witch with his claws. André blocked another from appearing on Joel’s other side and killed them quickly. Joel looked from her to her best friend. “He’s on our side?”
She nodded and swept wet hair from her cheek. “Introductions later. Where’s Gabriel?”
She could feel him, feel their bond, but she couldn’t pinpoint his location. How had he used this to find her before?
Joel glanced over her shoulder. “He was up on the parapet when everything started, but I think I saw him come back down when they broke through the wall. Brinley, what happened?”
As they fought off a couple more people, moving toward the town square, where the majority of the fighting seemed to be, she quickly summed up that her grandmother had been behind all of it and that she’d tied Brinley up before leaving to come here. “André stayed behind to keep an eye on me , but he set me free and helped me get here.”
Her feet slipped on the wet cobblestone, and Joel quickly grabbed her around the waist before she could hit the ground. But in that moment, in the jostle of her attention and body, she saw him. Up the street, at the top of the hill, Gabriel was fighting off three men with swords. And the queen was approaching at a casual pace. As if the village wasn’t in mayhem behind and around her.
Brinley watched in horror as Mildred slowly pulled off one glove at a time and dropped them to the ground.
Gabriel took down one of the human guards, then he turned his attention to the High Sorceress, claws drawn on one hand while the other gripped his sword. He was going to fight her himself.
“No,” Brinley breathed, already moving toward them.