Chapter 4
Four
KARL
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
I feel like the worst brother in the world for leaving Cheryl behind to fight those monsters. I know Ronan will protect her—hell, he might even give up his life to save her—but I’m her only family. The guilt sits heavily on my chest, but I have to believe they’ll both be okay.
It’s hard to imagine I’m now able to tolerate being in the presence of the male who came between Manu and me. The spell Solomon cast on me to numb the pain of the betrayal helped, but what keeps my wolf from killing him now is gratitude for saving my sister’s life when no one else would.
What’s done is done. I have no choice but to follow Manu’s scent.
I’m not sure how long has passed since we left Ellnesari through Rikkon’s portal and came back.
Time moves differently here. But her scent is still fresh, and it’s getting stronger, which means I’m going in the right direction.
I begin to hope we’ll be able to leave this place before one of us gets seriously hurt or imprisoned, but the optimistic thought comes too soon.
I pick up another scent, and my sense of foreboding is impossible to ignore.
A Nightingale male found Manu before I could.
I slow down and examine the place where they met, finding markings that indicate she fell.
There aren’t any signs of struggle or the scent of blood, though.
She got up, and her footprints signify that she followed him. I can’t tell if she went by choice or not. But now that I know she’s not alone, I have to be careful. I keep running, mindful to avoid stepping on dried branches or anything that will make noise.
My senses are so homed in on her scent and on the tracks that I don’t notice I’m no longer alone until something collapses on top of me, pinning me down.
I squirm under the weight, trying to break free and see what’s holding me down.
It’s a Nightingale male—a soldier. Fuck me.
I snarl, then attempt to bite his skin, but all my teeth find is hard metal.
The male rolls off me, and I spring back on my paws, ready to attack.
But I hesitate. The soldier is lying on his back with his eyes closed.
He doesn’t look well. Is he injured? I don’t see any visible wounds.
After a moment, I do notice the emblem on his armor.
He’s a soldier from the Aquila Kingdom army. He could be useful.
Going against my survival instincts, I shift back to my human form. I need to be able to communicate with him. I shake his shoulder. “Hey, are you alive?”
He grunts. “Apparently.”
I don’t sense any aggression coming from him. In fact, he seems more annoyed than anything. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I… hell. I don’t know.” He opens his eyes and turns to me slowly. “It feels like I just woke up from a coma. My head is fuzzy, and I’m so fucking cold.”
I’m wasting precious time. The longer I stay here, the farther away Manu gets. “I need to travel through the Aquila domain undetected. I’ll help you if you help me.”
His eyes widen. “Wait. Are we in Ellnesari, wolf boy?”
His question gives me pause. “Where else would we be?”
He sits up, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. “My mind feels like scrambled eggs. I have no recollection of returning to Ellnesari.”
My head is spinning. I think I know who this soldier is. “You were sent to the human lands to spy on Rikkon and Vivi, weren’t you?”
“Yes.” He narrows his eyes. “I know you. You were Vryenn’s friend. How did you cross into Ellnesari? The gates have been sealed for millennia.”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way. Do we have a deal?”
He rubs his face, then looks into the distance. “I have the strangest feeling that I’m not supposed to help you, but…” He turns to me. “I don’t see why not. You have a deal.”
MANU
When I made the rash decision to stay behind in Ellnesari, I wasn’t counting on being captured within minutes.
I should have foreseen that Queen Maewe would send one of her soldiers to spy on our party.
I’ve tried to get Telar, the captain of the Aquila army, to tell me where he’s taking me, but the asshole remains quiet no matter what I say to him.
He seems immune to my sharp tongue, which is the only weapon I have at my disposal since he bound my hands with his magical vines, and after I threw a stone at him, he took away my ability to bend over to pick up something else to use against him.
Maybe when I get free, I can steal his vines. They’re handy.
I lose track of time, but it seems we’ve been walking for hours.
We’re still deep in the forest, but the trees have changed shape.
Instead of trunks that spiral upward, this forest has trees that are as thick as buildings and so tall, I can’t see their tops.
Just a few rays of sunlight manage to break through the canopy.
I’m still not used to being outside during broad daylight.
I expect to burst into flames at a moment’s notice.
I try to stay in the shaded areas as best as I can, but my captor cares little about my fear of the sun.
In fact, he seems intent on taking the most illuminated path.
If I allow the separation to become too much, I’m yanked forward by the magic he used to tether me to him.
My legs are aching, and there’s another problem I didn’t count on.
I’m hungry. How am I going to feed while bound to this stupid male?
I doubt he’ll let me feed on him—not that I have any desire to drink from a Nightingale.
The memory of Lucca drinking that priestess dry is still imprinted in my head.
“How much longer do we have to walk?”
He remains quiet. Jerkface.
“Hey, asshole. You can’t make me walk endlessly.”
Utter silence. Son of a bitch.
“I have to pee.”
“Who’s stopping you?”
“Do you want me to pee on myself?” I shriek.
He shrugs, not slowing his pace.
We’re following a small stream, and even though I’m thirsting for something other than water, I wouldn’t mind washing my face. I know he won’t stop for me, but I’m stubborn, and if he has to drag me when I don’t walk on my own, so be it.
I get near the stream, but when I try to bend over, my body won’t cooperate.
Fuck. I totally forgot the jackass removed my ability to do so.
I wait, knowing that at any moment, the distance between us will become too great, and I’ll be yanked forward by the spell.
I step into the stream and brace for the fall.
A second later, it happens, but instead of taking a step forward to prevent myself from falling, I plant my feet.
It’s hard to override my instinct to remain upright.
The fall is as jarring as I thought it’d be.
My knees hit the rocky bottom of the stream, shooting white-hot pain up my legs.
I grind my teeth as I wait for the wave of pain to pass.
I’m soaked through now. Worst of all, the magic keeps pulling me, and it hurts.
“What are you doing?” Telar asks, annoyance lacing his words.
“Peeing,” I lie.
“You savages are disgusting.”
I lift my face to glare at him. “If we’re disgusting, you made us so. Vampires are a Nightingale creation after all.”
A muscle in his jaw tics. He’s pissed, but at least he doesn’t offer a retort.
I think this time he simply can’t think of one, and that small victory lifts my spirits a little.
Since he stopped moving, I take the opportunity to scrub the dried mud off my face.
My nails are filthy too, so I focus on them next.
“Are you done?”
“No.”
There’s a splash, and then Telar is pulling me upright. “Wrong answer. Let’s go.”
“Let go of me, you brute!” I try to pull away, but he simply digs his fingers deeper into my arms.
“I’ll let go if you start to behave.”
I narrow my eyes, getting an idea. Instead of continuing to struggle, I lean into him. “I think you just wanted an excuse to come closer to me. Confess, buddy. You’re craving a vampire bite.”
He twists his face into an expression of utter disgust and shoves me back. “You vile creature. Try to bite me and see what happens.”
“Oh, is that a dare?”
He rubs his face, showing clear signs of frustration.
It’s the first time my goading has gotten to him.
Maybe he does have a thing for vampires, and I struck a chord.
I didn’t think seduction would work on him, but maybe I ought to try it.
The idea of getting close to a Nightingale male in that manner is nauseating, but I’ve done many awful things in my long existence. What’s one more?