Forgotten Ashes (The Iolite Academy #1)

1. The Rose

Chapter 1

The Rose

S omeone was following me.

I heard their too-light-to-be-thoughtless, too-heavy-to-be-stealthy footsteps echoing behind from the moment I left the east wing. I let them trail after me as I made my way through the compound toward my bedchamber. If they thought to overpower me by taking me by surprise they’d be sorely disappointed when they were met with my blade instead of my submission. A corner of my mouth raised at the thought.

My patience for insolent pack mates hoping to prove me unfit of my station had met its limit about twenty minutes ago with the most recent grumbling of, “She can’t even shift,” from someone angry they hadn’t gotten their way. The insult was unoriginal at best. I told myself it didn’t sting each time it was hissed under someone’s breath.

Truthfully, I should have known the day would be less than joyful when I first opened my eyes, body covered in sweat, heart pounding, lungs screaming for air untainted by ash and soot. It took a full five minutes to remind myself there was no debris clinging to my skin. I wasn’t stuck in the wreckage. I was in the compound, in my room, in my bed. I wasn’t there. They hadn’t found me.

They wouldn’t find me.

The morning marked ten years since Luna Ivy and Alpha Lucas brought me into the pack. Ten years since I was a child wandering the woods alone. At eighteen, I was no longer a child. I was no longer wandering the woods. But even in one of Ivy’s warm embraces, receiving one of Lucas’ proud smiles, or laughing in the dining hall amongst the pack mates who didn’t begrudge my very existence, I still felt alone. I had to be.

If a poor night’s sleep was all that plagued me I’d be more amused than irritated by my shadow, but my morning was an omen for the day to come. A spilled bowl of oatmeal on my lap at breakfast. A careless trainee bleeding during this afternoon’s weapon training. A fight in the dining hall between two males wishing to claim the same female as their mate–both of whom she’d been pursuing without informing the other.

Each incident frayed my already dwindling patience, but it was the two-hour debate over a blade’s rightful owner that had me grinding my teeth in frustration. The male whose favor I ruled against was spitting with rage. It meant little to him that the other party’s name had been clearly engraved in the blade’s handle.

As he stomped away he’d cursed me under his breath and spat, “A Beta Luna who can’t even shift acting as though her word is law. If the Beta Alpha were here, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The only thing saving him from my wrath was my own self-preservation. The distance between us was too far for any normal shifter to hear him. Confronting him would call attention to a truth I’d taken great care to hide over the years–I was anything but normal.

His impertinence irritated me, but what irked me most was he’d been right. If Grayson had been here he may have made the same ruling, but I suspected he’d have reopened the case rather than trusting my judgment. He’d pull me aside and smile his assurance that it was only to keep the peace, not a lack of faith in my abilities, but I knew his true feelings toward me. I’d heard it from his own lips, whether he realized it or not.

Thoughts of Grayson took my day from unfortunate to truly vexing as I considered our impending reunion. Which is why it felt more than reasonable to bring this game of cat and mouse to an end. When I turned the next corner, I slipped behind one of the wooden pillars lining the hallway and melted into the shadows. My follower skulked past my hiding spot. I shot my hand out to snatch their wrist and pull them into the darkness with me.

If I hadn’t caught Ivy’s sea-breeze scent, I would’ve had her on her back in seconds. As it was, I showed the middle-aged tiger mercy. I simply twisted her arm behind her back instead, pressing her into the pillar until a fit of laughter shook us both.

“I yield, Briar! I yield!” She chuckled and turned her head to look at me over her shoulder.

“Don’t you know better than to try sneaking up on me by now?” I teased in her ear before releasing her arm. Ivy had been trying to take me by surprise for years. When I was younger she would have bested me in under a minute, but the past few years she only pinned me when I allowed her to do it. She liked to say it was part of my training, but I suspected she took no small amount of joy in her efforts.

“Just making sure you’re staying alert,” she countered with a smile. Then, more seriously, she added, “You’re walking into a lion’s den tomorrow. Anyone could be lurking around any corner at the Academy. Let your guard fall for a moment and someone will pull you into the shadows for no reason other than proving they can overpower you.”

“First of all.” I raised a finger. “That’s eerie. Second of all, I’m ready. My guard is up, my focus is fixed, and my daggers are sharp. I’m prepared to take care of the pack.”

“I know you are, but don’t forget to take care of yourself too.” She reached up to tug on one of the braids scattered amongst the waves of my hair. She lowered her voice and took a step closer. “But that’s not why I’m here. There was an attempted breach at the Eastern border.”

“When was it detected?” And why didn’t you lead with that tidbit of information? I pivoted on my heel to head east.

“Ten minutes since I was notified, two more since something triggered the enchantment.” Meaning if she’d told me immediately instead of following me, I would’ve been there by now. Instead, I’d spend ten more minutes backtracking across the entire compound. What a waste.

The disapproval must have been written across my face because she waved a hand through the air and said, “The Enforcers who were on patrol already swarmed the area, or I would’ve told you right away.”

I disagreed with her decision but kept my opinion to myself. She was the Luna of this pack, I was merely her Beta–for now. Unfortunately, a voice in the back of my mind assured me it would be my name, not hers, that was grumbled as cause for the delay.

“Have we confirmed the enchantment held?” I asked, falling into step at Ivy’s side.

“It held,” she said as we strode through the lantern-lined halls toward one of the side exits. “Whatever they tried using to penetrate it bounced back, but the team heading that way was instructed not to cross the border until one of us arrives on the scene. I need you to go meet them while I circle the perimeter and find Lucas. Do as you see fit once you arrive. They’re awaiting your command.”

“Understood.” We were nearly to the door now.

“It’s likely just a flock of rogues hoping to prey on whatever vulnerabilities they can find, but don’t lower your guard. More than rogues infest these woods.” I, more than most, knew what horrors could lurk in the darkness of trees and rustling leaves; my guard was never down.

“Be careful, and above all else?—”

“Protect the pack,” I finished for her and grinned as we exited the main lodge. Her slender shoulders fell as she exhaled deeply.

“Yes. Always.”

“Until my last breath,” I promised. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Goddess guide you.”

“And you, Luna.” I dipped my head in her direction before turning on my heel toward the location she described. I saw her shift from the corner of my eye, and a streak of orange darted across the clearing as her tiger ran to join her mate.

My two legs may be chronically human, but they were fast–faster than many who had the benefit of four. They carried me past the school and into the woods in record time. The brisk air pierced my skin as I picked up speed, dodging branches and trees while I ran. The Eastern border was the closest to the compound, but it was still a solid two miles through trees, vines, and underbrush to reach it.

I loved the woods. I loved every inch of them, from the dew-dropped moss glistening in the morning to the rustles and growls it hid between its trunks under the blanket of night. The former was a lovely sight during a dawn run, and the latter wasn’t nearly as frightening after you’d slept amongst them for weeks on end.

Ivy didn’t specify which of the Enforcers waited for me at the border, but as I grew closer the hints of juniper in the air promised one of my favorite snow leopards was amongst them. Unfortunately, it was polluted by a distinct tinge of clove. Goody for me.

“Did you take a tour of the compound on the way here?” Logan groused from his pedestal atop a tree stump. The shadow of loss, of guilt, that hit me with every encounter reared its head in the back of my mind. I pretended it didn’t. “Or did you simply not deem this matter urgent enough to warrant your presence?”

The other Enforcers left the areas along the border they were scouting to head in my direction. The eyes of the two younger members of the trio, Mia and Brody, flitted from Logan’ still seated form to the elder snow leopard approaching to my right before landing on me. The animosity Logan felt toward me was no secret to the rest of the pack. He’d follow direct orders– eventually– but had no qualms about questioning each and every one before doing so.

I tried to give him grace. Loss and wounded pride had a special way of turning something sweet into something bitter, and his loss had been great. The position he spent his life preparing to fill was stolen by a friend ten years his junior. It was stolen by someone he mentored and trained.

It was stolen by me.

After the Pack Rite, I tried to mend our relationship–to restore some semblance of the relationship we’d once had–but I couldn't. He wouldn’t let me. In truth,I’m not sure I could either, in his place. I’d publicly taken the Beta Luna position from him and defended it. Twice.

So I tried to be understanding, really I did, but it’d been a year and a half since I first became the Beta Luna. A year and a half of not-quite-whispered-insults. A year and a half of defiance and attempts at undermining my authority. My understanding was growing thin.

“Good evening, Enforcers,” I greeted, ignoring my predecessor’s questions completely. “Tell me what we know.”

Fenrir stared pointedly at Logan before giving a slight shake of his head and turning to address me, “Evening, Beta. Thank you for coming.”

“At such a leisurely pace.”

I ignored that too.

“The enchantment was triggered approximately twenty-two minutes ago,” Fenrir continued, “Logan was closest to the point of impact and arrived on scene. I joined him shortly after, along with Brody and Mia. We surveyed the perimeter from this side of the border and found a patch of disturbed brush about a half mile due north. No sign of lingering threats or tracks from this distance. No detectable scents.”

I nodded, but my response was cut off by Logan’s next comment.

“There may have been something detectable if we could’ve crossed the border to investigate twenty minutes ago instead of sitting around waiting for one of our leaders to arrive.”

Fenrir scowled. Brody crossed and then uncrossed his arms before pulling at the hem of his shirt. Mia, as still as a boulder in the forest, looked as if she were hardly breathing.

“And yet you’re still sitting,” I said without looking at him. “We’ll cross the border and see if there’s anything deeper in the wood.” Fenrir’s eyes were still on Logan, now filled with more disappointment than anger, but he nodded his ascent.

“Mia, Brody you’re with us. One of you keeps an eye to the north, the other to the south. Understood?”

Three confirmations rang through the night air. I turned north as the three Enforcers fell in around me. Then, and only then, did I address the still slouching, still sneering male flooding the space with his scent.

I used to be so fond of cloves.

“Logan?”

“Yes, Beta ?” he spat the title, finally rising to his feet. He stretched his arms overhead and leaned his head toward one shoulder then the other. The movement exposed a strip of flat stomach marred by claw marks. My claw marks. “I presume you need me to check for tracks and report back to you before the Pack Leaders arrive? I’d hate for you to make a bad show of things and have nothing to report.”

Logan took a step toward me, shoulders set, chin raised a fraction in the air. His eyes met and held mine.

“That won’t be necessary,” I deadpanned, feeling no pressure to drop his stare, “I need you to wait here for Ivy and Lucas. Bring them to meet us. Catch them up on the way.”

He took a step back as his mouth fell open without words to accompany it. I didn’t wait for his reply. I started north toward the area Fenrir described. Someone should have stayed to monitor the location until I arrived, but there was no use pointing it out now.

I shook off the fragment of guilt sitting on my chest as I walked past Logan. Someone truly did need to stay and wait for Ivy and Lucas, but if not for his poor attitude I would have given the task to one of the less experienced Enforcers. There were pressing matters to attend to and his defiance would only slow our progress.

He should be grateful that rather than strip him of the pride he’d managed to hold on to during his descent into self-destruction the past year and a half, I chose to leave him there to stew instead. Or at least that had been my plan.

A plan that went awry the moment Logan made a choice I could not ignore: he grabbed my arm.

“You are not leaving me behind like some messenger boy at your beck and call. I’m the best damn tracker in this pack and you know it.” Decidedly not true. “Why don’t you stay behind and wait for your wannabe mommy and daddy while I do what I should’ve been doing from the second I arrived–finding and eliminating this threat.”

I pushed back the flames roiling beneath my skin that longed to flood to where he grasped my skin.

“I suggest you let go of my arm, Enforcer ,” I commanded. “Now.”

Then Logan made his second mistake in as many minutes: he laughed.

The final thread of patience I’d clung to throughout the day snapped.