Chapter Sixteen
"How nice of you to finally join."
The snark wasn't held back from Talia's voice in the privacy of my bedroom.
She sat on my bed, still in the same pale blue dress she had worn to the reception the night before. Her braid was loose, blonde baby hairs sticking out every which way. There was a saltiness in the air and a faint redness rimming her eyes.
"I was going to come find you," I answered, hating how my voice sounded so tiny, even in the small confines of the room.
"You didn't have to." Her words were brittle and her eyes were narrowed as she crossed her eyes. "I think we all heard you loud and clear when you stood there and said nothing."
It struck like a slap, the venom in her words nearly making me stumble backwards. "Talia, I wasn't trying to. I was just...What was I supposed to say?"
Her laugh was sharp, hollow, her head tipping back in an exaggerated show. "You were supposed to defend me."
The blackhole in my chest had returned. It sucked in the light, draining the glimmer of hope that had dared shine through after my humiliating breakdown in the hallway. The room felt too warm, sweat beaded on the back of my neck.
"I wanted to." I swallowed to try and keep down the emotion that crept up my throat. Now was not the time.
"Oh, you wanted to. Well that changes everything." A fire blazed in her eyes, her hands flew up in the air and her nostrils flared before she looked away - looked at anything but me.
Frustration bit at my heels, trying to chase away the mutated monster of shame and remorse that clung to my chest like mucus.
"It does, Talia," I snapped, the words falling from my lips without permission. "It does because I had nothing to defend you with. You didn't tell me. I didn't know you went to him. You didn't tell me that he gave you documents or that they were more than you asked for. I was blindsided."
Talia stood, taking a quick step towards me so she could look right in my eyes. "I was trying to protect you!"
"And I was trying to protect us!"
Talia reared back, her eyes widened, mouth agape.
"Was I supposed to deny it to the ground? Tell them they were lying?" I asked, each question pointed and sharp. "What about when they came forward with more evidence? With their eye witnesses? What about when both of our credibility was shattered and we were sent home in disgrace?"
My chest heaved. My heart hammered in my ears. I dropped my head and took a breath.
"I couldn't speak until I understood what happened."
"You always understand," she muttered, the soft heartbreak pulling my gaze back to her. "You're always so careful and composed. But last night, you looked at me like the rest of them did."
She was right. My pain clouded my judgement and I doubted the one person who had always been there for me. The person who volunteered to brave this lion's den by my side.
"I'm sorry." My voice cracked but I cleared my throat. "I was shocked and angry. I didn't want to believe it but I was hurt. And I was afraid. Not for me, for you."
Talia bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head. "I wasn't scared of whatever they could punish me with. That's child's play. I was scared that you thought I could betray you. We've fought polar bears and braved blizzards side by side. I have always had your back."
I nodded and cursed the burning sting at the back of my eyes. "And I doubted you. I was wrong."
"And how could you think I would be sneaking around with that Alpha?" she asked with a frown. "He walks around with a stick permanently lodged up his ass. I'm not judging you but that is not my type. That vampire though..."
My shoulders shook as I laughed, mingling with Talia's as the tension popped like a balloon.
Talia leaned in, her head dipping to lay her cheek against mine in a wolfy hug.
When she left to get some well needed rest after the night she had, I followed, turning down the hallway and through the curtained doors to the terrace.
Too much had happened, too many emotions, too many cracks in my walls. I needed cold air to clear my head and harden my shell once again.
The moon still hung in the sky and the brightest stars definitely twinkled against the dawn.
The morning breeze brushed my face as I leaned over the railing, forearms perched against the glossed wood.
My eyes stayed closed as my nose caught a scent on the wind but my head tipped to the side to let Lucien know I could sense him.
"Well if it isn't my Ice Queen," Lucien drawled, his smirk audible. "I was beginning to think you melted after the heat of the confrontation."
"Not quite. Though the steam from all the hot air they blow might make me melt."
His prowling stilled behind me but I was enjoying the crisp morning air too much to turn towards him.
"Was that a joke? From you?" He asked with a voice laced with teasing humor. "Careful, darling, you'll ruin your reputation."
My eyes rolled behind my closed lids. "Well I wouldn't want to do that. They're already trying so hard, it would be a shame to show them up this early in the game."
"Two for one. My my, are you thawing?" I felt Lucien lean against the railing next to me. With anyone else, I would have been annoyed at their proximity and overly familiar quips but there was something about Lucien that felt ironically non-threatening.
He was like a house cat, so confident in his control that he didn't feel the need to fight. He just wanted to play with his food.
"Or has that little spat made you crack?" he asked, poking and prodding.
"I didn't crack," I shot back, grateful that my voice remained calm despite the nerve that was struck. "I hesitated."
"And you hate yourself for it." It wasn't a question. Lucien was merely observing, watching me with prying eyes.
"You might have forgotten in your old age but mortality tends to bring guilt. It's an unfortunate consequence." I finally opened my eyes, giving him a sideways glance.
His crimson eyes closed in the dim light, alight with that all-knowing mischief they always seemed to hold.
"And how old do you think I am?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.
I leaned forward to match him, eyes holding his with an icy stubbornness. "Old enough to know better than to keep poking a bear."
Lucien shook his head and his smirk turned into something deeper, almost respectful. "You know, I've been around these blood thirsty jackals for centuries. I've known liars and cheats and politicians. But somehow, you are the most confusing creature I've met."
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me." I pulled back, returning my gaze to the peaceful stirring of the distant forest.
"I think you missed your true calling as a vampire, Ice Queen." Lucien propped his elbow on the railing and rested his chin in his palm.
"Because I know when to bite?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Because you keep your monsters caged. Restraint is all the rage among us bloodsuckers. Tell me - what would it take to make you really break? A scandal? A fight? A kiss?" His voice dipped to a seductive croon.
"You'd be the last to know."
"All this teasing," he tutted with a flash of his fangs. "You know every time you don't rise to my bait, it just makes me more intrigued."
"And every time you open your mouth, I remember that restraint is a virtue." Even though we teased about my control, he had still successfully drawn me into his insatiable banter.
"You've got that look again, like you're trying not to enjoy this," he teased with a wicked grin. "It's my mission to get you to break by the end of the Council season."
He had caught me. I was entertained by him and the seductive dance of his humor. But I kept my eyes trained coolly on his and forced myself to give nothing away.
"You're welcome to try."
He grinned, his voice dropping low as he straightened and took a step closer. "Careful, darling, that almost sounded like flirting."
Maybe I could see the appeal he held for Talia.
"Then I'll need to work on my delivery."
Lucien opened his mouth to make another quip but his head tilted to the side before he peered over the railing to the field below. My eyes followed to the shadowy figure with squared shoulders and a much too straight posture.
"Well that's interesting," Lucien cooed, wiggling his fingers in a taunting wave as Dax stormed away towards the entrance of the Council House. "Someone's on a mission. Don't worry Ice Queen, I've got your back."
"How comforting," I deadpanned, earning a grin from Lucien.
"I suppose we should go see what all this commotion is," I conceded, although I still felt much too drained to want to deal with the droll of pack politics.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," he added as footsteps rounded the corner and two guards appeared in the doorway.
"The Council has asked that all members gather in the main room," one guard spoke up, eyes flickering between myself and Lucien as though he was unsure who was the bigger threat. "They're meeting immediately."
"Duty calls." Lucien gave me a look over his shoulder as he walked away, the two guards moving without a word so we could pass.
Their presence loomed as we navigated the halls to the main room - a pair of overbearing escorts for the potential stealer of not-so-secret documents.
The room was already full when we arrived, ushered to the back of the room. An unfamiliar man stood in the centre, back straight and hands folded behind him as he faced the spotlight. Niceties were forgotten, everyone too eager to hear his report.
A chair creaked as someone leaned forward, the only sound in a room suddenly breathless.
"Six rogues, all dead, found along the border of Red Crescent," he stated perfectly matter-of-fact.
Everything about his screamed stern, from his posture to his expression to the clippedness of his words.
"All in varying states of injury but each had some degree of blistering and blackening on the paws and some on their snout. "
The detail hung in the air like a match dropped over oil.
The air in the room thickened, the implication of his words rolling through the crowd who stood with bated breath.
They knew these signs, though none were old enough to have seen that horror in person. The stories had been passed down, scary stories used to keep southern pups behaving. Monsters, silent and deadly, striking in the night with their frozen breath.
Be good or the snow shadows will get you.
That's what they had called my people: snow shadows.
A murmur stirred in the back, cut off as quickly as it began, like fear muffled beneath protocol.
Alpha de Silva stood from his seat, eyes full of fury as he searched the crowd until they landed on me. His finger jabbed the air.
"Did your people do this?"
I had so much fun getting to write this chapter! Even though the scene with Talia was heavy, I love her character and you already know I adore Lucien's little flirty banter way too much. He's just fun.
Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliff hanger but what do you think?
Was this Northern Circle? Or is it a set up?
Stay tuned for the next chapter because Dax is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.