Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Every step sends fresh pain through the wound. Blood runs down my leg, leaving drops on the cobblestones behind me. The trail is obvious and any competent tracker could follow it with their eyes closed. I’m losing too much blood.
But I can’t stop to tend it.
I keep moving, driven by instinct and desperation.
Where can I go?
The question circles endlessly as I run. Every door is closed to me. I’m alone, hunted, with nowhere safe to hide. The guild’s network that once protected me now hunts me. Every shadow could hide a hunter and every corner could be a trap.
Wait… I do have someone.
Shade.
Years of partnership, of watching each other’s backs. We’ve bled together and fought together. If anyone knows me, truly knows me beneath the surface, it’s Shade. Perhaps my friend might recognize something familiar in my eyes.
It’s a desperate hope, but it’s all I have left.
If anyone can look past the fur and fangs to see who’s trapped inside, it would be Shade.
The Wiolant compound is across the city near the palace.
It’s part of the royal ground where guards patrol at all hours.
The journey requires crossing most of the city.
Miles of streets, countless guards, too many opportunities to be spotted and killed. But I have no other options.
I move carefully through narrow alleys that reek of piss and rotting food, keeping to the shadows.
A cat hisses at me from a windowsill and dogs bark as I pass.
Every animal in the city knows I don’t belong.
Perhaps they know something is wrong with me.
My stomach clenches with hunger. The raw rabbit they fed me feels like it was days ago.
The journey takes longer than it should.
Usually it would take an hour of walking.
In my injured and exhausted state, it might as well be across the ocean.
I have to stop frequently to rest and catch my breath.
The sky is lightening in the east and stars are fading.
It’s nearly dawn by the time I reach the Wiolant gates.
I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m about to try to infiltrate the royal palace as a wounded, bloody wolf. The stupidity is staggering.
The ornate gates loom before me, twice as tall as they should be. I’m swaying on my feet. Blood loss and hunger conspire to make the world tilt and spin. The guards snap to attention the moment they spot me. Their spears lower in perfect unison, pointing at my chest.
“Alert the huntsmen!”
Panic floods through me. I try to back away but my legs betray me. They buckle and I collapse at the gate, I’m too exhausted to run even if I wanted to. My legs fold beneath me and I crumple to the ground. Blood pools beneath me, dark against the pale cobblestones.
More guards emerge from the compound. Within seconds I’m surrounded by eight of them. Their spears point inward, creating a fence of steel I can’t escape.
I’m looking at my death, arranged in a perfect circle around me.
There’s a bitter poetry to it. Dying at the gates of the person I once came to kill. Maybe this is justice. I will be put down like a mad dog.
“What’s going on here?”
The voice stops my heart. It’s familiar despite the mask that muffles it.
Shade.
Hope surges painfully in my chest.
He pushes through the circle of guards, demon mask in place and hand resting on his sword hilt. I try to stand but my legs won’t listen. I manage to lift my head, to meet his gaze through the mask’s eye holes.
The demon mask stares down at me, blank and expressionless. I’ve seen him wear it a thousand times but never has it felt so impenetrable.
How do you say ‘it’s me’ when you have no words?
His pale gray eyes study me. I search them desperately for any hint that he sees me. We’ve known each other since we were kids.
I put everything I have into my eyes. Look at me, Shade.
But just like Garrett, there’s no flicker of recognition. Nothing that says he sees past the wolf exterior to what’s trapped underneath.
His gaze is sharp. The same look he gives to threats before eliminating them.
“Strange,” he says in that emotionless voice I know so well. “Wolves don’t usually come this far into the city.”
I whine, the sound pathetic even to my own ears.
You’ve known me for years. You have to know me.
Nothing. Shade stares at me like I’m a beast and nothing more.
“Should we kill it?” one of the guards asks, spear angled for a killing thrust.
Shade tilts his head slightly, considering. “It’s what we would do in Tiamat for rabid animals. Make it quick though.”
Fuck this dense airhead.
Rage flares through the despair. Of all people, Shade should know me. We’ve worked together for years. I’ve saved his life. He’s saved mine. If I could still speak, I’d be screaming at him.
I aim to lunge at that mask and tear it off his face. I want to force him to look at me until he sees the truth. But I can’t move. Even breathing takes an effort as I lie on the ground and wait for the spear.
“Wait.”
A soft voice cuts through the tension. It carries a quiet authority that makes every guard freeze. They part immediately, creating a path for her.
Queen Rhianelle Wiolant of Aelfheim.
She’s wearing a plain dress suitable for early morning in the gardens. Her silver hair is loose, catching the dawn light.
I’ve only seen her from a distance before, but up close she’s even smaller than I expected.
She barely comes up to the guards’ shoulders.
Her features are delicate and she looks so fragile that I think a strong wind could blow her over.
This is the queen I tried to kill. The one Aurora and I stalked through her garden with blades drawn.
“Be careful, Your Highness. It’s dangerous,” Shade says immediately, moving to place himself between her and me.
His hand tightens on his sword. He’s ready to kill me in a heartbeat if I make any move toward the Queen.
“It’s injured and frightened,” she says quietly.
Rhianelle steps around Shade, approaching me with slow and careful steps. She’s not making sudden movements that might startle me. Her hands are visible and empty, showing she’s unarmed.
This is the Queen whose dark patron nearly killed Aurora and me in that garden. Getting close to her is suicide. I should be fleeing, not lying here waiting for her to approach.
I remember that presence behind us in the tree and the child-like voice, the terror that stripped away every defense. What do we have here? A dog and a cat.
The memory of it makes my fur stand on end. I remember the certainty of death.
But my body won’t respond anymore. The wound in my shoulder pulses with heat. My legs tremble from exhaustion and everything hurts too much.
Something in the Wolven half of me recognizes something in her. Queen Rhianelle is not pack but not a threat either.
She is safe. This person won’t hurt me.
My new wolf brain has decided, overriding every reasonable objection.
“Everyone step back,” she orders without raising her voice. “Give us space.”
“Your Highness—” multiple voices protest, guards and Shade speaking over each other in concern. The objections come from all directions. They’re guards citing danger and basic common sense about approaching wounded predators. She’s ignoring them completely.
Rhianelle raises one small hand and silence falls.
“I know how to handle canines,” she says calmly. “My uncle had a dog named Judge. He’s the biggest wolfhound in all of Aelfheim. We were best friends. I’m not afraid of this one.”
She’s lying…
My Wolven ears pick it up clearly. I can sense the subtle tell that accompanies deception. Her heartbeat increases a fraction.
The girl is scared as fuck. But her voice stays steady and her face remains confident. If I weren't stuck in this wolf form, I’d believe her completely. She’s a good liar.
“Everyone back. That’s an order.”
The guards reluctantly retreat.
They step back in unison, giving her the space she demanded. All except Shade, who hovers close enough to intervene if I so much as twitch wrong.
He moves with her, staying within striking distance.
His sword is still in its sheath but his hand never leaves the hilt.
He locks his attention on me completely.
I’ve seen that focus before, directed at targets moments before he killed them.
Every muscle in his body is coiled, ready to explode into violence.
Rhianelle kneels just out of lunging distance.
She lowers herself to get closer to my level.
“You’re hurt,” she says softly. “That shoulder needs treatment.”
The garden is quiet except for my labored breathing. Each breath is a struggle, rasping through my throat.
Rhianelle kneels beside me in the dirt, her silver hair falling forward as she examines my infected shoulder. The wound has gone bad. It’s black at the edges, radiating heat that makes my whole body burn.
“How did you even get here?” she murmurs, more to herself than to me.
I want to explain that the blood on my muzzle isn’t all mine. But all I can do is pant, tongue lolling out like a common dog.
“Shade, bring food from the kitchen. And water,” she says without looking back at him, her eyes fixed on me.
“Your Highness, I can’t leave you alone with—“
“The wolf can barely stand. I think I’ll manage.”
Shade hesitates for a long moment. I can feel his internal conflict but he relents. His departure is reluctant. He glances back twice before entering the building.
When we’re alone, Rhianelle inches closer.
“You’re not a normal wolf,” she murmurs, studying my face with those perceptive eyes. “What are you?”
Thank fuck. Finally. Someone who sees. I want to tell her everything.
My ears flatten against my skull. If I still had hands, they’d be trembling.