9. Gracie
Gracie
The shift in tone from last night to this morning was drastic—or maybe I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
The sleep I had gotten while wrapped in Thornar’s arms was deep, but when the camp packed up to leave at two in the morning before the replacement border patrol could arrive, it had felt like being ripped from a peaceful haven.
I’d quickly thrown on a pair of dark pants, boots, and a sweater to fit the change in weather.
Thornar had me help him shrug on a coat after I checked his wound, and I’d had to control myself from blushing at the sweet way he smiled at me.
My skin prickled as I remembered the last thing he’d told me, how sure he was about everything.
Especially our future.
The other two had been perfectly fine after the mission, except for a small cut on Basir’s cheek that I’d insisted on bandaging as we rode in the convoy.
Apparently both of them had managed to steal a few minutes of sleep on the tent floor after Thornar and I had passed out, but I wasn’t completely buying it—especially in the early dawn light of our quiet car.
The border post disappeared behind us quickly and the convoy rolled into the dark, headlights off, navigating the side roads with a calculated precision. We were trying to avoid coming across anyone from Grimfur Skulk territory for as long as possible.
The territory slowly unraveled before us, the tree cover thinning until it was nonexistent. The further down the road we went, the more industrial framework began to crowd the horizon. It was such a drastic difference from most of the previous territories we’d visited.
The skeletal structures billowed dark smoke and looked like they’d been doing so for decades. There were buildings that may have once been grand but were now deteriorating, littering the grounds of the capital city like garbage.
A ripped flag featuring the Grimfur Skulk crest fluttered in the distance, the only one of its kind.
Instead, most surfaces were covered in the Cinder Ring’s symbol, making it obvious who was truly in charge here and who were most likely Ivan’s real allies.
I felt Basir shift beside me and looked toward him in concern.
His gaze was fixed out the window, his body tense, and I had no doubt that Thornar and Ravik felt the shift too. None of us said anything.
Instead, I slipped my hand into his, his fingers gripping mine tightly.
We made it further into the territory than I expected before we hit the first patrol.
It was minor—the comms crackling to life and warning us that there were two Grimfur Skulk military trucks at an intersection ahead and that we needed to take a side road.
The convoy maneuvered easily, still afforded the cover of early dawn.
As we grew closer to the city this happened a few more times…then we stopped for a different reason. The capital city of Grimfur Skulk rose against the dawn sky like something out of a nightmare.
I’d only heard stories and seen old pictures, none of which told the true story.
Enormous. Dark. The kind of city that used to be grand and beautiful but was now steeped in smog.
Every visible entry point was crowded with barbed wire, military vans, and men dressed in dark clothes.
Not just soldiers, but Cinder Ring members.
There was no break in the barrier as far as the eye could see, and while we sat far enough back that they couldn’t directly spot us, I had no doubt that scouts would eventually report back.
“Does everyone live in the city?” I asked out, noting the lack of people we’d passed until now.
“Mostly. It’s the only place with resources,” Basir murmured, then motioned to Thornar to hand him the comms radio. Right on cue, one of the commanders spoke up.
“We can’t push through that. Not without them locking the whole city down before we’re halfway in.”
He was right. We’d gotten word that allied forces from the other territories were following behind us, but even with backup a direct push seemed like a bad idea—not just for us, but for anyone trapped inside the city at the mercy of the Cinder Ring. Basir had said as much during our ride.
“Pull the convoy back about a mile. There’s a road that dips along the eastern river’s basin. I have an idea.”
I watched Basir curiously as the vehicles reversed slowly out of sight before turning to follow his direction.
The new path sloped down to a maintenance road that followed alongside the river, which appeared to run directly through the city.
Though I didn’t yet understand the full plan, no one questioned Basir.
The maintenance road was narrow, requiring the convoy to park single file, each vehicle tucking itself below the ridgeline and out of sight from the city above.
By the time everyone had dismounted and gathered around the hood of Waylon’s vehicle, the dawn had fully broken with a grey and heavy light.
Waylon and Bishu stood across from us, and one of the Stark Flight commanders pulled up a tablet with a map of the city already loaded, matching the one Ravik held.
“We’ve finally received confirmation from our inside contact,” the commander said, keeping his voice low. “Ideal timing if I’ve ever heard of it—”
“Unless it’s a trap and they know we’re out here,” Thornar pointed out with a good-natured smile. Apparently that thought hadn’t occurred to the commander, who looked freaked out.
Waylon chuckled. “It’s one of our sons. I promise that’s not the case.” He gave the commander a nod to continue.
“Right, well, there’s a substantial rebellion force operating within the city.
Residents, even some former Grimfur Skulk soldiers who’d refused the Cinder Ring when they began taking over the city.
They’ve been working quietly for months with supply interference and other small acts of sabotage.
” He paused. “They don’t know we’re here or that we’re coming. ”
“My son has acted on the periphery to gain information without interfering,” Bishu explained.
“So if we can get into the city, we’ll have a group willing to help, even if we’re unexpected,” Ravik summarized. “And then the allied forces arriving can come in from the outside and handle anyone surrounding the city.”
“We need to get in, make sure the rebellion knows we’re on their side, and grab Alpha Sharp before the allied forces arrive—or else his people will hide him.”
The weight of that settled over the group. We had to do all those things before the city was alerted to the chaos right outside their doors.
“Who’s their leader?” I asked. “And who’s the leader of the Cinder Ring?”
“The rebellion leader goes by The Fox—that’s all our son has been able to confirm.
We don’t know who they are beyond that.” Bishu’s expression was unreadable.
“The Cinder Ring answers to a few leaders, but one of them is Sable. That’s who’s been running operations inside the city since Sharp handed them control. ”
Basir tensed when Bishu mentioned Sable. I looked up at him, pressing my hand gently against his arm. He offered me a look that wasn’t exactly relaxed, but he did seem relieved at my closeness.
“How long until the allied forces are in position?” Waylon asked.
“Two to four hours. Maybe less for Nightstar—Haiden’s moving fast.”
Two to four hours. I did the math without meaning to. Nine days on the clock and we were spending one of them in a sewer.
Basir pointed down at the map. “It should be simple to get in there. There’s an access point from the maintenance road here to the city’s original drainage system.
Pre-Cinder Ring infrastructure. They won’t have it on their current maps.
” His finger traced a route from the river basin inward.
“It runs directly under the eastern residential quarter.”
“That’s where the rebellion is concentrated.” The commander looked excited at the coincidence.
The plan assembled itself from there.
The Stark Flight forces would stay above ground and move quietly toward the soldiers and syndicate members surrounding the city. They would create enough noise and confusion on the perimeter to draw the Cinder Ring’s attention outward. Not an attack, but suspicious activity.
My mates and I would go through the sewers along with soldiers to support us—our goal was to reach the rebellion.
Once we found them we would coordinate and be ready to move from the inside the moment Stark Flight sent the signal that the allied forces—Alpha Kaliyah, Alpha Haiden, Alpha Lacey, and the Ironsun Pack—had gathered and were ready to attack.
When that time came, they would push in from all sides simultaneously.
Full city takeover. A united front that left nowhere to retreat to.
I watched Basir as the plan was laid out.
He hadn’t objected to the sewer route; hadn’t said anything at all once he’d pointed out the access point.
But something had shifted in his expression the moment his finger had traced that line on the map.
Something that had nothing to do with tactics or even war.
Only ten minutes later we were preparing to depart and I was being fitted into a bulletproof vest and other protective gear.
Basir was tightening the straps while the other two helped, and I realized with a small smile that they had included me without me even having to ask.
They hadn’t even considered leaving me back here with Bishu like last night.
It told me they hoped this would be a safer endeavor than the pure violence of the night before.
When we were finished, I watched as Basir turned to look up at the city, my eyes tracing the same skyline. Dark, smoky, and filled with decaying structures.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked quietly.
“Yes. I want to see…I need to see this city turn into something different, and the only way that happens is if we intervene.”
I didn’t say anything to that. Instead I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm and leaned into him, his weight shifting just enough to acknowledge it.
“Let’s go, glow,” he said, leading me forward.
The access point was exactly where Basir had said it would be—a heavy iron grate set into the base of the maintenance road embankment. Two of the soldiers had it open in under a minute. The smell hit first. Industrial and damp, the kind of dark that had been sitting undisturbed for a long time.
Basir went in first. Then Ravik. Then me, Thornar’s hand briefly at my back as I dropped down.
The tunnel was wider than I expected, enough to move through without having to crouch, the walls slick stone that seemed older than anything the city held up above.
The sound changed the moment the grate closed behind the last soldier.
The outside world didn’t disappear so much as become muffled, replaced by the low echo of our movement and a distant, constant hum that I realized after a moment was the city.
My wolf came forward in the darkness.
Not aggressive, exactly, but alert. Her senses spread ahead, cataloguing every sound and shift in the air, and I let her because down here her instincts were more useful than mine.
Basir led with purpose, knowing every turn without having to think about it. The residential quarter was ahead of us, and there we would find the rebellion. Somewhere above us, Stark Flight was beginning to make noise, and in the next few hours our allies would be closing in.
Our plan was in motion, and while I felt overwhelmed by the details of it, I didn’t feel scared. I focused on Basir’s back in the dim light and kept moving.