Chapter 21
21
T he sound of crackling fire greeted me when I came to, my mind hazy and my head throbbing. I was lying on my side, my clothes and cloak the only barrier between me and the hard ground. Bracing my hand by my side for support, I sat up slowly, wincing at the ache in my stiff muscles. Memories rushed in, and I realized what had happened. Someone had hit me on the back of my head in the stables, rendering me unconscious.
Someone, who was now seated across from me, his face lit up by the flickering glow of the fire. Wren.
“You did it, Sophie,” he said low. “You found the Tear.”
All color drained from my face as my hand flew to my chest. The amulet was missing.
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked hoarsely, noticing he wasn’t wearing the amulet around his neck.
Where was it? I quickly looked around, my vision swimming from the dull ache in the back of my head. I noticed Annabelle a few feet away, grazing in the moonlight.
“I wanted to take the black one, but he put up a fight,” Wren explained, and I jerked my head back to him, hoping Onyx was okay.
“Where are we?” I asked even though I already suspected the answer. I could feel the wrongness in my bones. Like I wasn’t supposed to be here, in these woods. Death and decay hung heavy in the air, chilling my blood.
“The Black Forest,” Wren replied, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Are you out of your mind?” I hissed, my gaze darting to the fire burning on the ground between us.
It was bad enough that we were in the Black Forest; the fire would attract predators that lurked in these woods.
“It’s okay. Nothing will touch us,” Wren said. When I pinned him with a stare, my brows raised in question, he said with a heavy sigh, “I am under the protection of the Dark Witches.”
My heart stopped and then sped up as I tried to piece it all together.
“You work for the witches?”
“Yes.” There was another heavy sigh. Wren didn’t seem proud of the fact. If anything, he sounded tired and defeated. “I came to New Haven a year ago to become a guard on the border. Went through the training. Thought my dream was coming true. Except, my first night patrolling the wall, a witch snatched me.” He shook his head and chuckled low and without humor. “She took me to their stronghold in the Black Forest to sacrifice me to the Dark god. I begged them to spare my life, and they did.”
I recalled how he’d told me before about his close brush with death and how he’d been prepared to do whatever it took to survive.
“But they asked you to do something in return,” I surmised, and Wren nodded.
“They knew about the Tear and sent me back to New Haven to search for it. They suspected it was with the Duvals.”
“How did they know about the Tear?” I asked, my brows knitting.
“I don’t know. They don’t tell me much,” Wren replied, his expression serious.
“You didn’t have to do their bidding,” I bit out. “Once you were free?—”
“Ah, but see, they didn’t truly free me,” Wren said bitterly, deep shadows dancing in his pale-blue eyes. “They put a spell on me so they could track me and another one that would kill me on the spot if I strayed from my mission of finding the amulet.”
My heart turned over in my chest. What had happened to Wren was unfortunate, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for him. I thought if I had been in his place, I would have chosen death if the alternative was working for the witches.
“You have the Tear now,” I seethed. “Why am I here?”
I wanted to be here, of course. Well, not in the Black Forest, but where the amulet was, so I could try to get it back. But first, I needed to learn more about my current situation so I could devise a plan to get myself out of it. I couldn’t help but feel like I didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle.
“My mission was not only to find the Tear but also you and bring both back,” Wren explained.
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes at him as a cold feeling crept into my chest. Something told me that what I was about to hear would change my life. I took a deep breath, preparing for what Wren would say next.
Looking uncomfortable, he swallowed thickly, his throat bobbing before he replied, “They think it’s your blood that activates the Tear.”
“What?” I whispered, dumbfounded.
I hadn’t expected that answer; just like I didn’t expect what came next.
“The witches don’t tell me much,” Wren went on. “But they did tell me that you were a descendant of a White Witch.”
My mouth dropped open as my mind worked on overdrive to put all the pieces together. I didn’t know anything about my great-grandmother, and my grandmother had died before I’d been born. Had my great-grandmother been a White Witch?
My mother wrote “power of three” on the note about the Tear. Had she meant the power of three generations of White Witches?
If what Wren had said was true, and my blood could activate the Tear…
“Wren, listen to me,” I tried to reason with him. “If my blood truly is the key, let’s activate the Tear now. We can wipe out the supernatural. Dark Witches will no longer have power over you if they’re destroyed.”
Wren shook his head, his expression grave.
“Are you sure that it’s going to work? You don’t know anything about the amulet or how to wield it. Dark Witches believe its power can be manipulated. That the one controlling it can decide what species to destroy. They plan to use it to defeat the clans.”
Disbelief surged through me as I stared at Wren over the dwindling fire. I wasn’t seeing him, though. I was seeing thousands of humans being slaughtered in a sacrifice to the Dark god if the clans were destroyed. The people of the Empire would be left without protection. I couldn’t let that happen. My eyes burned with tears, and I blinked to keep them at bay as my gaze landed on a short sword next to Wren. It looked like the one in Henry’s study. He must have taken it before he’d followed me and the Lord to the Stern Estate.
My gaze zeroed in on Wren again, sweeping over his drawn features. He was staring into the fire, unblinking, as if lost in thought. I brushed my hand over my thigh, and my pulse quickened when I found my dagger still strapped there.
“Alright,” Wren cleared his throat and rose to his feet. “There is no point in delaying the inevitable,” he sighed, looking up at the starry night sky. “We need to keep moving.” His gaze returned to me as he said, “I don’t have to drug you if you promise to cooperate.”
He planned to drug me? That would explain why he hadn’t taken the dagger from me. He expected me to be unconscious while we traveled to our destination. My eyes trained on him, I nodded and slowly rose to my feet. Wren’s expression was wary as he put out the fire and picked up the short sword off the ground.
“Give me your dagger,” he asked, approaching me.
Panic flared in my chest. I didn’t want to give up my only weapon. My gaze was locked on Wren’s as I slowly unsheathed the dagger.
He must have seen the resolve on my face because his eyes widened as he warned, “Don’t?—”
I swiped the dagger, making him take a step back.
“Sophie,” he growled, trying to grab me.
I dipped under his arm before kicking him in the back of his legs. His knees buckled, and he went down, catching himself with a hand on the ground. He was back up in an instant, thrusting out with the short sword. I danced out of his reach and whirled to my right, gauging the distance between me and Annabelle. Wren grabbed my arm, but I twisted around, slamming my elbow into his face. I heard a loud crack as Wren’s head jerked back, and blood started rushing from his nose.
I set off toward Annabelle, but Wren grabbed my braided hair and pulled hard, sharply yanking me back. The movement caught me off guard, and I almost went down but managed to stay on my feet. I needed to end this, get the amulet, and escape. With a shout, I thrust my dagger into his midsection. A sharp gasp tore from Wren’s lips as he released the sword, and it fell with a heavy thump against the ground. He let go of my hair and yelped in pain when I jerked the dagger out of his torso and sheathed it at my thigh.
“Bitch!” he snarled, his eyes wide, as he tried to grab me again.
Spinning out of his reach, I sprinted toward Annabelle. I could hear Wren’s labored breathing behind me as I reached the horse and rummaged through the saddlebags until I found what I was looking for—the Tear. Potent relief washed over me, and I hung the amulet around my neck before hoisting myself into the saddle.
“Sophie, wait,” Wren rasped, trudging toward me, one hand on the bleeding wound in his torso. “You won’t survive the Black Forest,” he said, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll take my chances,” I threw at him and galloped away.
Annabelle was flying like an arrow through the woods as twisted branches whipped my face and snagged my clothes. Once we’d traveled a considerable distance away from where I’d left Wren, I slowed the horse down to a walk and then eventually stopped her altogether when we reached a clearing.
Taking a steadying breath, I looked around, trying to figure out which direction to head to find a way out of the Black Forest. A wall of dark trees encircled the clearing, and goose bumps prickled my skin as I tried to peer into the night, unable to make anything out in the pitch-black. The sky above me was clear, letting in the soft glow of moonlight, but the rest of the Forest was swallowed by darkness.
Annabelle’s palpable unease mirrored my own as she pranced nervously, huffing and shaking her mane.
“I know,” I whispered, placing my hand on her neck, trying to calm her.
Trepidation washed over me as I realized I didn’t have any good options. I would have to blindly pick a direction and hope it would lead me back to Santoria. Then, I would make my way back to New Haven. If I survived tonight.
Just as the thought flashed through my mind, a rumbling growl came from the woods straight ahead of me. The sound raised the tiny hairs on my body and kicked my instinct into overdrive as Annabelle reared, nearly throwing me from my seat.
I tried to shush her as I held on to the reins, but the terrified mare was bound and determined to throw me off. Her movements became jerkier and more panicked until she eventually rose up, throwing me from the saddle, before taking off in the opposite direction of where the growling was coming from.
I landed on my hip, gritting my teeth through the sharp pain before I quickly scrambled to my feet and pulled out my dagger. I doubted it would do me any good against anything that lurked in the woods, but I refused to go out without a fight. The Forest grew quiet as if holding its breath as I watched the trees in front of me, refusing to blink or look away.
Terror shot through me as a black shadow separated from the tree line as if the darkness itself was bleeding from the woods. The shadow leaped into the air, and I didn’t manage to stifle the scream that had climbed into my throat. It tore through the clearing just as a huge wolf slammed down on the ground several feet away from me. The creature crouched, claws digging into the earth, and bared long, sharp teeth in a vicious growl.
I was going to die. There was no doubt in my mind as I stood, frozen, my eyes locked with the red glowing ones of the beast. The wolf reared back and then launched into the air, sleek and fast. I didn’t turn to run, deciding to meet my death head-on. I just hoped it would be quick as despair and regret rose up, suffocating me. Would the wolf swallow me whole with the amulet around my neck? That was my only concern in the last seconds of my life—that the amulet would be lost forever, and with it, humanity’s hope for a future without the supernatural. A future where humans were safe.
The beast’s wide-open maw was growing closer as it flew through the air toward me. I gritted my teeth, preparing for the agony and pain that would undoubtedly come as the wolf tore me apart. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut but forced myself to keep them open as the time seemed to slow. Any second now, the wolf would be on me. I could see the red glowing eyes and the glistening sharp teeth growing closer.
To my surprise, the wolf didn’t make it to me. Henry grabbed it by the midsection, throwing it to the side. A gasp of shock and relief left me as I stared at the Lord in disbelief. His cloak was gone, and his shirt and breeches were covered in blood, but he was alive. He didn’t look at me, though, too focused on the wolf, and for a good reason. The beast flipped in the air and landed on its legs, dipping its head and baring its fangs. Henry did the same, looking more animal than man.
The next thing I knew, the two supernatural creatures collided, becoming a blur of fangs and claws, moving too fast for my eyes to track. I frantically looked around, feeling like I should do something, anything , but what, I had no idea. All I could do was stand there and watch as Henry fought the beast, hoping that he would prevail. Their battle was short but also seemed to last for hours until everything slowed, and I saw Henry had the wolf in a chokehold. With a roar, he jerked the beast’s head to the side, breaking the neck with a crunch that echoed through the clearing.
My breath left me in a ragged exhale as I stared at Henry in the silence that followed. I couldn’t believe the wolf was dead and I was alive. I was alive because the Lord had come for me. Henry’s chest was rising and falling heavily. He took a step toward me but went down on one knee, bracing his hand on the ground for support. I wanted to go to him but hesitated. I remembered all too well the crazed state he’d been in after his fight with the witches. Henry seemed himself, though, and I thought his eyes were blue instead of black when he looked up at me from beneath the thick, dark lashes.
“Are you okay?” he rasped, and that was all the confirmation I needed.
I sheathed my dagger and ran to him, dropping to my knees in front of him.
“I’m okay. Are you okay?” I asked in a hushed tone, looking around us to make sure nothing else came out of the shadows.
“Yes, but we need to get out of here. The dawn is fast approaching,” he said quietly, his voice strained.
I nodded, scanning him for injuries. His shirt and breeches were torn, and there were four deep gashes on his chest, left there by the wolf’s claws.
“Can you walk?” I asked, and the Lord nodded.
I rose to my feet, and, with a grunt, Henry did, too. He swayed where he stood, and when I offered my shoulder for support, my hand accidentally brushed the wound on his chest, making him wince in pain
“Sorry,” I murmured as the two of us slowly began making our way toward the trees.
The Lord’s steps were heavy, and his breathing labored. My mind raced, and my heart hammered in my chest as I tried to find a way out of the situation we were in. Henry was injured, and we needed his strength to survive in these woods. In the back of my mind, I knew what I had to do, but I refused to accept it until we neared the tree line, and I heard blood-curdling screeches and wails coming from deep within the Forest.
“Wait.” I gently stopped Henry with my hand on his side. His head swung to me, and he gave me a questioning look. “You need to feed,” I said quietly, the words difficult to get out. “You can feed from me.”
Henry went impossibly still, staring at me in shock. His eyes had widened, his pupils dilating.
“You don’t want that,” he finally rasped, his gaze searching my face. “The idea terrifies you. I can smell your fear.”
My throat closed up, and I cleared it before I said with determination I didn’t truly feel, “It doesn’t matter what I want. We won’t survive if we go inside those woods with you in this condition. The idea of you feeding from me terrifies me, yes. But what lurks in the Forest terrifies me more.”
Blue-black eyes roamed my face, and I thought he would turn me down, but after a few seconds, he conceded.