Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Humming a song I’d heard earlier in the car, I paused my work to gaze out my bedroom window. The sky had darkened, and angry clouds had fallen over the bare trees. They looked like giant, gray blisters about to pop and pour rain over the werewolf kingdom.
By the time we got out of class that afternoon, the chill in the wind had turned frosty. The end of the year was near, and I couldn’t understand why my cousin wore her spring school uniform in December—a pleated skirt and knee-high white socks.
The principal didn’t dare scold the second royal princess. Layla shivered throughout all her classes with a smile on her face.
The other kids thought she was cool and circled around her like bees on a honeycomb. My cousin was anything but sweet, at least to me. She didn’t seek me out for playdates and dodged my invitations to do stuff together.
I wouldn’t let my thoughts about Layla and the gloomy weather outside ruin my upbeat mood. I could count on my fingers the number of times I stayed in the safety of my bedroom, drawing in peace. Usually, my parents filled in my after-school schedule with tutoring and training.
After Layla and I returned from school, I strode to my room to practice calligraphy. Smiling, I stroked the canvas with a black soft-tip pen. I had no particular image in mind I wanted to draw. I liked giving in to the quiet feeling of serenity.
I wanted this moment to last forever, but I wasn’t so lucky.
My bedroom door swung open with a loud whoosh, jolting me out of my thoughts, and it rammed into the door stopper hard. The door bounced back, and a small, delicate hand steadied it.
Layla marched in, looked at my study desk covered with calligraphy supplies, and frowned. She’d told me before I was wasting my time practicing calligraphy.
We’d just parted ways when we arrived. Why was she here?
She opened her mouth to say something but sighed and walked closer to my chair.
Her loose blonde hair, the color of a golden trophy, fell over her slender shoulders and stuck out in all directions. Layla had inherited the beautiful hair shade from her mom, who’d left her and Uncle Derek three years ago.
Layla’s eyes were the same deep ocean color as my uncle’s. When Dad and Uncle Derek stood next to each other, I couldn’t believe how similar they looked, except that their eye color was different.
Dad had black eyes that reminded me of black licorice—dark but sweet.
I did a double-take. Layla’s eyes were wild, and her breathing was heavy.
I sprang to my feet and closed the distance between us. “What’s wrong, Layla?”
She drew in a deep breath.
“The manor is in chaos. Everyone is on high alert…” She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself.
“Oh, I didn’t hear anything,” I said.
Layla blew out a hot breath. “That’s because you’re human,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
My cousin liked to remind me of this fact weekly.
At school, I was friends with some of the human kids.
There weren’t that many of them since the school was located closer to kingdom territory than the next human town.
But still, werewolves and humans had learned how to share the physical, mortal realm centuries ago, yet Layla still saw humans as a weaker race.
But she was wrong.
“Was there an attack?” I asked, ignoring her comment.
It was the first thing that struck my mind. Vampire or hunter attacks on the kingdom were as natural to the werewolves as shifting into wolves.
Letting her arms drop to her sides, Layla shook her hands and reached to grab my forearms. “None of the grown-ups want to tell me what’s going on. But I…I heard Dad’s name.” She paused to steady her voice. “Something happened to him.”
I blinked repeatedly. Before my eyes, Layla’s attitude did a hundred-and-eighty-degree change from the Layla I knew to a sobbing Layla I didn’t know.
Prince Derek was my dad’s younger brother, and he was as tall and muscular as my father. How could anything happen to him? Even though I was nine, my uncle would still pick me up as if I were as light as a balloon and carry me on his shoulders, despite my protests.
I secretly loved his silly ways of playing with me.
Muffled voices echoed in the hallway, spilling through the open door. Footsteps clomped closer, and the voices became clear.
“We’re leaving in five minutes,” a deep male voice yelled downstairs.
Layla’s grip tightened around my arms. “Help me, Breanna.”
Her eyes brightened with moisture, and she whimpered. Layla didn’t talk to me at school unless she needed help with homework, but Dad taught me to be grateful for our small family.
I let out a sigh. “Let’s go find Mom.”
My mom adored Layla and treated her as her own daughter.
As we climbed the stairs, the louder the panicky voices of the adults grew, the more breathless I became. I didn’t want anything to be wrong with Uncle Derek.
Layla released me, and we sprinted downstairs. Among the crowd of running people, I spotted Mom in the foyer.
“Mom. Mom,” I shouted, and she looked at me.
A cold chill traveled down my back. Mom, the calm and composed Queen she usually was, bit her bottom lip and paced in the hallway.
When I drew closer, blocking her way, I tilted my head to look at her, and she halted.
“Mom?”
Her swollen eyes looked dull, and her chest rose up and down rapidly. A heavy sensation formed in my gut.
“Mom, what is happening?” I pleaded while Layla stayed quiet behind me.
“Honey, it’s not a good time.” Her gaze moved to Layla. “I need you two to stay in Breanna’s bedroom. Okay, girls?”
Her voice sounded almost as authoritative as Dad’s, and another shiver passed through my body. Something was very wrong.
Someone called for her then, and she turned abruptly, walking out of the manor. Other people also headed for the front doors.
“I heard them talk about Dad,” Layla said, and I turned. “We need to find out if something…if something happened to him.” Her voice broke, and her sobbing intensified. “Dad’s the only one I have left. We have to follow them, Breanna.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my dad’s words ringing in my ears. He said I was too young to be involved in royal affairs. He also said that kids should not have been involved with certain things, but all I could think about was how fast I wanted to grow up.
Layla wiped her tears, but new ones streamed down. She kept rubbing her face, the skin on her cheeks reddening.
“We’ll be punished for breaking the rules,” I said.
“I don’t care. Help me, Breanna. You’re my only cousin and friend.”
The latter part wasn’t true. I was only her cousin, but Dad had taught me family had to help each other.
“I guess we could endure Dad’s punishment. Ten laps around the training grounds doesn’t sound that bad. Let’s go,” I said.
Layla dried her tears one more time, and she nodded. The chaos of frantic people around us only made my stomach quiver. We squeezed among the crowds rushing in and out of the manor, but no one paid us any attention.
Many SUVs were lined up at the roundabout at the front doors, and I dashed to the last vehicle. I opened the back door, stepped over the back seats, and crouched in the trunk of the large car.
“Hurry up, Layla,” I whispered.
She started to follow me, shutting the car door behind her. In the trunk, we stayed on all fours. I looked around for a blanket to cover us, but nothing looked useful. I mentally prayed that no one would open the trunk.
A door opened, and someone entered the car and started the engine. The screeching of tires echoed around us as the car rumbled and shook on the road. After a long moment, whoever drove parked the car and exited.
I waited another second while Layla peeked out the window.
“Let’s go now,” I said, swung my legs over the back seat, and opened the car door slowly.
The road looked familiar—we must have been close to the kingdom. The car was parked on a dirt path off the narrow highway leading to the dark forest in front of us.
The stink of rotting wood carried on the sharp wind, sending cold chills down my spine. At the first row of tall trees, I spotted my parents. “C’mon, Layla. I can see Mom and Dad.”
My breath hitched as I watched Mom hug Dad’s shaking body in the distance.
Was the King crying? My heart would break if I were to witness Dad’s tears for the first time.
We closed the distance and hid behind a thick old tree. Dad’s men were everywhere, scouting the area, but for what? Was it dangerous to be here?
Layla sobbed and nudged me. “Breanna, look.”
I followed her gaze and finally saw it.
Mom and Dad stood over a body covered with a black tarp on the ground.
“You don’t think…” More sobs escaped her throat. “I-I can’t breathe.”
“Me too.” But I had to stay strong for my family and my cousin.
I placed my hand on her back, not knowing how else to console her. I was only good with a brush and canvas, not so much with supernaturals.
One of Dad’s warriors jogged to the King and gave a small bow. My dad let go of Mom and straightened up. I put my finger over my lips, and Layla pressed her lips together. We both leaned forward.
“Were you the one who found the body?” the King asked.
“Yes, my King. When some of us reached the mountain cabin, we waited for Prince Derek, but he didn’t show. We tried his phone. Then I drove back and noticed his car.”
“Where is his car now?” Dad asked, his voice shaky.
“At the side of the road, my King. The front is smashed as if the car crashed into a pole.”
But there were no poles on this two-way winding road cutting through the forest.
Mom pressed against Dad. “How many vampires do you think attacked him?”
Layla gasped, and her hand flew over her mouth.
“Prince Derek was one of the best fighters in the kingdom. He must have been surrounded by many. They must have known about his mission, location, and how we traveled separately so as not to draw attention,” the warrior said, looking at Dad.
Dad drew in a sharp breath.