60. CHAPTER SIXTY
Alena let the wolves take the lead, with two scouting the way ahead and two at her side. Through the threads of magic, they understood her every thought and order. Her new Gift was an incredible rush of power that the Blood Wolf had abused, and that she intended to cherish.
Horns blasted throughout the hillfort, and Westerners dashed down the main streets to find refuge at the temple. The veil of frost covering the hillfort had already melted away, but Leukos’ ice wall gleamed under the morning sun, a clear warning to all: flee while you can.
Alena passed dozens of wide-eyed warriors heading to the temple. Many were wounded or walked in a dazed state, blood trickling from their heads, arms, or legs.
The distant sounds of battle had been replaced with panicked shouts and cries of pain.
Alena’s pulse quickened. Where was Leukos?
“Alena!” Damona stepped out from the crowd, clutching her son’s hand. She cried with relief and pulled Alena into a tight hug. “Thank the gods, you’re all right!”
She stilled at the sight of the grey wolves behind her.
“Don’t worry, they won’t harm you.” Alena took Damona’s hand in hers. “But you need to leave. You need to get to the temple and protect your boy!”
Damona glanced at the ice wall, and her face crumpled. “We never thought it would come to this. I was at the watchtower when the gates fell. Rasennan soldiers poured inside, and I lost sight of Lug and Dax. There were so many of them!” She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, struggling to hold back her tears. The little boy buried his face in her skirts as if sensing his mother’s distress.
Alena squeezed her hand. “If Lug is alive, then the wolves will find him. They have your scents now.”
Damona nodded, tears leaking down her cheeks. The Westerners’ mistakes had cost them the hillfort, and now the most important thing was getting everyone to safety. Alena rubbed Damona’s arm, then knelt to pat her son’s soft curls.
The boy peeked at the wolves sitting in the shade with their tongues hanging out, and she smiled.
Sucking in a deep breath, Damona wiped her eyes and lifted her boy in her arms. “I’ll wait for you by the portal. I heard it will take us further north to another hillfort.”
Alena stood again, shaking her head. “Leukos, Nik, and I will find another way.”
With the druids after her, it was too dangerous to stay with the Westerners.
Damona swallowed, then leaned in, kissing Alena’s cheek. “May the White Mare watch over you, Alena, daughter of Andrasta.”
Alena held her gaze. “Go and be safe. I will find Lug.”
With a final wave, Damona left for the temple, and the wolves sprung forward.
“It’s up to you now.” She followed them past rows of thatched houses towards the gates. “Let’s find Lug first. Then Leukos.”
The midday sun blazed in the sky. Sweat dripped down Alena’s neck and back, the chain mail a heavy weight on her shoulders. The path widened, and the solid wall of ice came into full view, covering the wooden palisade, gate, and watchtowers.
Stopping to catch her breath, Alena gaped at the sheer size of the wall. Its slick surface glistened under the sun, and through the ice, dozens of dark, blurry forms were visible.
Rasennan soldiers.
A cold feeling settled in her gut. Leukos’ magic had slowed the enemy’s advance, giving the Westerners time to evacuate, but which side was he standing on? What if he’d sealed himself off with the legions?
The wolves veered off into a narrow path, and Alena hastened after them. They’d caught a scent.
Lug was kneeling on the dusty ground beside a wounded Dax, tearing his tunic into strips to staunch his brother’s bleeding. Alcaros was keeping watch close by.
Lug gripped the arrow protruding from Dax’s leg, ready to pull it out.
“Don’t!” she called out.
Alcaros whirled around with his sword raised. His eyes widened when they landed on her. “Alena!”
“Don’t take out the arrow. You’ll just do more damage.” She knelt beside Dax and dug in her satchel. Grabbing some strips of linen, she pressed them to his wound and applied pressure. “Break the shaft and wrap up his leg instead.”
Lug followed her instructions.
Alcaros’ gaze, meanwhile, flicked between her and the wolves. “What are you still doing here? Where’s Nikander?”
“I’m searching for Leukos.” She wrapped Dax’s leg, and he grunted but did his best to remain still. “Nik will be back soon. You three need to get to the temple quickly.”
Lug shook his head. “We can’t leave. Father is still out there.”
“He’s not coming back, Lug.” Dax grimaced as Alena wrapped his calf. “He ordered Leukos to close the opening.”
“We can’t just leave him!” Lug’s face flushed, and he lifted his brother to his feet with Alcaros’ help. “I don’t care what he said—it’s wrong.”
Dax’s face creased with worry, and his chest heaved as he leaned on the two warriors. “He made a choice, Lug. We need to honour it and live. Think of Damona and the little one.”
“I met them on my way here.” Alena picked up Dax’s bloodied sword and sheathed it for him. “She went to the temple, but she’s waiting for you, Lug. I promised I would find you.”
Lug’s attention shifted to the ice wall again as if he might spot one last sign of his father. With a shimmer of tears in his eyes, he nodded, and they quickened their pace.
An explosion burst along a nearby street, and the ground trembled beneath them. Up ahead, roaring flames licked the ice wall, and hissing clouds of steam unfurled in the air.
“Quick, let’s get out of here before that bastard Dalmatius breaks through,” Dax said.
Alena pulled away. “I still need to find Leukos.”
Lug pointed back to the main street. “He was with us just before Dax got hit. A small group of men were helping him fight off the Rasennans that got past his ice wall. He can’t be far.”
Her spirits lifted. Leukos wasn’t far; she would find him.
Alcaros grabbed her arm. “Alena, wait. I can’t let you go by yourself, it’s too dangerous.”
Worry painted his features, prompting her to take his large hand in hers. “I’m glad I met you, Alcaros. I’m glad you could tell me more about my mother and our homeland. Get your men to safety, and I promise we’ll meet again.”
He opened his mouth in protest but closed it again. “My lady.” He bowed his head. “Find him quickly and leave before it’s too late. If the gods are good, we will all live to fight another day.”
With a final glance at the three Westerners, Alena left. Within moments, another fiery blaze hit the wall, causing it to crack. Large chunks of ice broke off, plummeting to the ground and scattering in all directions.
She jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding falling blocks of ice, and ordered the wolves to stay back.
When she rounded the last corner, a familiar figure was kneeling in the middle of the frosted street, facing the looming ice wall.
“Leukos!”
Shoulders heaving, he glanced back. Upon spotting her, his face drained of colour. “Alena, what are you doing here?”
She rushed to him. “I came to find you.”
“Nik promised to get you away from here.” His eyes flashed. “I knew he couldn’t be trusted—”
“Did you really think I’d leave without you?” She slid her hands over him, checking for any injuries. His armour and arms bore specks of blood, while his face was streaked with grime and sweat. “Why are you by yourself? Where are the others?”
She found nothing wrong with him, yet he was gasping for air in uneven breaths. “I sent them away when I sealed the opening.”
“And Brennus?”
He shook his head, his black hair plastered to his pale face.
Alena’s heart clenched. The chief of the Green Mountains Tribe had sacrificed himself to save his family and men.
Another terrible explosion rattled the wall, bringing down more ice and revealing the wooden lintel of the gates beneath. Cheers from the Rasennan soldiers filtered through the gap.
Fear twisted Alena’s gut in a tight grasp. If they didn’t leave soon, either the Rasennans would catch them, or the wall would come down on their heads.
“We need to go. Now.” She helped Leukos to his feet. The moment he was upright, his body trembled against hers. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I exerted my magic when I created the wall.” He caught his breath, and she wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll be fine.”
Once they got to safety, they needed to have a serious discussion about the meaning of ‘fine’, but until then, she gritted her teeth and tugged him forward. “Well, you need to pull yourself together, Prince Leukos, because I’m not leaving you behind.”
The wolves chose a narrow pathway, cutting towards the other side of the hillfort. Leukos was heavy against Alena’s smaller frame, but she had endured it before when the Blood Wolf had injured him, and she would do so again.
“Alena,” Leukos’ warm breath tickled her ear, “I’m glad you came back for me.”
He threaded his fingers through hers, and she smiled at him, her heart fluttering for an entirely different reason than fear.
A familiar blur swept past them.
“Nik!”
The blond took one look at Leukos, and a sly grin curled on his lips. “Well, Your Highness, aren’t you looking rather pathetic now?”
Leukos glowered, but before he could say a word, Alena cut in, “Save it! Nik, did you find a way out?”
He ducked under Leukos’ free arm and hurtled them forward. The streets were bare, and silence lay heavy, interrupted only by the sounds of shattering ice from the gates.
Nik grinned. “Of course! Your clever wolves found a way through the weakest point of the legions’ camps: the stables. The army gathered all the horses together within a dozen paddocks, and the wolves slipped through them unnoticed.”
“They will notice the three of us,” Leukos said dryly.
“I took care of the few guards posted and hid our supplies.” Nik adjusted Leukos’ arm around his shoulders with a grimace. The bandage Alena had tied around his sword arm earlier was already soaked through. “You know, we could go a lot faster if I picked you up.”
Leukos’ eyes narrowed to slits. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Nik huffed a laugh, and Alena wanted to throttle them both. “We need to be as far away as possible when that wall comes down, Nik. If need be, carry Leukos.”
“I’d rather carry you, Red, than the idiot prince,” he quipped before another blast rumbled in the distance.
Alena jumped, and they pushed ahead, falling silent. With Nik and Alena supporting Leukos, they ran along the palisade until they came across a small door left ajar.
“Through there!” Nik held the door open, and they shuffled past with the wolves. “The slope ahead is steep, but the trees will hide you. Be careful. I’ll make sure no one’s been left behind.”
“Wait, Nik!”
He disappeared in a cloud of dust before she could stop him.
“Come on.” Leukos nodded in the direction of the path ahead. “He’ll be fine.”