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Tannin came up beside me, fully clothed now, and looked mournfully down at Jax. “Do you think he’ll pull through?”

I hesitated before answering. “I did the best I could. Only time will tell.” I turned to look at him. “You’re both welcome to stay as long as you need to. You know, while you heal.”

A grateful albeit forced smile spread across his lips. “Thank you. For everything.”

That brief absence of pain on his face made my heart flutter and my breath catch. He was so much more handsome when he smiled.

“Would you like some lunch? Water?” I asked excitedly, wanting to see more of that smile.

“Yes, that would be very kind,” he said.

I carried the bucket and blood-soaked rags to the kitchen, and as I prepared a makeshift meal for him, hope began to sing in my chest.

For the first time in over a year, I had company. For the first time in so long that it hurt, I wasn’t alone.

I just hoped and prayed that they weren’t some manic hallucination, and that when I came back from the kitchen, they wouldn’t be gone.

Chapter 3

Tannin

THIS WASN’T HOW ITwas supposed to go down. Our orders were to make it here without issue and assess the status of Varinya. It should have been easy, simple.

Now I was sitting in an empty castle, covered in scratches and bites, staring at my best friend on a dusty couch and unsure if he’d survive.

The cusith had come out of nowhere, manifesting like wraiths from the shadows of the trees and bushes in the forest around us, descending upon us like rabid hyenas. At least when they weren’t mutating and bending at impossible angles.

Our scouts had reported no signs of them before our journey, and it was alarming to know they’d spread so far. How long before they reached Varinya? How long before they destroyed everything?

I squeezed my eyes shut, pausing in chewing the stale bread I’d been given. I couldn’t think like that. We weren’t going to let them win. That was the whole reason for coming here. Well, one of them, anyway. Taking back our rightful place inside the kingdom would give us the power we needed to stand against the cusith, not only for our pack, but for all people.

But if Jax didn’t wake up... Only the Alpha had the power of moon song. If he didn’t make it through this tragedy, our pack wouldn’t know it was safe to come, and this journey—his sacrifice—would all be for nothing.

I glanced at the girl curled up on the armchair across from me. Aliya. She was staring at me with a sort of awe, like I was fascinating to behold. Her honey-brown hair was messy and tangled around her heart-shaped face, and her torn slip that did little to hide the curves of her body and perked nipples beneath was stained and tattered.

How long had she been alone here? What happened to this once flourishing kingdom?