Page 37

I was on fire.

Luca and Nico lay on either side of me, the three of us tangled in a puddle of blankets we’d arranged on the floor of the bunk room. The two of them gave off so much heat, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I needed some air. Maybe that’s what had woken me?

The room was still dark, but there was that subtle shift in the air that told me dawn wasn’t far off.

I untangled myself from the sleeping beasts, and when the cool air hit me, a shiver ran over my skin as though something, or someone, was watching me.

I scanned the room. Everything was deathly silent.

Even the beasts beside me slept soundly.

My gaze caught on the doorway, shadowed and still.

I couldn’t be sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it looked like a figure leaned against the frame.

“Jase? Is that you?” I whispered, trying to focus on the darkness, willing it to move.

Nothing.

The shape remained frozen in place. Lay back down and you’ll fall back to sleep, I reasoned as I rubbed my eyes. Maybe it’s a dream . Maybe I’m just exhausted.

When I opened my eyes again, the shadow was gone. A sliver of moonlight now highlighting the wooden frame. My heart pounded as I second-guessed what I’d seen. There had been a shadow. I’m sure of it. Right?

I padded across the room and inspected the doorway, but everything seemed normal—none of the icy foreboding Jase’s shadows usually left behind. I slipped from the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

The cabin was packed. Every available inch of floor was filled with the lucky few who’d found a spot to crash after the night’s festivities. A dull thud echoed through the silence, not quite loud enough to wake anyone. At first, I ignored it. Then it came again.

Something about it was off. Unsettling.

“Jase?” I whispered again, gingerly stepping between the sleeping bodies.

Still no answer.

When I reached the hall, I froze. The front door was open. It clanged softly against the frame in the breeze. A sliver of moonlight yawning between the gap. Where was Jase? He was on sentry duty. He never would’ve left Whisperhold exposed like this. Not unless something was wrong.

Another gust shoved against the door, forcing it open wider with a groan.

The house inhaled. Cold air slithered around my ankles like fingers.

I reached for the door to pull it closed until a faint glow beyond the tree line stilled my hand.

Lights flickered as if a processional approached the camp. A procession?

What in the bloody hell was going on? Was I dreaming?

I stepped out into the frozen night, blinking furiously. But the lights didn’t disappear. They grew brighter until a nightmare took shape. A line of soldiers emerged from the woods—flaming arrows nocked and ready to fly.

A scream bubbled up from my lungs, but a firm hand slapped over my mouth, muffling the sound. A muscled arm wrenched me back. My feet left the ground as I twisted violently, kicking and clawing.

“I didn’t believe them when they said you’d come right to us,” a sinister voice whispered in my ear.

I thrashed, trying in vain to break his grip, trying to raise the alarm for those sleeping mere feet away, but his hands tightened around me.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. But in the end, you’re coming with us.

Johan eagerly awaits your arrival. And we don’t want to disappoint the king now, do we? ”

I fought him every inch of the way, but the moment we cleared the camp, a sickening whoosh echoed behind us. Fire rained down. The dry wood caught like kindling. The cabin that had become my sanctuary erupted into an inferno.

The newly built shelters followed. Thatched roofs bursting into flame.

I watched helplessly from the trees, my captor holding me still as we witnessed the destruction.

The first screams came from outside the cabin.

For many of them, it was too late, the flames had already consumed them before they’d even had a chance to fight.

“Time to watch your pathetic rebellion burn to the ground,” my captor said gleefully.

It was a slaughter. The Crown’s soldiers were prepared. Those who tried to run were met with blades. Others shifted into their beast forms, a last-ditch effort to defend themselves. Then —finally—Nico, Luca, and Lucius emerged from the fire, each carrying others to safety.

My heart lurched. They were alive.

Their eyes scanned the chaos, searching. Shouting my name. I tried to answer, but the fingers clamped tighter around my mouth.

“And that’s our cue to leave, lovely,” my captor snarled, dragging me deeper into the forest.

I bucked against him, desperate for some leverage, something to save me from whatever fate this was.

I cursed the fact that I hadn’t used any sprite ash.

For not forcing Maxfield to actually teach me how to use my seemingly useless magic .

I was helpless, and the feeling sent me spiraling into a rage that rose within me like a maelstrom.

My whole life, I’d felt helpless. At the whim of every evil thing that wanted its pound of flesh.

And history was doomed to repeat itself.

The fighting behind us was a blur—beasts shifting mid-sprint, magic cracking through the trees. A small squad of Crown soldiers flanked my captor, and we slipped into the cloaking darkness of Thornwyn Forest.

I stumbled as they pulled me through the woods, each step further away from my beasts. It felt like we’d been walking for hours, but the sun was barely rising. I tried to drag my feet. At the very least, I’d give my beasts a path to follow when they came for me—because they would come for me.

“You think you’re cute?” My captor snarled as he shoved me to the ground. “They won’t make it through the night. Fight all you want. Come tomorrow, you’re the king’s property.”

“Nico is the rightful king,” I spat, back at him. “And he’ll come for what’s his,” I scrambled to get to my feet. His heavy boot pushed me to the ground again, and they all laughed.

“That’s the brilliance of it,” he sneered.

“We’ve given him an impossible choice. His fated or this rebellion.

He chooses you—the rebels die. He chooses them—you’re ours.Which choice do you think he’ll make?

” I remained silent. I couldn’t answer. Nico’s loyalty to his people was first and foremost. “Either way, Johan wins.”

The soldier crouched beside me. He was the quintessential villain, basking in his monologue as I coward at his feet.

“Vairic, do you think the king will reward us once we deliver his pretty little prize?” one of the soldiers asked my captor.

“I think she’s more valuable than we realized,” Vairic replied. “I see why he wants her for Nocta Dominium.”

“If he thinks the Bruins have left her untouched after all this time, then the Sigil has seriously addled his mind,” another added.

“Seems like a good excuse. If she arrives well ridden, there's a perfectly reasonable story to tell.”

The males talked excitedly among themselves as my mind whirled with the implications. What the hell was Nocta Dominium? I didn’t know what the words meant, but I didn’t need to. The look in their eyes told me enough and it made my blood run cold.

They closed in around me, fumbling with their belts, as wicked smirks cut across their faces.

Vairic pushed the others aside. “I outrank the lot of you. She’s mine first. Zoryn—hold her down.”

“No!” I scrambled back, feet slipping on the leaf litter.

Even if I could escape, there was no way I’d outrun them.

No way I’d overpower them. But my body geared up to fight anyway.

A flood of adrenaline filled my veins, my heart racing into a frenzy.

If they were going to sully my virtue, I would fight them every step of the way.

Zoryn grabbed my arms and I screamed. Without a hand covering my mouth, the sound echoed off the trees. But it didn’t matter.

Vairic shoved up my shift, exposing my naked body as I kicked out, desperate to land a blow. Firm fingers dug into my thighs, pinning me to the ground while Vairic pulled out his cock. This was it. My body was no longer my own.

I tried to leave my body behind. To make it not real.

It’s only flesh. It’s not me.

The thought cycled over and over as he lined himself up. I closed my eyes, unable to watch.

I heard a sickening thwack and warm splatter covered my face. My eyes popped open to find Vairic swaying above me—an arrow protruding from his eye. He collapsed on top of me as chaos ensued. I squirmed under the corpse of my would-be rapist, desperate to be free of his dead weight.

Massive jaws snatched at the body, tearing it off me. Luca’s bear nudged at me gently, his big tongue licking the offending blood from my cheek. I sobbed and pulled his head into my chest, burying my face in his thick fur.

I could hear a battle raging around me. Sickening sounds of males screaming and being instantly silenced. I clung to Luca, my fragile psyche couldn’t handle anymore.

“Michaela!” Nico skidded to my side.“Little bird, are you hurt?”

I pulled myself away from Luca, dazed. Desecrated bodies surrounded us. He cupped my face, turning me away from the carnage to meet his eyes.

“You… you came for me?”

“Of course we came for you.” he whispered. “We’ll always come for you.” He pulled me into his arms. I collapsed against him as a sob broke free.

Lucius’ bear joined us, maw dripping red.

The three of them surrounded me as I shattered.

They took turns carrying me.

Shock hit so hard that I shut down. My sorry excuse for a body wasn’t up for walking back to the ruins of the life we’d begun to build.

Yet again, I’d cheated death—or whatever hell Johan had planned for me.

The guilt of it ate away at me. How many had died back at the camp while my beasts were busy looking for me?