Page 72 of Boundless

Of course,ifwas the keyword in my promise. And thatif,even if the sorcerers might not know it, was an almost hundred percentnofor me.

A second of silence.

The sorcerers seemed to measure my words. Look at one another. See if their own believed me.

And by some miracle, they decided that they would.

Whispers broke out among them once more, and suddenly they were stepping back slowly. Suddenly, they were all lowering their heads and moving farther away from us.

A hand on my shoulder. Maera spun me around to face her. “Let’s go,” she said, the yellow of her eyes dulled with worry.

I wasn’t, though. For a moment there, I was…relieved. Even though the sorcerers were still there, even if they’d stepped back, I was still relieved, and I thought it was the end of it. I thought they wouldn’t speak to us, wouldn’t stop us again, that they’d continue on their own way and leave us be.

But soon I realized that the sorcerers weren’t planning to walk away completely, only give us more space.

I turned, tried to calm myself, to tell myself that it was okay as long as they kept their distance—when a hand stopped right over my chest.

The werewolf woman who’d walked ahead of me.

The man on Maera’s side had his hand in front of her, too, and the two others who’d been behind were now at our sides,growlingas they looked ahead. Growling, just like they did when they were in their wolf form.

My knees shook. I didn’t dare ask what they’d seen or heard or smelled. My heart stood perfectly silent, and it felt like every single sorcerer in that forest disappeared at once.

Then I saw red.

twenty-two

The canopyover our heads let through enough sunlight so that we could see the color red clearly, especially when there was so little color around us. The sorcerers wore either black or grey, and the werewolves wore mostly brown. So did I—the cloak that covered me completely was a rich brown, just like the soil underneath my feet.

But the cloakhewore was a deep red—exactly like the color of blood.

Every inch of me vibrated with raw power even before he pushed down his hood and revealed to me his face.

Lyall was wearing a crown on his head that was just as golden as his hair.

Two things happened at once. The two werewolves who’d come forward howled at the sky before their clothes tore apart and their skins burst out in fur, their limbs rearranged themselves until they became fully grown wolves.

And Lyall smiled.

My mind was completely blank. All I knew was the magic that coursed through my veins violently, and it hurt like I had blades underneath my skin, making a mess out of my insides. Teethgritted, I didn’t let myself even blink for fear I’d lose sight of him for a second.

Lyall was really there in the forest, possibly thirty feet away from us still, a white horse behind him—and a shitload of gold-armored soldiers at his sides.

Just when I thought the worst was over. Just when I thought we would be safe. Just when I believed,reallybelieved for a moment, that I would make it to Rune in one piece.

“Nilah,” Maera whispered, and she, too, was terrified. She was no longer trying to hide it.

The wolves in front of us, so big they looked like beasts instead of animals, growled harder, and the man and woman at our sides were waiting still. Waiting for a sign from Maera before they shifted.

“Don’t attack,” I choked against my every instinct because I remembered the last time I saw Lyall. The last time I was close to him. How he’d laughed when he thought he was witnessing Rune stabbing me through the heart.

He’d fucking laughed like all his wishes had come true—after weeks of trying to fool me, trying to manipulate me into believing he was agood guy. That he actually cared about me, had feelings for me. Good feelings.

“There’s too many of them. Possibly over a hundred soldiers,” said Maera, and fucking hell, it was like she’d run a knife right behind my knees. That I didn’t fall on my face was beyond me, but I was still standing.

“There will be no fight here today,” I whispered and forced myself to get my thoughts under control.

This was happening. It was done now. Lyall had somehow found me, and he was here. I only had one decision to make right now—and that was tonotdie here today. Not at the hands of anyone.