Page 10

Chapter

Ten

The glade is unnaturally quiet, and it sets my nerves on fire. Maybe I’m just feeling hyper-vigilant because of the midair attack. Hopefully that’s it, but I can’t ignore my instincts.

We land in a clearing ringed with ancient trees, their branches knit so tightly overhead they cast the ground in perpetual dusk. Moss carpets the rocks, softening every step. The only sounds are the drip of water from the canopy and the low rumble of dragons breathing.

Einar dismounts first, scanning the tree line with narrowed eyes. “We’ll rest here. I don’t trust the city roads after that ambush.”

He disappears toward the north edge, scouting for threats or perhaps needing some solitude.

I slip from the saddle, land softly. Vash shifts, muscles tense. I run a hand along his shoulder, trying to soothe him.

Harek dismounts. “I think he wants to chase them.”

“I can’t blame him.”

We work in silence for a while, removing the harnesses, checking the dragons’ legs, settling them beneath the overhang of a stone bluff. Sapphire nestles close to Vash, and the way their tails brush says they’re as tired of running as we are.

I stretch my arms, sink onto a flat rock, then tip back my head to watch the filtered light flicker above.

Harek crouches across from me, elbows on his knees. He starts to say something, but the wind shifts and the air changes.

My head snaps up. I leap to my feet. “Did you feel that?”

He nods, already moving toward me.

A foreign magic fills the air. It isn’t like mine or Einar’s. It feels older.

“Stay close,” I whisper.

A mist forms, moves. Someone steps through it.

My breath hitches. Harek’s stance tightens.

A tall, veiled woman emerges. She’s dressed in layered robes of charcoal and plum, and silver tattoos curl over her cheekbones and throat. Her eyes shimmer with magic, violet and storm dark.

There’s something familiar about her, though I’ve never seen her before.

Harek exhales slowly.

She smiles faintly. “Hello, pup.”

Then her gaze shifts to me. “And hello, young huntress.”

My blood turns to ice. “Who are you?”

“Serel. Though he already knows that.”

I turn to Harek. “How?”

“My parents. We met her on a hunting trip once.” He steps slightly in front of me, shielding. His stance is protective, but not hostile. He seems to respect her. Maybe even fear her a little.

“Did you follow us?” he asks, low and even.

Serel tilts her head. “If I had, would you have noticed?”

His silence is answer enough, and a shudder runs down my spine.

I hold still, studying her. There’s something unnerving about the way her robes barely move despite the wind, how her presence seems to quiet the very forest around her. Not malevolent, but watching. As if she’s here for more than just words.

“What are you?” I demand.

“I’m from the group that helped your pack control shifts.” She studies me. “You have your mother’s strength and caution. It’s a rare combination.”

I blink. “You knew her?”

“I fought beside Tyra once,” she says simply. “When she still believed the curse could be outrun.”

A pause.

I swallow. “Which curse?”

She doesn’t answer.

“What are you doing here?”

Serel’s expression shifts and tightens, like she’s folding something sharp behind her eyes. “I came to ask for your help because something is coming. In fact, it’s already begun.”

“Something always seems to be coming lately,” I say carefully. “You’ll need to be more specific.”

Serel’s mouth twitches like she expected that answer.

Harek crosses his arms. “Why now? Why follow us into neutral woods instead of sending a raven to the pack? Why come to us ?”

“Because ravens can be intercepted and neutrality is an illusion these days.”

“ Why us?” Harek repeats.

She stares at me, as if that explains everything.

It explains nothing.

I glance at Harek then back to her. “You said you fought beside my mother. You know I’m not her. In fact, I hardly know anything about her.”

“She raised you.”

“Doesn’t matter, considering she didn’t tell me any of her supernatural secrets.”

“That’s irrelevant,” Serel replies softly. “You’re what she never had time to become.”

The words land with unexpected weight.

I shift my stance, unsure how to respond, but the words come anyway. “If you’ve come to flatter me, you’ve wasted your energy.”

She laughs, dry and harsh. “I don’t flatter. I warn.”

“Then start warning.”

Harek’s eyes narrow, voice quiet. “This is about the totems, isn’t it?”

Serel’s expression sharpens. “Yes, and it’s worse than you think. The border towns are falling quiet.”

“Quiet how?”

She stares at me with eyes that feel so hollow I could get sucked in and lost in the vortex.

Bumps rise on my arms.

Finally she pulls her attention from me. “There are twisted echoes of the hunter’s crest carved into trees and buildings. They’re a calling mark.”

I lean forward slightly. “What does that mean?”

“They fracture bloodlines.”

Realization hits me like a rock. “I’ve seen those.”

Her silence is answer enough. But she speaks before either Harek or me. “The pack is stretched thinner than my family. They’re holding territory near the southern ridge, but something’s prowling past the border. Something smarter than last time.”

“What is it?” I ask

Harek steps forward. “And what does it want?”

Serel looks directly at me. “You.”

My knees turn to rubber.

“More precisely, your bloodline,” she clarifies.

Harek mutters under his breath.

“And my siblings?”

“They’re still safe, but for how long? That depends on whether this thing spreading through the forests is seeking power or vengeance. Their human father won’t be able to keep them safe.”

“But Leif has awakened his werewolf.”

“He’s gone rogue. We can’t trust him.”

“And my parents?” Harek intervenes.

Serel’s face shifts at that. “They’re holding the line, but not for long. It’s stronger than the two of them.”

I look down at my hands, where my pulse thunders beneath my skin. Just when I was starting to feel like I could breathe again, the danger closes in.

But not behind. Circling.

I turn my attention to Serel. “Why me?”

Her eyes darken. “Because you woke something that was meant to stay asleep by simply existing. And now it wants to see if you can be broken. The combination of bloodlines that run through you is completely new. You could either be the downfall of everything, or the one to fix it all.”

Her words suck the breath from my lungs. My mind races as I try to process her message. The weight is almost overbearing.

Harek, whose jaw is clenched, crosses his arms like he’s holding something back. His parents and my siblings are in danger because the bloodline has a target on its back.

My bloodlines have curses that need immediate fixes, and I don’t know how to help. The thought is too much, and I collapse to the ground.

Harek helps me to my feet. “We should go.”

“We can’t.” I brush dirt from my palms, my hands shaking, and turn to Serel. “What do you need?”

She studies me. “Your presence, your power, and your willingness to act before the fracture becomes permanent.”

“I’ll do what I need to.”

“No protest? No conditions?”

“You came here for help,” I say. “But I’m not doing this for you.”

She smiles faintly. “Good. Then you might just survive.”

My mouth falls open. What have I just agreed to?

She steps back into the shadows without another word, the mist swallowing her in seconds.

The moment she vanishes, wings sound. Sapphire lands beside the clearing, her claws biting into the moss-covered stone. Einar dismounts, his expression grim. “What did I miss?”

I lift my chin. “A sage with a dire warning.”

He raises a brow. “Just what we need. Tell me more.”

I look toward the trees where Serel vanished then back to him. “Our werewolf pack is in danger, so our quest to the fae city will have to wait.”

Einar nods. “Where are we headed?”

I meet his gaze. “To save everyone I care about.”