Page 12 of Traitor Wolf (Bonded by Fate Duet #1)

“Alright, we can work with that. In the trials, there will be times when you are up against magic that you can’t fight, that I can’t protect you from, that Valkaryn either chooses not to engage, or will be out of your reach. In those cases, you will need to run, hide, and stay alive. ”

Chills ran down my back. I had forgotten that he’d been through the trials before. They were different every time, but he knew what to expect more than any of us.

I opened my mouth to speak when the door to our training room opened.

Four people stepped inside. Two were Elite magic users, one from the House of Vexalor and the other from the House of Marcellen.

I remembered yesterday that they both had chosen pretty powerful weapons.

Next to them were their wolfkin bonded, one female with long blond hair, and another male, his hair shaved completely bald—he glared at Kaelric with a hatred that made the skin on my arms prickle.

“Room’s taken,” Kaelric told them calmly, but I saw his hand go to the sword at his hip.

“We thought you might want some sparring partners?” the House of Vexalor male Elite said.

Kaelric was curt: “No, thank you.”

I peered at the female wolfkin to see that her head was low, avoiding eye contact with Kaelric. But the male with the shaved head was glaring at him hard.

“Oh, come on, Prikaran , are you scared?” the bald male wolfkin said.

Kaelric snapped his head in the wolfkin’s direction and met his gaze head-on. “ Varran el thunsar ,” he spat, and a shockwave of power burst outward. I felt it like a physical weight on my chest. The wolfkin growled, lowering his head and his gaze.

The two Elites peered at each other wearily, unsure what to do, so they just turned and left.

I’d never heard the wolfkin language before. I knew it was called Vaskari and only spoken by the wolfkin, but having just heard it and feeling Kaelric use some kind of wolfkin magic… was wild.

“What was that about?” I asked him.

Kaelric’s eyes were green, threaded through with yellow.

“Nothing. Let’s focus on training. The first trial comes faster than you think.”

I frowned. “What was that power you used? I felt it. Do the wolfkin have magic like the Elite?”

Kaelric peered at me for a long time. “Not all of them.”

We said nothing more.

I spent the next few hours hefting my sword and deflecting his blows.

They were pathetic attempts on my part, and I knew he was going easy on me.

I’d never held a sword before, and it was heavy and awkward.

By the time Cassian came by to check on us, my arms felt like rubber; I could barely hold up the steel.

I thought I was strong for my body type. Today proved me wrong.

“Did you get some sleep?” Kaelric asked Cassian .

Cassian nodded, running his hand through his blond hair, but his gaze flicked to me warily.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He sighed, straightening his shoulders, which pulled his blue silk tunic taut against his chest. “I’ve just left a sponsor meeting where we learned about the first trial.”

“What is it?” Kaelric was suddenly alert, moving towards Cassian.

Cassian peered at me. “They’re going to try to take you guys out quickly in the first trial.”

Dizziness washed over me.

Take you guys out . That meant kill . They wanted me dead. I figured that, but hearing it now was sobering.

“What’s the trial?” Kaelric barked, and this time a heavy sensation pushed at the back of my neck like a physical force.

My head snapped in Kaelric’s direction as Cassian’s brows drew together. Kaelric was using that magic again.

“I can’t say. I’ve been magically gagged, but I can tell you it’s designed to take out Brynn.” He peered at me with a sadness in his gaze, like he had already accepted this fate and was saying goodbye.

Kaelric growled. “That’s not happening. What can you tell us? ”

Cassian bit down on his lip, concentrating, as if trying to find a magical loophole. He peered at me, eyes boring into mine.

“You have to trust him, fully, if you want to survive this. He will be the only way,” he said to me, and I peered at Kaelric in surprise.

Then he looked to Kaelric: “You’ll have to take care of her, protect her more than you’ve ever done for anyone before.”

Kaelric looked concerned, brows knitting together on his forehead.

That’s when I said the worst possible thing for that moment, but I was blunt, and addressing the elephant in the room was just how I rolled.

“How can I trust a marked traitor?” I asked Cassian.

Kaelric’s head swiveled slowly, eyes flashing yellow, fur running down the length of his arms.

“ Drel thar va kinnar ven !” he spat into my face, and then stormed out of the room.

Cassian watched him go and then peered back at me. I sheathed Valkaryn and crossed my arms.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not trusting a traitor!” I told him. “Wolves only get that mark if they leave someone for dead in the trial, right?” I mean, I wasn’t crazy; the guy wore the mark .

Cassian nodded. “Right…” He said the word like a question, though.

“Why do you sound unsure?”

Cassian blew air through his teeth. “The trial he was in was five years ago. He must have been… seventeen? A young wolf. I was thirteen. I don’t remember much, as my parents didn’t let me watch yet, but Regalis did. He… told me stuff. Wild stuff.”

I shifted on the balls of my feet. “Wild stuff?”

The last trial? Kaelric was in the last trial. I don’t know why I didn’t put that together until now.

Cassian chewed his lip, peering over his shoulder at the closed door. “Like unbelievable stuff,” he added.

I frowned, my stomach tying into knots. I suddenly wondered if I’d made a mistake. “Tell me.” I stepped closer.

Cassian fiddled with his hair, pausing as if not wanting to say anything. “I don’t know if it’s true?—”

“Tell me, please,” I begged.

He nodded.

“That year, the heir to House of Vexalor sponsored himself. His name was Drauis Vexalor. He chose the most powerful weapon at the time, named Blood Veil, and Kaelric bonded him.”

Blood Veil . That sounded creepy. It was interesting that Kaelric seemed to be after powerful weapons .

“Was King Killer not an option five years ago?” I asked.

Cassian shook his head.

“Drauis was known for being cruel and bloodthirsty. He would win at all costs. But that year, the House of Liraeth found out that their young daughter was dating outside her cast. To punish her, they sponsored her, even though she’d never had any combat training. It was a death sentence.”

I gasped. A punishment for dating a lowborn? It was so cruel.

“What happened to her?”

Cassian eyed the door. “That’s where the story gets… crazy. My brother said that in the second trial, Drauis tried to kill Larelle Liraeth for the fun of it. She was in his way. Kaelric intervened and told Drauis to leave her alone.”

My heart began to pound heavily in my chest. Kaelric stood up for an innocent girl…

“And then…” Cassian cleared his throat. “Drauis ignored Kaelric and tried again to kill Larelle, but Kaelric jumped in front of the killing blow, blocking it, and killed Drauis instead.”

My eyes went wide. No. No. No . Guilt washed through me.

All the times I’d called Kaelric a traitor…

he was a traitor for a reason that I totally agreed with.

But killing an Elite, one you were sworn to protect, wa s not okay.

I was surprised they hadn’t killed Kaelric and had only branded him a traitor.

“They booed him out of the arena, branded him right then and there, and banished him,” Cassian said.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

He shrugged. “Once people got back to town, the story started getting twisted. People said Kaelric killed his bonded in their sleep and tried to steal Blood Veil. I wasn’t sure what to believe for a long time, even after my brother told me his version.

But now that I’ve gotten to know Kaelric and have seen how protective he is of you… I think my brother’s version is true.”

Great. Fabulous . I sighed, feeling like an absolute idiot. I should have known not to trust the Elite. I should have known.

“Thank you for telling me,” I told him, and then excused myself. I had to go find Kaelric and apologize.

I told Kaelric I wouldn’t even trust him around my family after he tried to give them free food. What a fool I was. I should have seen his actions all along were noble, and trusted that over a stupid mark branded onto him by the very people I hated!

I ran from the room, heading back for the dorms where I hoped Kaelric would be. When I turned the corner, I bumped right into someone’s chest.

“Oh, sorry.” I stumbled backward and looked up .

It was the wolf-bonded guy with the shaved head who’d been threatening Kaelric. And his Elite partner.

They both glared down at me with such hatred that a chill ran down my spine. I reached for Valkaryn, only to realize that I had left her in the training room.

No.

“Where’s your guardian?” Baldy sneered, stepping behind me and blocking me in the dark hallway.

“Right behind me, coming out of the training room,” I lied.

The Elite grinned. “She’s smart, but a liar. I saw him crossing the quad a few minutes ago.”

My stomach knotted, my throat growing dry as pure panic flooded my system.

“Do you think we are stupid? We know why that traitor Regalis gave you magic,” the Elite growled, stepping so close to me that my back was pressed up against the wall. “We’ll never let it happen.”

Baldy peered down at my hip. “Where’s the sword?” he growled.

I froze, completely terrified. I’d never been in a situation like this. They had boxed me in with nowhere to run. I always imagined that if cornered like this in a dark hallway, I would kick the guy in the balls and run… but here I was, just shaking like a leaf.

The Elite’s hand suddenly came up around my throat and squeezed. I felt magic filter into my limbs from him.