by Sandra Elsa
She did not see Dalanor again. She could not convince herself to go back underground for any reason. Paulus nosed around for several days but Johann ran interference. Angel pushed her energy levels back to normal.
Captain Torel made Conall work off the cost of replacing the door.
With Bella for his voice, the wolf instructed some of the poorer students in swordsmanship. They looked at her as though she were odd when she told them to roll their pants legs up. The first time the razor sharp teeth sliced open their calves they improved in leaps and bounds. These students were ordered not to reveal Bella’s Healing skills.
The next two weeks flew by, one day very much the same as the last. The temperature continued to drop and occasionally there would be small flurries of snow. Captain Torel attended the weapons training sessions when he had the time. Often he picked up a weapon to challenge Bella. Occasionally, the Weaponsmaster joined them.
Bethany had come up with a list of names of Guard members missing from the timeframe when Dorang terrorized the north and it was indeed long. Her initial guess had been an underestimate, Dorang had lived a long and lethal life. Nearly two hundred and forty names ended up on the list, and those were just the King‘s Guards.
Conall attempted to remember more details. At one point he came up with the memory of others with him when he was transformed. “Our minds were destroyed with the initial transformation so I can’t say who they were, any more than I can say who I was. I remember being with other wolves, who were not wolves. I also remember some of them dying. Why was I cursed with immortality? I try to remember, but nothing comes,” sorrow colored the thoughts he shared.
“My intelligence returned over the years but not my sense of self. I must have done something extraordinary to anger Dorang that I was cursed to live this way forever. He claimed I slew his brother. That knowledge is twisted into the curse, but how can I still be punished for something I don’t even remember doing?”
Bella threw an arm around him and pulled him close.