by Willa Hart
“Be careful, and we’ll send for you as soon as we can,” Jix says. He leans forward and plants a kiss on my cheek. A chaste kiss, a friend’s kiss, a kiss like all the other kisses Jix has given me throughout our lives. Maybe it’s the threat of war or that Jix is leaving on a journey with two of my fated-mates that could end in harm to all of them, but with Jix’s kiss an unfamiliar feeling toward Jix stirs within me. A feeling…a feeling that eclipses my feelings of friendship for Jix. I wipe the thought away and smile at him.
“You be careful too,” I say. “I’m safe. I have an army of Wolveskin to protect me, but you? You’ve got the entire Eliterrati army coming after you.”
“Not if we have our way.” He turns to his horse and mounts. “We’ll see you soon.”
Taraz waves to me as does Sarkany. Each has said a private goodbye before this moment, and I know they will be in my mindscape.
Meela, stay safe, Taraz thinks. And get plenty of rest. You’re just recently healed, and we’ll need you healthy when we send for you.
Goodbye, my bird. My heart I leave with you, Sarkany thinks.
May the Goddess be with you, I think. I wave, my heart aching as the line of horses and riders walk away. Six Wolveskin prowl alongside the horses, three on each side. Far enough away so as not to spook the horses but close enough for safety. According to Rex, the Wolveskin shall travel to the edge of Ninaku using their senses and knowledge to help the party safely arrive. He has not said what his Wolveskin will do at that point; if they shall return or remain as spies within Ninaku.
The little caravan of horses and Wolveskin move down the steep path and around the bend on the mountainside.
“They shall be protected well on their journey to Ninaku,” Rex stands beside me.
“May the Goddess let them survive,” I whisper.
Rex looks at me, his eyes fierce. “May your Goddess help us all.”
I turn and see Arianna standing beside the lair entrance with Eregos, Rex’s brother. Their heads are bent together. I don’t feel safe with the two of them together.
“Steady, Meela,” Rex whispers, so low that not even the closest Wolveskin can hear. “We can smell fear, and it’s imperative that a Queen never seem afraid.”
I blink once, twice, three times. “How can I possibly control my human scent? Especially with all of you sporting your super-olfactory senses?”
“That’s an excellent question,” Rex says. “I’m going to put Dr. Atta on that.” We walk together past Arianna and Eregos and into the Wolveskin lair.
“Dr. Atta wants nothing more than an excuse to dissect me,” I say.
Rex’s laugh booms through the front chamber, and everyone stops what they’re doing and smiles. The entire pack loves hearing their leader happy.
“You have such a big effect on your pack,” I say.
“You have little idea how connected we are,” Rex says, turning to me. “I often think of how lonely you must be—as a human—never having experienced being a part of a pack. It also makes me aware of how much your father must have loved your mother to forego the bond of his pack and live only with her.” The silver circle in each of Rex’s eyes pulses. A predator mesmerizing me with his eyes—almost hypnotic. “But then, since meeting you I’m starting to understand why he made such a choice. How even a Wolveskin could forego the closeness of his pack for his one true mate.”
Heat fills my cheeks. A deep and primal need stirs within me. A part of me that’s gone unrecognized and seeks to be acknowledged.
“I sense your need to know.” He leans close to me. The scent of musk and woods and wildness dizzying me. The scent of Rex. I close my eyes. His lips are close to my ear.
“There’s much you don’t know, Princess, about being a Wolveskin, and I want to show you.”
Heat swirls through me. Desire for Rex’s touch.
“Yes,” I whisper. “Please.” I want to know, but I also want to be with Rex. I look into his eyes, black with the silver circle pulsing with desire. A desire I share. A connection I don’t understand but have to know. No matter what kind of danger I might put myself in.
Chapter Nine
Leo
Sweat rolls down my neck. I grasp my sword and set myself into a low stance.
War is coming.
What a fool I’ve been. I relied on Sarkany, the warrior of our Tripsett. The events in Ninaku showed me many things, primarily that I’m foolish to rely only on my mindslaying capabilities. I must prepare to fight with my hands. Zaraz, my sparring partner, trained our Tripsett when we were boys, and then continued to train Sarkany when he became leader of the Warriors Guild. There is no better combatant in all of the Kingdom.
Zaraz crouches before me, a knife in his hand. “You seem distracted, Leo. Is it because your brothers return home?”
His words cut through my thoughts. I feel the nearing presence of Sarkany and Taraz. We’ve not yet communicated through mind, but I sense them growing closer. They’re together, unified both in their intentions regarding the Kingdom and their commitment to Meela.
“Must be lonely without your Tripsett,” Zaraz says.
He attempts to get into my head, which means I’m growing stronger. When we first trained he said little and simply kept bumping me onto my ass. Today I still stand.
My mind and my eyes sense Zaraz’s movement. He shifts right and I turn. My right foot swings out, but Zaraz is too quick for that maneuver and leaps away from me.
Irritation races across my belly. The longer we spar, the greater my disadvantage. While I do grow better, we’re not evenly matched. Zaraz is a master with a warrior’s endurance.
I lunge, and Zaraz captures my arm and quickly pulls it behind my back. Tendons strain with pain. My knife falls to the ground. He flips me. My back screams in protest. His forearm presses to my windpipe.
“Yield,” he says. A grin plays across his face.
This is much too similar to my childhood, when Sarkany was always quicker, bigger, and stronger and would force me to yield all while I was much smarter than he.
Zaraz presses his arm tighter to my throat. I choke. Grind my teeth. Stare into Zaraz’s eyes. The edges of the world turning black.
“Yield,” Zaraz says again. Worry hovers in Zaraz’s eyes—how horrible for him it might be to cause the death of the only remaining Roya Prince while sparring. This moment of hesitation—of vulnerability—is my moment.
With all that is left in me, I hitch my hips up and throw Zaraz onto his back. I’m over him and we’re reversed. I slide a blade from my wrist guard and press it to his throat.
“Yield.”
Zaraz laughs and smiles. “I yield.”
I release my grip and sheath my blade. I hold out my arm and pull Zaraz to standing.
“That was quite cunning.” He bows to me. He knows better than to take it easy on me, because if ever faced with combat in the field of war, my combatant shall not take it easy upon me, a Roya Prince.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Are you worried about their return?” Zaraz asks. He rubs a towel over his face and hands it to the stewards that stand beside us.
“Worried is not an accurate word to describe how I feel about Sarkany and Taraz’s return,” I say. While I’ve known Zaraz a lifetime, I still don’t know who within the Palace is trustworthy.
“There’s never before been a broken Tripsett,” Zaraz says. “I’m unsure how this will end. But I don’t believe it’ll end well for any one of you, unless you can find a way to repair what has been torn.”
My lips thin into a tight line. I want to tell Zaraz that I agree, that I’m working to create a safe place for my brothers’ return, but I say nothing, because while Zaraz served our mother and was friends with our fathers, I don’t know if he is loyal to Vlissimal or to my dead parents.
He nods to me. “With your permission, sir?”
“Yes, of course,” I say. Zaraz jogs off the practice ring, and I turn toward the castle entry. Lady Alana stands near the cobble st
eps. Her gaze skims across my body. Her eyes linger on my bare chest, and a hint of desire trails over me. I feel nothing similar for her.
“Prince Leo,” she calls to me.
I slip on my shirt and walk to her. “The Counsel has agreed to your Uncle’s request to move to the Northern Palace.”
“That’s a mistake. To abandon the Southern Palace sends the wrong message to the Dregs of Ninaku and—”
“The Dregs of Ninaku shall starve before spring. I hear they’ve run out of cats and dogs to consume and are now on rats,” Lady Alana says. “They’ll either die of disease or starvation while we’re in the North. After what happened in that Goddess-awful slum, I say let them die.”
“It’s foolish to look as though we’re running away. It will embolden their behavior.”
“The move gives us more time to prepare for your brothers’ return and try to postpone the mindscrub that Vlissimal ordered,” Lady Alana says, her voice low.
I shiver with her words. The mindscrub by Uncle will kill. Uncle has created a list of Eliterrati to mindscrub first, and his list contains only adversaries of his Regency, which noticeably were allies of my mother and fathers.
Lady Alana glances around and tilts her head toward me. “Have you communicated with your brothers at all?” she asks softly.
I shake my head. “But I feel them growing closer.”
“As do I. Let me know once you connect. It’s imperative to bring Sarkany and Taraz to the Palace as soon as possible. We must try to get the three of you unified so that we can unseat your uncle,” she whispers.
“There’s still the problem of their Dreg,” I say.
Lady Alana lifts an eyebrow. “Surely you won’t let her prevent the three of you from ruling?”
“Sarkany has chosen her as his fated-mate. They had their ceremony beneath the Wishing Tree, and Taraz believes her to be his fated-mate as well. Therefore I must either do the same or—”
“Sever the bind,” Lady Alana says. Her lips are thin and her eyes stone-cold.
“That’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible. It’s not been done since...well who knows when, but severing the bind between fated-mates is possible. The bind may be severed, a fated-mate is no more bound together than a Tripsett is, and you know as well as anyone that a Tripsett may sever their ties should they so desire.”
My heart hammers hard in my chest. Not too long ago, anger coursed through me and I wanted to sever the Tripsett bind with my brothers, but I know now that I have no desire to rule without the closeness of Sarkany and Taraz. I hesitate to tell Lady Alana that I would accept their fated-mate, Meela, simply to have my brothers close.
“I don’t know if they’d allow for it,” I say.
“Then there are other ways,” Lady Alana says. “To dispose of a fated-mate.”
My eyebrows crease. What does Lady Alana suggest?
“Besides,” Lady Alana says, “you’ll not know for certain unless you ask. Ask them. Send them a tendril. See if you can find a common ground in which the three of you can rule. If you do, then perhaps The Counsel will allow you to ascend to the throne even without your fated-mate. Then we can be rid of Lord Vlissimal and the Princess Temporare,” Lady Alana says.
While I hold out little hope that either of my brothers would agree to forego their relationship with Meela, I can’t help but wonder if they’d be willing to sever the bind for the good of our Tripsett and the Kingdom as well. But to…dispose of a fated-mate as Lady Alana suggests…
“Perhaps, Lady Alana,” I say, “perhaps you are correct and there is a way.”
She leans her head closer to me as we walk up the cobblestone steps from the practice ring. “You must be very careful, Prince Leo, there are many around you who wish to see you fail. They believe that Lord Regent and the Princess Temporare should remain in power because they cater to the status quo. Especially after the Dregs’ uprising, there’s great fear throughout the Eliterrati that you’ll push your mother’s agenda of a New Order. Many Eliterrati fear that they’ll end up dead or enslaved.”
“I highly doubt that, we still have our mindslay capability,” I say.
“Which did nothing to protect us in Ninaku,” Lady Alana, says. “The Counsel seeks a commitment from you that you will not pursue the New Order which grants Dregs freedom and equal rights, at least not yet. They want to know that you’re in alignment with your uncle as to the mixing of the blood, before they’ll grant you the ability to rule.”
My jaw drops. I take a step back. “What you’re asking goes against everything we discussed. How am I any better than Vlissimal if I agree to those terms?”
“You’re better than Vlissimal because you’re not him,” Lady Alana says. “After what happened in Ninaku, the Eliterrati have much more fear for their own safety and less concern for the Dregs’. The Counsel has reconsidered the position it presented you with. Now they fear for their lives and the lives of their children. What happens if we are overrun with Dregs? What happens to us? It’s quite possible they might enslave us or kill us or—”
I teak a deep breath. “Dregs seek what we seek. Safety for themselves and their children. To live in a safe place with their family around them and to be paid a fair wage for their work—”
Lady Alana’s nostrils flare. “Is that what you’d have me take back to the Counsel? With Lord Drisses body not yet in the ground? Because while your sentiments are noble, and are just like your mother and fathers’, we all remember what happened to them, Goddess bless their memory. Is the death of your parents and the uprising that you witnessed not proof enough that the Dregs are nothing but monsters? Why would you push for their equal rights when they’ve done nothing but prove time and time again that they’re animals? They’ve no semblance of human decency, right and wrong. They would kill indiscriminately even those that would try to help them.”
My throat tightens. Lady Alana has been the biggest supporter of Mother’s New Order on the Counsel. How much damage has the Dreg uprising done to the Dreg cause? A cause that I’ve been hesitant to champion, but the more torture I watch inflicted, the more I agree with Mother’s wisdom. But to tell Lady Alana what I really think and feel while Uncle is still Regent is akin to signing my own death warrant.
“Then we must protect the Eliterrati,” I say.
Lady Alana smiles. “Excellent. I will convey your sentiments to The Counsel. This will go a long way in getting power placed with you and not your cousin, the Princess Temporare.”
Lady Alana pulls the hood of her cloak over her head. “And do make certain to let me know once you’ve heard from Taraz and Sarkany.”
I nod. She turns and walks into the Palace.
A chill races down my spine. I’m alone without my brothers, and it’s becoming alarmingly clear that there’s no one that I can trust within these palace walls.
Chapter Ten
Meela
“It is time for you to discover who you are,” Rex says. “And your destiny in this world.”
A chill races down my spine.
“How can someone I just met know more about me than I know about myself?” I ask.
“Because I was here for many of the memories that your parents hid deep in your mind to protect you from being discovered and killed.”
I walk beside King Rex. We tread a path within the lair that I’ve never walked before now. The tile beneath our feet has changed from brightly colored mosaic glass with gold and blue and green to a mosaic that is made from black onyx and red the color of blood. Deep purple is woven through the tiles as well. On the wall hang paintings of wolves in the wild as well as human faces.
“These are our sacred elders,” Rex says. “Wolveskin who’ve led and sacrificed for our pack. There’ve been many that have gone ahead.”
The hallway narrows. Torches with open flames provide a flickering light. The scent of wood and moonlight and cinnamon waft around me. Rex stops before a black stone door that reaches up into the darknes
s. On either side of the door is a Wolveskin statue. Or what I think is a statue. Both look so real and yet they’re gigantic, bigger than even Rex when he shifts into his Wolveskin form. The one on my left is made from black marble. He sits with his paw upturned, and in it a crystal globe. The statue to my right is white marble. He stands alert and watching, as though looking and judging anyone that might stand in the exact spot where Rex and I stand.
“Only Wolveskin may enter here,” Rex says. “Anyone who is not Wolveskin that tries to enter will die.”
My heart hammers in my chest, and I look from the black statue to the white statue. My eyes flicker to Rex’s face. “I can’t shift and I’m only half-Wolveskin. What if…what if that isn’t enough?”
Rex presses his hand to the door.
“Wait…what if?” I ask, panic lacing my voice. “Do you know?” The door starts to move. I look at the two Wolveskin statues that protect this room and kill anyone that might try to enter if they don’t carry Wolveskin blood.
“No,” Rex says. “I don’t. I’ve never tried to enter Wolf Temple with a half-Wolveskin before now.” He lifts an eyebrow in a nonchalant way as though taking a hint of pleasure in my discomfort.
My heart careens about my rib cage. The giant stone doors slowly slide away.
“How…uh what happens if a non-Wolveskin tries to walk past them?”
“They rip you apart,” Rex says.
I eye the black wolf statue. His tail twitches. The eyes of the white wolf statue follow me.
“The White Wolf has been coming to you,” Rex says. “That’s a good sign that he won’t kill you. At least not yet.”
“Are you serious or are you kidding?”
Rex strides past the door. I look from one wolf statue to the other.
“Don’t want to wait and find out do you?” he calls, and I scurry past the two marble wolves. I swear I hear a low rumble that sounds like a growl in the black wolf’s throat.
I entire the giant room and stop. It’s as though a million diamonds lie on a bed of black velvet and I stand in the middle of infinite space.