by Eva Brandt
Once I was satisfied they were all right, I left the room, intending to check up on Mathias. I found him waiting for me in the corridor, plopped down on the floor with his injured leg extended.
“Mathias? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to hear you sing,” he replied, “but it seemed like a bad idea to disturb you. I don’t mind lying on the floor for a little while.”
I did and the healers weren’t happy about it either. With a sigh, I helped him up again and carried him back to his healing room. “I can sing to you whenever you want me too. You don’t have to sit on the floor to listen to me.”
“Maybe not, but this time, I wanted to.” Mathias’s smile faded into a more serious expression. “Dahud, I want you to promise me something. No matter what happens, don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”
He could see right through me, as always, but right then and there, I didn’t mind it. I leaned against his shoulder and allowed myself to cry.
“This is all wrong, Mathias. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Mathias answered. “But it doesn’t change what we promised one another. For as long as we live and into eternity, remember?”
Of course I remembered. I’d never forget those beautiful moments we’d shared. But in my heart, I feared the price for the gift we had received would be much too high. Our eternity might not last as long as we had expected.
* * *
Halvar
They were all staring at us. They wanted to kill us. I could tell. They were a threat. I needed to kill them.
Kill them. Kill them all. They’re after your mates. You need to destroy them.
I forced myself to look away from the gawking servants. I couldn’t harm them. Dahud didn’t see the problem and she had said I might be imagining things. I wasn’t. My wolf sensed their bloodlust and wicked intentions. But until Dahud agreed with me, my hands—and paws—were tied.
We’d just moved to Dahud’s summer residence, like she had suggested. Located at the foot of a small mountain, the manor was smaller and less busy than the palace. Even so, everywhere I turned, I could see an enemy.
They watched us, searching for a moment when I was going to drop my guard. They were wasting their time, because that was never going to happen. I’d stopped sleeping so I could protect my mates. Whenever Dahud left the room, I went with her. I made sure Thrand and Mathias had other ways of protecting themselves, just in case someone tried to harm them while I was away.
But today I was extra anxious. Mathias’s aunt was supposed to arrive. She’d written to him that she’d reach the residence around noon and it was a little past midday. I was torn between wanting her to hurry up and forcing her to keep her distance as much as possible.
This whole thing had happened because she’d cast the curse on Dahud. It was a little too late to apologize now that we were all paying the price for her actions.
She hadn’t apologized, though, not really, and, as a person, I respected that. As a wolf, I couldn’t have cared less about her reasoning and still wanted to tear her to pieces.
Sighing, I leaned against the trunk of the tree I was using as an observation point. Maybe I could kill her anyway, but only after she found the cure for whatever was ailing Thrand and Mathias. Until then, I’d have to play nice.
I was busy contemplating all the possible ways I could make Mathias’s aunt suffer when I spotted her carriage approach. I jumped out of the tree and easily landed on my feet, immediately on my guard. Dahud and the others were still inside, but I was perfectly capable of greeting the witch and giving her a warning she’d never forget.
Dahud’s well-trained staff rushed to welcome the new arrival. As the carriage door opened, she stepped out, ignoring the hand the servant offered her. She was dressed in modest travel robes. Mathias’s family had never been rich and she was clearly not any different. It was a minor miracle she’d managed to get anyone to take her here on such short notice.
The carriage that had brought her to the manor was one of Dahud’s personal ones, but Anna had come to Ys through her own means, without Dahud sending anyone after her. That meant she was either invested in our well-being or inclined to hurt us more. In any case, I had to keep a close eye on her.
I clung to that thought as I nodded to acknowledge her arrival. “Lady Anna, welcome to the private residence of Her Royal Highness, Princess Dahud of Kerys. My wife is resting but she will come to greet you soon.
Anna snorted. “I’m sure she will. It’s in her best interest.” She eyed me from head to toe and at that moment, her gaze reminded me far too much of Mathias. “I should’ve come sooner, I think,” she continued. “I see the problem now. It’s more serious than I expected.”
Her comment made me uncomfortable, even if I’d never felt like that around Mathias. I frowned, but decided to not argue with her in the entryway. “Your time and effort are appreciated. Please, come with me.”
I didn’t wait for her to comply. Instead, I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the manor. Anna stumbled but didn’t try to pull away. Her magic sparked underneath my fingers, threatening to scorch off my skin if I got too hostile. I didn’t feel threatened.
“Listen to me very closely,” I told her. “You will fix this or the damage the king and queen promised to inflict on you will look like pup’s play.”
“Pup’s play? That’s an interesting way to put it.”
I growled at her, not bothering to disguise the beast hiding underneath the surface. “Don’t play games with me, seiðkona. It won’t work. If this is your fault, your magic won’t keep you safe from me. No matter where you hide, I’ll find you and tear you apart.”
“I think we’ve already established that it is my fault,” she replied with a smile, “and yet, I’m still here and very much alive. Now, take me to Mathias and your wife.”
She thought I couldn’t hurt her and the worst thing was that I couldn’t argue with her. Dahud was trying to find answers, but so far, she hadn’t come up with anything. Dahud’s parents hadn’t done any better. So whether I liked it or not, it was up to this accursed woman.
With another snarl, I dragged her through the corridors of the manor and to the garden where my mates were waiting. The sun tended to help Thrand cope with his illness. At the same time, lying on the grass made it easier for Mathias to fight off the increasing stiffness of his limbs.
The mystery of Mathias’s flesh turning to bone had yet to be solved. Unlike in Thrand’s case, the healers hadn’t heard anything about such a condition. After the first time they’d seen him, they’d stopped trying, fearing it would have side effects on them. It was better because this way, they wouldn’t have the chance to kill any of my mates.
When Anna and I reached the garden, we found Dahud singing. She did this a lot as of late, and it helped more than any healer could. She only knew one song, but whenever she sang it, my wolf backed off and my head cleared. Already, I could feel myself calm down and become a little less murderous.
Anna didn’t appreciate my wife’s talents as much as I did. “Well, well,” she said, “I never thought I’d hear Princess Dahud singing to her husbands. This is quite the sight, I admit.”
Her comment shattered the peaceful atmosphere in the garden. “Aunt Anna,” Mathias said, “I’d get up to greet you, but I don’t think I can.”
He was smiling, but there was no warmth in his eyes. How could there be? The curse she had cast was slowly encasing him in a cage of bone. So far, his right side was the only one affected, but he feared that it was a matter of time until the rest of his body was taken over.
Anna’s defiant behavior dissipated and horror took its place. We hadn’t gotten the chance to inform her about Mathias’s condition. She stumbled to Mathias’s side like a woman possessed. “Oh, Mathias… What’s happened to you? What is this?”
“That’s what we’d like to know,” Dahud said. “And that’s why you’re here, right? To provide us with
some answers.”
Anna palmed Mathias’s legs through his pants, hissing when her fingers came in contact with the bone. “You already know the answers,” she hissed at Dahud. “This is all your fault! I told you to keep your distance. I told you to not use your magic.”
“And I haven’t,” Dahud shot back. “I’ve barely touched them at all. I was careful.”
“How dare you claim it is Dahud’s fault when you are the one who placed this curse on her?” I growled. “Remove it now and we’ll be fine.”
Thrand nodded. “I know you said you found no way to cure the original enchantment, but that spell is already broken. Dahud has her emotions back. This has to be some kind of magical backlash, right? So remove the effects of the dark magic on us.”
Anna stared at him and she pressed her lips together in displeasure when she saw he was wearing Mathias’s pendant. She didn’t comment on it, though. “It’s not so easy,” she replied instead. “Dahud lost her emotions because of the destruction of her soulmate. She shouldn’t have been able to get them back unless…”
Her eyes widened as she looked from Thrand to the rest of us. “Unless what?” Dahud prodded. “Speak! Tell me the truth!”
Anna ignored Dahud’s request. Her face twisted into an almost feral expression and her eyes glinted with an unholy light. “Do you love them, Princess Dahud? Do you love these men? Answer honestly. Don’t say what you think they want to hear.”
For a few seconds, Dahud didn’t say anything. She seemed to be considering Anna’s words. I froze in fear at the realization that my female mate might not want me like I wanted her.
“I don’t know what love is,” she said. “I’ve never experienced it, not really. But if I had to define it, if I had to describe this emotion growing inside me with one word, I would pick ‘love’, yes.”
My wolf was more than satisfied with her answer, but Mathias’s aunt cursed viciously. “That isn’t good.”
“Why?” Mathias asked. “Why are Dahud’s feelings for us so relevant?”
“If I’m right, this is a leftover of the original spell. They may be your soulmates, and the enchantment you thought you broke is actually absorbing and consuming you all.”
“Her soulmates,” I repeated. That was the first thing this witch had said that made perfect sense. My wolf had known it since the first moment I’d looked at Dahud. “Of course.”
“Was that the only thing you got out of what I just told you?” Anna snapped at me. “This might very well kill you.”
“How are you so sure?” Dahud asked. “Your pendant is helping Thrandur, so your magic must be the key to this riddle.”
Anna shook her head. “My magic is absorbing the dark curse that’s feeding his illness, but it’s temporary. I can’t contain something so serious on my own. I’m already close to my limit.”
Dahud paled, but her voice didn’t shake when she spoke again. “Oh. That’s why the pendant is so powerful. It’s tied to your core. But sooner or later, your magic will run dry and when that happens…”
She trailed off, unable to finish the phrase. Anna fixed that problem, although she didn’t have to. “The pendant will be useless, yes.”
“How much time do we have until that happens?” Thrand asked. “I was already very ill when Mathias gave me the pendant.”
“At this rate, a month, if that. And I won’t be able to do anything for the rest of you.”
She looked at Mathias, but he clenched his jaw and said nothing. It was clear she wanted Mathias to ask for the pendant back. I ached to destroy her for that, but she was the only reason why Thrand was still alive to begin with. Her death could wait.
Thrand made the decision in Mathias’s stead. “If I return the pendant to Mathias, what’s going to happen?”
“The pendant will buy Mathias more time because it’s naturally attuned to him,” Anna answered bluntly. “But you’ll die in a week. I can make you comfortable and keep you from experiencing too much pain, but I can’t stop the inevitable.”
Dahud was on her feet and glaring before Anna had even finished the phrase. “No! There has to be another way. We have time. We’ll figure out another solution.”
“I understand your grief, Princess,” Anna replied, “and if you have any ideas, I’ll happily support them. But I’m afraid that, despite all my searches and my attempts to fix my crime, I’ve been unable to fix the problem I caused.”
“We don’t have to make a decision right this instant,” I said a little desperately. “We’re still looking into things, searching for more information. We can send an envoy to Thrand’s father. The magic of our people might help us.”
“It’s not a bad idea, but they’ll never get back in time, even with the delay from the pendant.”
“We’ll try anyway,” Mathias said. “We’ll send an urgent message and keep searching. I’m not willing to give up so easily.”
Anna sighed, but didn’t seem surprised at our decision. Thrand clutched the white pendant in his fist, looking like he wanted to return it to Mathias on the spot. Dahud’s eyes glinted with an unfathomable emotion. Something told me she had her own plans, another idea she wasn’t willing to share with us.
“So be it,” she said. “I will send a messenger at once. In the meantime, we’ll experiment with my powers. I refuse to believe magic can’t fix something like this.”
“Magic can’t provide the answer to every problem, but we can definitely try,” Anna offered. She smiled again, and at the back of my mind, the wolf stirred, starting to pace anxiously.
Kill her. Kill her. She’s a threat. She hurt your mates. Destroy her.
The litany of growls echoed in my ears, so loud I had trouble hearing anything else. No, I couldn’t. If I killed her…
If I killed her, the curse would die. Her magic would fade with her. She deserved to be ripped apart for what she’d done.
Yes. Yes. I could end her miserable life, take my revenge, and help my mates at the same time.
I dropped down on all fours, my clothes tearing as I shifted into my lupine form. It hurt, but I didn’t care. It was a pain I’d inflict tenfold on the creature who’d harmed my mates.
The woman wisely took a step back, but didn’t seem very scared of me. “I know what you’re thinking, Halvar, but the curse isn’t anchored to me. Taking my life won’t end it. If it had been so easy, Queen Malgven and King Gradlon would’ve done it a long time ago.
“The spell I cast was so powerful it bound me to Princess Dahud. If I die, the same thing might happen to her. And even if that doesn’t happen, my death will not be enough to heal you.”
She smelled like she was telling the truth and if I remembered well, Dahud’s parents had once told her something similar. But witches were deceitful. She could be trying to weave another spell on us.
“I swear to you now, on my own life, on the gods, on Mathias, that I truly do want to help you. I have no proof that would convince you of my words and I won’t stop you if you want to end my life. But it won’t work. On the other hand, you might want to make the attempt anyway. Leaving my death aside, killing the young princess might have some effect.”
Her words filled me with a panic so powerful I lunged at her, ready to eviscerate her just for making the suggestion. A blast of fire erupted from her fingers and I was forced to dodge to avoid being scorched. I likely would’ve failed, but Dahud stepped in. The flames rebelled against Anna, the elements turning on the same person who’d summoned them.
Dahud didn’t burn Anna alive, although she certainly could have. She let the fire approach Anna, just enough to make her uncomfortable. After that, she smothered it, although she was obviously furious about the whole exchange. “If you’re trying to be helpful, taunting Halvar isn’t the way.”
“I’m not taunting your wolf warrior, Princess Dahud. He’s the one who intends to kill me. I understand the urge, of course, but I had to tell him it wouldn’t work.”
“And you just had to suggest that w
e kill Dahud instead, right?” Thrand asked. “Because that’s a plan we’d agree to.”
Anna shrugged. “It’s just as likely as anything. Of course, if you tried that, you would also kill the baby she is carrying. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?”
I hadn’t thought Dahud could get more upset, but I was proven wrong when her eyes started to glow as brightly as the fire she had tamed. “You’re lying. You can’t possibly… You can’t sense a child so quickly.”
“On the contrary, princess. It’s not that difficult. The life you carry is young, yes, barely there, but it has enough magic that it’s significant, regardless. It is very different from you and your core. If you weren’t so busy worrying about your husbands, you’d have sensed it by now. Or maybe not. You’ve never been taught this kind of magic. It’s much too… emotional for someone like you.”
If Dahud was upset about her powers being so obviously scorned, she didn’t show it. She ignored the latter comment altogether and asked, “What will this curse do to the baby?”
“The gods are the only ones who can answer that question. Maybe it’ll die before it even has a chance to live. Maybe it’ll be perfectly all right and free of your curse.”
“Where does that leave us then?” Mathias asked. “What good are you if the only thing you can do is mock us and give us more bad news?”
Infuriated, he tried to get up. It didn’t end well.
Thrand was still too weak to help him and Dahud not close enough. I was in my shifted form. Mathias was on his own. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, bumping his hip against a rock.
It shouldn’t have meant much. It was a mild blow, nothing someone like Mathias couldn’t handle. And yet, he went rigid, his whole body tightening as a wave of magic swept over him.
I shifted back into my human form and rushed to his side. I got there just in time to see his good leg slowly getting encased in bone, all the way to his hip. “I’d love to give you good news, Mathias,” Anna said from behind me, “but as you can see, there’s no good news left to give you.”