by Cecilia Lane
The trees around them stand and then disappeared into a tiny hollow. His eyes passed over the small hovel twice before he recognized it as a home. Vegetation grew up on all sides and a tree threatened to cave in the roof.
Shape shimmering and bones snapping, Finn rose to his feet. He unbundled the clothes he carried and pulled them on while he stepped towards the door. His wolves materialized at the edges of the clearing and joined him.
Adrien inhaled sharply and sorted through all the scents. Fur and plants nearly overwhelmed his nose. There was a light trace of magic to the air, but the scent was old. The number of heartbeats matched what his nose told him. “No one is here.”
“So we wait,” Finn said and strode for the door.
With his dragon growling away over the sense of wrongness, Adrien ducked inside the dark home. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the low light. The single room was about what he expected from the outside. Plants and herbs hung to dry from the rafters had withered away since they were left behind. Inches of dust covered everything. An old pallet bed took up one corner and from the sounds of it, a family of mice made a home in the blankets.
“No one has been here for years.”
“Here, catch,” Finn said.
Adrien spun on his heel and lifted his hands. A tiny silver wolf landed in his palms at the exact moment one of the other companions stepped behind him. A silver collar latched around his throat.
He roared with fury. His dragon beat at his mind but the silver locked the beast away. No help would be found there.
Adrien pivoted and swung his fist hard into the wolf approaching his side. The one behind him took an elbow in his ribs. He lashed out wildly, desperate to be free of the silver that caged his beast. There was no time to consider why. He just needed to be free of the wolves that attacked him.
But it was five against one. The days of waiting for Rory to wake peeled away any who might aid him. The silver on his throat kept the wolves from being singed with his fire. His fists and feet alone couldn’t fight off men trained to protect their future king. When he knocked one from the circle, another stepped in to replace him.
A sharp kick to his knee brought Adrien to the ground. Finn nodded once and more silver appeared. They lashed his hands behind him.
Finn shrugged in an apology. “Sorry, dragon. It was an honest bargain. Your life for the lives of my pack.” He lifted his head in a howl that the others holding Adrien’s bonds echoed. More voices joined the song, sounding right outside the hovel and fainter as other wolves picked up the tune in the distance.
Adrien blinked as he was shoved roughly into the daylight. More men and wolves waited. It’d been a trap and he walked right into it.
A chill passed over him with Finn’s next order to those waiting outside. “Find my sister.”
His inner dragon roared and spat fire, but the silver kept the beast shackled away.
Chapter 10
Rory dreamt that she was still in the darkness. It was different than before. Warmth bathed over her and her wolf didn’t pace. The gorgeous creature with deep red fur lay on the black ground with her head on her paws and eyes closed. Her ears still stood on end and twitched with alertness but she echoed Roy’s own contentment.
And why shouldn’t she? Rory took a seat next to the wolf and slid her fingers through her fur. They had to experience something close to death in order to find one another. But the price paid also gave them their mate. That feeling of completeness was worth it.
The wolf’s ears swiveled to catch a sound Rory couldn’t hear. Her head lifted from her paws.
With the blink, Rory was back under blankets in the bed sheet shared with Adrien. Only her mate wasn’t there.
A whine scratched at her brain. No noise filled the room and Rory imagined stroking her hand down her wolf’s back to soothe her. It did nothing to calm the beast who urged her up and to move.
Scents flooded her nose. There was the earthiness of the cave itself and the fragrance of the blankets covering her. The lingering smell of wood smoke marked Adrien and the other dragons. But over that, and growing steadily, was the scent of fur.
Rory sprang out of bed and grabbed a knife Adrien left for her protection. She held the blade aloft and pressed her back against the stone near the only entrance into the chamber. She focused on her new senses and tried to count how many were coming for her. Two, at least. Maybe more. She didn’t have enough practice sorting through the sounds and scents that assaulted her.
Anger beat in her heart. Adrien should have been there.
Footsteps neared and she tightened her fingers around the hilt of the knife. She pressed her lips together and tried to quiet her breath and the racing skip in her chest. She needed to be calm for what came next.
The man stepped forward and whipped his head in her direction. It was Teague, one of her brother’s Wild Wolves and close friend. She shoved the knifepoint into his side. “What are you doing here?”
Teague raised his hands. “Easy, princess. We’re here to collect you for your brother.” His eyes dropped to the knife against his side then raised back to meet hers. “You gonna gut me or can we talk?”
She glared. Finn and his Wild Wolves were arrogant and cocky at the best of times, but her brother had never directly ordered her anywhere. She lifted her chin and made a demand. “Where’s Adrien?”
“The dragon is with your brother.”
She narrowed her eyes. There was something he wasn’t telling her. “Why didn’t he come for me?”
Teague was losing his patience. His jaw tightened before he answered. “Because they’re dealing with a serious matter. The fae queen is back on our lands and threatening all of our lives. They’re out for blood and trusted us to secure you. Now, will you put on some clothes so I can take you to them?”
Cheeks heating, she nodded. The fae queen. The woman’s curse dangled over her head her entire life and it took Adrien to break the spell.
Rory quite liked that Adrien rushed to her defense. She didn’t approve of him leaving without consulting her, though. They were supposed to be partners.
Teague stepped out of the chamber to let her dress. Rory tossed her dress over her head and cinched the gold belt tighter around her waist. It was a pity her only clothes there was her funeral attire.
Her wolf whined again. She paused while combing her fingers through her hair and listened closely to the voices outside.
“This doesn’t feel right. She’s as much a Conri as everyone else. We grew up with her,” Teague whispered.
They didn’t know her wolf had awoken. They had no reason to take their whispered conversation elsewhere.
“You know what Finn said. The dragon for all of us,” Connor answered him.
Ice ran through her veins.
“She has his mark on her shoulder. They’re mated. It will destroy her,” Teague insisted.
“You don’t know that. She doesn’t have our instincts, she never did. How much could they have bonded?”
Rory’s eyes flashed back to the knife that she sat on the bed. She snatched it up and stormed into the outer room. “What have you done with Adrien?”
They both gave her a smug look they’d give a pet performing a trick. Connor turned to Teague, then back to her. “Put that down before you hurt yourself. Your brother won’t be happy if you’re harmed.”
She brandished the weapon at them and sidestepped toward the mouth of the cave. “What have you done?” she demanded again.
They lunged at her. Her wolf growled and snapped in her head but there was no aid in the real world. Connor wrapped a hand around her wrist and tightened painfully until the knife clattered to the floor. She struggled as arms wrapped around her middle.
“Stop fighting,” Teague growled. “We’re taking you home. You should be happy about that.”
“I’d stop, if I were you.”
The two men spun on their heels. Rory shook off her captor’s hold and turned with them. Growls raised her h
ackles, but Adrien’s twin clicked his tongue and gestured to them both. “Now, now. Which do you think my fire will consume first?”
With a flash of speed, the Wild Wolves stepped to either side and rushed Damien. He was ready for them, though. The three men were a flurry of fight and movement. The dull sounds of fists hitting flesh held Rory in her place.
Her wolf snarled to be out and fight. She tried. And tried. Rory closed her eyes and willed the wolf into existence but no fur burst through her pores.
Sharp cracks were followed by twin thuds. When she opened her eyes, the Wild Wolves were on the floor.
Damien crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head. “So it’s true. My brother brought you back to life.”
“I wasn’t ever dead,” she said quietly. She focused on the noises around her. Quiet exhales told her the wolves weren’t dead. There would be no mourning necessary for her brother’s closest friends.
“That may be, princess, but your whole enclave thinks otherwise and they’re going to put my brother to the death for it.”
Her hands ringed her throat. “No. They can’t do that. He is my mate!” Red swam in her vision and her lips lifted in a snarl. No one would harm a hair on his head. She would rip them to pieces before they executed him.
Damien considered her coolly. “We’re running out of time. I was going to offer your body in exchange for his life. You showing up and demanding his freedom will have more effect, I think.”
“What about them?” She jerked her chin to the men in a heap.
“Let them sleep it off. Two fewer wolves we’ll need to worry about if it comes to fighting.” Damien shrugged. “You ever ridden a dragon before? Hell, who am I kidding? I can see your mark plain as day.” He chuckled, then turned serious. “Climb up after my shift. We have business with your people.”
He didn’t wait for her response before scarlet scales broke out over his skin. He quickly tore his shirt over his head, followed by his pants, and threw both to her feet. With a shake of his head, wings burst out of his back. Unseen power flowed over her skin and his form shimmered. The lithe beast turned its head to her and she scrambled forward. As soon as she settled herself between spikes on his back, Damien threw them off the ledge and into the sky.
Rory pressed her face to the warm scales of the dragon. With her eyes closed, she couldn’t see the stomach-dropping height they were at. Each flap of his wings shot them forward at an impossible pace. Her hair streamed out behind her and her exposed skin chilled in the wind.
Days earlier and she would’ve said anyone who predicted the events needed to have their head checked. If she had arrived in the enclave under her original plan or if she had stayed in her room during the ball, nothing would’ve happened. But that was the nature of curses, wasn’t it? She was raised knowing it existed but not knowing how she would bring about the fall of her family’s line. She never expected to find her mate and no one ever mentioned slipping into a cursed sleep, but she very much doubted the dragons would calmly accept the execution of one of their own for a crime he didn’t commit. They could raze the enclave to the ground and turn everyone inside to ash.
Her desire to prove there was no curse and she could act like any human at the Solstice Ball was the first step to triggering the curse. But even if she hadn’t been treated as different her entire life and kept in the dark, she would have questioned why her absence was so important that night. Rory could see no way of stopping her from setting her feet down the stairs and into the arms of Adrien.
A tiny growl built in her throat. There was no turning back the clock. There was only one path and that led her forward. Toward her mate.
She’d be damned if she let her family kill him.
Chapter 11
The manor was suspiciously silent. Rory turned in a slow circle in the courtyard while Damien threw on his clothes. No enforcers prowled in the shadows. No workers scurried about their day.
“Where is everyone?” Her question seemed too loud in the silence. She remembered the friendly faces Teague and Connor had worn and took a step back from her mate’s twin. “This isn’t another trap, is it?”
Damien rolled his eyes. “As if I care enough about wolf politics to trick you. I told you what I wanted with you.” He tilted his head to the side and pointed towards the manor. “This way.”
Rory followed him up the steps that she’d last seen filled with people in line to attend the Solstice Ball. No one stood guard on the other side. It was as if the entire enclave had disappeared.
Then a shrill laugh echoed through the hall.
She and Damien exchanged a glance then Rory turned on her heel and strode straight for the sound. Never had the entire enclave stopped for proclamation in the audience chamber. But never had their princess been murdered, either.
Rory threw open the doors to the audience chamber and strode into horror. Spears crossed in front of her to keep her from moving forward. A tingling sensation passed over her skin and her next inhale smelled of something light and bubbly. Hands wrapped around her upper arms to hold her in place. She struggled to throw them off but their grips only tightened.
“Get your hands off me,” Damien growled behind her.
“What is the meaning of this?” Rory demanded. The men holding her were not Conri enforcers. They were not wolves she’d ever seen before. Nor were they wolves. They were too tall and their features too sharp. Fae.
Heads swung around but silence reigned over the room.
At an unspoken signal, the men holding Rory moved forward. They released her as soon as they were clear of the seats holding Conri pack members. A hard shove between her shoulders sent her stumbling and she barely caught herself before she fell to her knees. She whipped her head up and held back her gasp.
Her parents knelt on either side of the Wolf King’s chair. A step lower, her brother glowered at the gathered crowd.
Crouched at the foot of the steps, was her dragon. His hands were shackled together but his eyes held no spark or recognition. She wanted to go to him. Her wolf demanded it. The touch of their mate was necessary for their continued survival and she didn’t like the blank look on his face.
Rory shifted her entire focus to the woman sitting where her father should have held court. The plain chair’s only ornamentation was a running wolf carved into the wood under a cut out of the lunar cycle.
The woman seated in it, however, wasn’t plain in the slightest. Raven hair hung straight down to her waist and her alabaster skin was flawless. A flash of surprise entered her eyes before the dark orbs killed all emotion. A thin golden circlet rested on her head and Rory frowned to see her mother’s crown on anyone else.
Her inner wolf scratched her mind. Rory tried to shove the intruding animal to the side but the beast began to howl. She gave the wolf half of her attention. Sounds and smells flooded her senses. Damien was no longer behind her and still pinned by his captors. None of the Conri pack shifted in their seats. It was as if they were held by some spell.
She wouldn’t show her fear. That was something even the Shiftless Princess learned early in life. The stench of it drove predators to act on their instincts to hunt. She drew herself up to her full height and fixed the raven-haired woman with a cold glare. “Who are you?”
The woman’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I am Iona Moonfall, Queen of the Padding Shadows Court and rightful ruler of the Wolfden enclave.”
Queen Iona of the curse that drove her life. Rory knew she needed to proceed with caution. But she was on limited time. “That’s hard to believe. My father still appears alive, and my brother as well. I don’t see any of our dominant males fighting for the right to rule. You are not pack and do not rule in Wolfden.”
“It was the price they paid to snare a murderer.” She gracefully unfolded her arm and gestured towards Adrien. “The dragon has been sentenced to death.”
“For my murder, I heard.” Rory gestured down her body. “Not dead.” Rory spun in a slow circle
and marked out the enforcers and the rest of Finn’s Wild Wolves. The heads of families were present, too. She finished her circle and pointed a finger at the usurper. “I want that woman removed.”
“You’re interrupting court proceedings, child. Mind yourself.”
No one moved. Not to take the fae from the chair or to itch an eyebrow. A chill passed over Rory and she focused on her parents. “Mother, Father, get up.”
Iona dropped a hand down on either of their heads. “They know when to kneel for their betters.”
“Let them go. Let them all go.” Her wolf whined but she managed to keep her voice strong and steady with the command.
“You would fight for them?”
Rory’s brows shot together. “Of course. They’re my family.”
“Hm.” Iona tapped a finger against her lips. “But would they do the same for you, I wonder.”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.
“You should hear it from their mouths.” Iona snapped her fingers and Rory’s mother rose to her feet like a string hauled her up. “Honora, Honora. Your name suggests more honor than you possess. Tell your daughter about the night she was born.”
Her mother’s eyes focused above Rory’s head. “Your birth blessing turned to a curse that we wanted to prevent. If you never found your mate, then the fall of our line would never come about. We took measures to guarantee our continued strength.”
Rory swallowed hard, not wanting to believe the words, but Iona wasn’t done. Without moving her gaze, the fae queen turned her head toward her father. A smug smile graced her lips.
“And you, Wolf King? What does the great Donal Conri have to say for himself?”
Her father was yanked to his feet in a similarly stiff fashion. “We brought another fae into our home and bound your wolf away. No one would mate you without your inner animal. No one would destroy our line.”