Cloaked in Blood

by T. F. Walsh

  If there was ever a time to worry, her lack of conversation said it all. But I had a few more days before the final battle to get Selena to trust me and hopefully tell me what was going on with the sultan. If he was set to claim our land, it would lead to a disastrous rift between our packs with blood spilled on both sides. We’d never merge again. Any chances I had of mating Selena would vanish. Dry air rushed to my lungs as I inhaled, icing my insides.

  Getting closer to Selena was a necessity, whether she liked it or not. I pushed off the snowmobile and headed to the shed to unlock the doors.

  Half an hour later, I was at the top of the steps to my quarters, noticing no guards stationed near my door or anywhere along the hallway. Maybe Father finally realized I’d be fine on my own, or worse. What if he assumed I’d been kidnapped and took his army to search for me? As if that would happen, unless his intention was to use it as an excuse to begin a war.

  As I reached for the door handle to my room, an escalating whizzing as quiet as a mosquito raced up behind me.

  I threw myself sideways, spinning around in a crouching position, and my hands fisted.

  A dagger whacked into the doorframe with a dull thud.

  I plucked the object and pounced down the staircase, stuffing the weapon into my back pocket. The assassin had been there this whole time, and I hadn’t sensed him or her at all. I sniffed the air. The same bitter scent hit me as on the first dagger from the poison, along with a pungent, muddy stink used to conceal the real culprit. Someone was watching me, waiting for my return.

  At the landing, I scanned the passage on either side. Empty. One led directly to the dungeon, the other toward the main part of the building where the majority of wulfkin lived. If it were me, I’d steer clear of an audience and go for the quiet path with no one to spot me. So, I swung toward the dungeon where the back door headed behind the castle for quick escape.

  I swung left to the back exit but found the door locked. Only a few people in the castle had keys: several of Father’s guards and head council members. The assassin hadn’t left this way. I spun and raced down the steps to the dungeon. No one around. With no prisoners to restrain, there was no need for guards.

  Taking the steps two at a time, I headed to the door curving toward the courtyard but found it locked too, meaning the assassin had gone into the main part of the castle.

  I grabbed the dagger from my pocket and noted the moon crescent etched into the hilt. The same one I’d seen on the Turkish flag in the dining hall.

  An invisible hammer slammed into me. The ground swayed beneath me as a tremble clawed up my spine, and a primitive instinct, like that of a savage dracwulf, took me over. The one that demanded I charge to the sultan’s room, pin him to the wall by his ears, and force him to reveal the truth.

  It all came together. Selena acting strange, refusing to admit she aimed to win the boon, the sultan apparently claiming our land if he got the boon, and the attempts on my life. Had I been blind this whole time?

  Back in the war room, after the first assassination attempt, she must have concealed the dagger. My insides frosted. But fuck, why the hell did she save me in the venery? If she wanted me dead, why go to such lengths to help me with the sepsis?

  I sprinted down the corridor, past the stairs to my wing, and farther along another corridor lit by torches. The courtyard lay empty, so I pushed through the door to the stairway leading to the Turkish guest wing.

  Upstairs, no guards, but a belly dancing song with heavy bass reverberated from the room. I knocked on the door. No response, and without thinking, I pushed the handle open, the wave of music colliding into me. A life or death situation, and I refused to wait another second if it meant confirming Selena was indeed involved.

  “Hello? Anyone here?” The floor vibrated beneath my feet from the beats booming from the speakers against the far wall. Clothes were strewn across the floor. Why hadn’t the Turkish servants fixed this up?

  A loud thump came from the room to my right, where the door was slightly ajar.

  I stalked closer and peered inside. Yeah, me spying was wrong on every plane of existence, but so was the concept of someone trying to kill me.

  I peeked through the gap between the door and the frame.

  Selena had her back to me as she fiddled with a black box on the bed. She opened it as if it were a suitcase. Then I saw them.

  All my thoughts evaporated. A line of black daggers matching the one in my hand. The evidence was right before my eyes. I was the biggest joke in the world. Acid-like pain radiated through me and ripped at my heart.

  I shifted on the spot, and the floor beneath me creaked.

  Selena spun around, gripping a dagger in her hand. Her fingers curled around it. She stuffed it back into the case, slamming it shut.

  “What are you doing here?” When she faced me again, her face had turned pale. “Have you never heard of privacy?”

  I pushed the door open and walked inside. “What’s in the case?”

  “None of your business. Now leave.” She stepped in front of the box, blocking it from my view.

  “Not until you tell me what’s going on.” I stuck my hand out and opened my fist.

  Her jaw dropped open as she gawked at the dagger in my palm. “Marcin.” She cupped her mouth, covering a gasp. “W ... where did you get that?” Her voice broke. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, and if this were any other moment, I’d be convinced she was about to hurl.

  “It barely missed me near my room. Just like the one that almost got me on your first night here.” I gritted my teeth. “And this whole time, I trusted you. You lied about the weapon. You took it before I could see it, didn’t you?” My words boomed, overshadowing the music. “Did you try to kill me?”

  “Never. Look, I know this looks bad, but ... I can explain.”

  “Did you take the dagger from the weapons room?” My voice deepened.

  “Yes. But it’s not what you think.”

  While her downturned mouth called to me, I couldn’t move my legs. Was this part of her act, or was it sincerity? I wasn’t sure anymore. Who exactly was Selena? “So, you deny trying to have me killed?”

  “I would never hurt you.” Her attention dropped to the floor. “It’s complicated.”

  “You’re not convincing me. Or would you prefer I called my father? I doubt he’d be so willing to give you a chance to explain.” I had zero intention of getting Father involved, unless, and that was a gigantic unless, my suspicions were true and all our lives were in danger.

  “Wasn’t us. I took the dagger because if anyone found it, we’d be killed without question. We hid it to avoid war. But someone stole two daggers from our box. We think it was taken as soon as we first arrived, when the servants took our bags to the room.” The sorrow behind her expression was so real, and I almost fell for it.

  “Convenient excuse.” Blaming someone else was a guilty person’s first go-to reaction.

  She moved closer. “One of your wulfkin is trying to assassinate you and frame us. But killing you is the last thing on our mind. My father simply wants to stop the war between our clans.” Her tone wavered, and she swallowed hard. “You have to believe me.” Her soft tone implored that I listen, but everything in my head was screaming the opposite.

  My head hurt. My father lied—I’d accepted that for a long time, and so did most of his pack—but I honestly considered Selena different. Had I been wrong in my judgment?

  She licked her lips and squared her shoulders. “I never told you because I thought you’d tell Levin.”

  “So you don’t trust me.”

  Her gaze drilled into me. “Come on, Marcin. After all the crap from our past, don’t give me some bullshit that you trust me one hundred percent.”

  “From the first night with the dagger, I suspected you were hiding something. Now you’re telling me it’s someone else, and he or she is after me.” My hands curled into fists. “But you still haven’t told me why your father would brin
g such weapons into our home when he was invited as a guest. Or why you pretend not to care about winning the boon in the battle of innocence when I’ve heard your father intends to claim our land for himself.”

  A crease formed across the bridge of her nose, but her feigning innocence wasn’t fooling me. “That’s—”

  “Did you ever intend to mate with me, or was I an excuse?” I stepped closer, and she recoiled.

  Her body shook. “Don’t you dare try to blame all this on me. I’ve saved your life twice since we arrived. If I wanted you dead, why would I bother? Besides, I sure as hell wouldn’t use poison. I’d cut your head straight off.” Fierceness snapped across her expression, the kind I’d expect from a killer. “And yes, I do plan to win the boon, because that’s the only fucking way I can protect my family from your monster of a father who has sworn to kill us once the challenge is over. You wouldn’t understand, living here under his protection. Maybe your little haven isn’t so perfect after all because someone from inside is trying to kill you. You’re searching for blame in the wrong area.”

  So the sultan was aware of my father’s threat, and yet he didn’t run away. He chose to fight. The Turks were brave but stupid. Winning wouldn’t achieve anything but to delay the inevitable attack Father would plan against them. I looked down at the dagger in my hand, inhaling its bitter scent. I’d smelled it before. Was it the poison locals used on arrows when hunting animals? If so, the Turks could have gained help from inside our ranks to get some. “Where did you get the poison from?”

  Her eyebrows squished together. “What are you talking about?”

  “Stop playing games with me. Tell me the truth.”

  She gave me a blank look, so either she had no idea, or she was the world’s greatest liar.

  “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Maybe her father organized the poison, which explained why she seemed baffled.

  “You should leave.” Her tone was uncertain. “But if you ever felt a morsel of love for me, then you won’t tell your father about the daggers. Otherwise, you might as well kill me yourself right now.” She stared at me without blinking, daring me to take her life. I’d rather die first.

  My body deadened. “And will I be safe?”

  She nodded, running a shaking hand through her hair. “There are no other missing daggers.”

  I glanced out the window at the night blanketing the mountain caps as Selena picked up the box of daggers and stuffed them into a duffle bag near the wall.

  Silence was a straitjacket around us, and each breath rattled on the way down. What was I supposed to believe now when all the evidence pointed at the Turkish clan? And Selena’s caring nature, was that her trying to deal with the guilt of what was coming my way?

  She brushed past me, and I followed her into the main room. But then the door opened, and the sultan waltzed in. I wrapped a fist around the dagger still in my hand.

  He froze the moment he saw me. “Marcin, I wasn’t expecting you here.” His attention shifted to Selena. “You should have told me we were expecting a guest. I would have made sure a guard was with you.”

  The sultan’s words were strangled. My presence wasn’t a welcome sight, so I headed toward the exit. “Well, I better leave you. Selena, we’ll speak later.”

  She simply nodded and returned her attention to the sultan.

  With the door shut, I stood outside in the dimly lit corridor for a moment, trying to fight off the grenade settling under my heart.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Selena

  I slumped against the window frame in our guest room, the glass at my back icy from the night.

  What have I done?

  My stomach ached in the way it always did when I was about to get blamed for a mistake, but me blurting the truth to Marcin was a mountain of a blunder. I’d told Marcin everything, gone against Father’s wishes, and now our lives were in Marcin’s hands. His accusatory stare refused to leave my mind, along with the torment behind his voice, just as it had been years ago in Turkey, after I’d been shot with an arrow. Since arriving in Hungary, my attraction to him had intensified, my wolf insisted he was ours, but I never should have let myself get close. Would he now hate me forever?

  “Selena? Are you even listening to me?” Father’s voice pierced my thoughts as he marched toward his room. “Let’s talk in here. Less chance of anyone hearing us.”

  I stumbled through the fog in my head and followed. Once inside, he shut the door behind me, and I glanced at the indent in the bed where his box of daggers had been minutes earlier. The ones Marcin had seen, but that wasn’t the problem, him almost being killed was an issue. He’d been the target all along as I suspected, but now he was well aware the weapons belonged to us.

  Before I told my father anything, I had to be convinced Marcin wouldn’t confess to Levin. Otherwise, our packs back home were as good as dead once Levin declared war and attacked us. Father would probably murder me. Thank the moon I had a couple more days before the challenge to convince Marcin of our innocence. I rubbed my temples from the banging inside my skull. My heart beat so fast the tears were welling behind my eyes because I couldn’t think of a way to make Marcin remain part of my future. I shouldn’t care because I’d be forced to return home after this, but damn it, I cared. I’d let him into my life again, and now it killed me that so much drama was driving us apart.

  “I’ve done it.” Father patted down his jacket and lifted his chin, wearing a proud expression. “I got Levin to agree to the challenge being tomorrow morning.”

  “What?” No! My knees quivered, and I sagged on the edge of the bed, ready for the world to swallow me whole. I couldn’t handle any more surprises.

  “Aren’t you happy?” He patted my shoulder. “Marcin should still be slow from his injury, giving you the perfect opportunity to win the boon.”

  The smile radiating from Father made me feel like the worst person in the world. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. I was too gutless to see his fallen expression, to have him accuse me of killing our family and our packs.

  “What’s wrong?” His brow creased. “This is what we need.”

  My response was stuck to the roof of my mouth, sticky and too thick to spit out, so I nodded. I’d never feel happiness again, not when my insides were twisted into a knot. All I could think about was collapsing in on myself and hiding. This new revelation meant only one thing. Speak with Marcin and get this sorted, even if it took all night. I’d make him see our situation. Going into the battle of innocence with us feuding wasn’t the answer, especially without knowing where he stood or what he’d told Levin.

  “Anyway,” Father continued. “Where have you been? Was Aisha with you?”

  I shrugged. “No, you were keeping an eye on her.”

  “She told me she was with you.” The way he stared at me had me leaning in close, and then his voice boomed. “Where in the moon is she?”

  I shook my head, convinced she was somewhere taking more photos of her hands and feet.

  “I’ll go search the castle. I’ll find her.” Up on my feet, I hurried from the room.

  “Bring her to me. Immediately.”

  I sighed and bolted into the hallway, not needing this crap right now. Though, a detour to Marcin’s room wouldn’t hurt. Quickly, I moved through the stone corridors where candles painted disfigured silhouettes across the walls.

  Outside his door, I halted. My stomach stirred. Had he told his father about the daggers? If he had, he’d have double the protection watching over him, but there wasn’t a guard in sight.

  I knocked on the door with urgency. “Marcin, it’s me.”

  No response.

  I banged my fist louder. When he didn’t answer, I tried the door handle. Locked. I sprinted down the steps and headed straight for Levin’s wing. Sure, it’d be swarming with guards, but I only intended to walk past and try to spot Marcin. Once I reached Levin’s quarters, only a handful of guards were there. I strolled
past them casually, their gazes cutting into me. No panic in their expressions and no loud voices behind the closed door to their backs.

  Okay, maybe I overreacted, so I followed the circular corridor that made a loop through the castle. Time to find my sister and get my father to chill.

  “Selena?” a man’s voice called from the passage behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw Father’s guard, Rafa, running toward me, his face grim.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your father asked me to fetch you.” He panted. “Something’s happened to Aisha.”

  Dread rippled through me. “W ... What happened?” Had Levin taken her for hostage? Had someone hurt her? I pushed past Rafa and bolted toward our wing, ignoring the frowning wulfkin I passed, and barged inside to find Father pacing back and forth, his eyes rubbed raw.

  “Where’s Aisha?” My words blurted out as I ran to our room, shoving the dracwulves back inside when I didn’t find her.

  Father faced me, his cheeks blotchy with redness, the same look he gave me when he seethed. “She’s gone.”

  “What do you mean, gone?” A chilling menace burrowed deeper under my flesh, savaging my nerves.

  He huffed and shook his head, sending strands of white hair across his head. His voice morphed to a murmur. “Rafa told me he spoke with a Hungarian guard who saw her leaving the grounds earlier today but didn’t think anything of it.”

  “Maybe she went exploring?”

  “The nearest town is hours away on foot.”

  I swept the room, noting the mess of clothes on the floor. Aisha trying to find an outfit to wear in a rush. More garments had been strewn all over her room too. “She’s left too many clothes behind to run away. She’ll be back.” This wasn’t like her one bit, yet the anxiety bubbling in my chest said otherwise. “Let’s wait a while before we panic.” I chewed on my lower lip, then fished out my cell and called her. After five rings, it went to message. “Hey, it’s me. Call me back ASAP.” I followed it with a text.