by T. F. Walsh
Father took me into an embrace. His warmth washed away the coldness from outside, although doubt, and now fear, kept badgering me. What was going to happen outside? I shut my eyes and, for those few seconds, pretended we were back home on the balcony overlooking the sea and feeling like nothing could ever touch us. Father’s protection would keep away the dark, the monsters, the hurt.
He broke away first. “Let’s show them what we’re made of.”
My voice vanished, so I resumed our long trek down the dim corridor. Before long, we emerged into the courtyard, and I squinted until my eyes adjusted to the brightness.
We crossed the snowy yard and headed straight for the grand iron doors leading us outside the castle grounds. Shivers ran down my arms, my insides looping into knots.
Father glanced over and nodded. “Stay strong, always.”
A cluster of wulfkin, maybe eighty or more, huddled closer to the line of trees to our left, their chatter as ear piercing as cicadas. Upon our approach, the crowd parted. Ahead, Levin stood on a wide stump. Several feet away, Marcin was in deep conversation with his second-in-command.
I passed Irmak, his eyes almost apologetic, and he dropped his gaze. Was he the assassin, or was he simply disgruntled for being left here by Father? Mental note to ask Father to take him home after the challenge, but right now, I struggled with the immense presage that all our days here were short lived. I offered him a smile and kept going.
Once we broke free from the group of spectators, my sights swept to Marcin. He had his back to us. His stiff posture and fisted hands by his side had goose bumps littering my arms. Why was he so upset? The past week had drawn us closer, but when he glanced my way, it suddenly seemed as if he were miles away, on another continent. I wasn’t sure if the distance was because of him or me.
A guttural howl sliced through the air from behind me.
I snapped around, my gaze landing on Klaus and Grit about twenty feet away, each chained to a monstrous pine tree.
My heart rattled. I’d forgotten how to breathe.
Our pets tugged against the restraints around their necks, snarling in our direction, frothing at the mouths. My insides convulsed as Klaus’s nose creased, his fangs exposed, staring our way. He released a thunderous growl, and Grit followed suit. Our childhood pets, the animals we’d spent years playing and running in the woods with, now fought restraints, the chains clanging, the grating of iron against wood a distressed sound.
The fire burning through my insides could ignite the entire Hungarian forest. Father’s words about staying strong flooded my mind, and how he was forced into this. Not to mention keeping Aisha at bay. Because they were using our pets for the battle of innocence. Was it because Aisha ran away yesterday?
Fur spurred down Grit’s spine, and he paced back and forth, his chains clanging. The tree shook with each thrust. The only way they’d behave this way was if they were drugged.
The world in front of me blurred, and Marcin was now by my side. When had he moved? “I’m so sorry.” His tone crackled. “I tried to stop him this morning.”
I pushed past Marcin and approached my father. “How could you?” I yelled. “You said Klaus and Grit were in another room as punishment for Aisha’s actions.”
He raised his chin as if showing emotions in front of the Hungarians would make him appear less of a Varlac leader. Well, in that moment, I’d just lost a father.
Gripping my arm, he lowered his voice. “Stay strong. Don’t give him a show.”
Levin chuckled softly in the distance. Obviously, our agony was his amusement, and right then, I wished I had one of the poisoned daggers because I’d drive it into his heart with my bare hands.
Marcin marched toward Levin. His voice resonated, but his words were lost in the darkness spiraling inside my head.
Father’s words were barely a whisper in my ear. “It was the trade-off to stop Levin from imposing the full law against us for bringing dracwulves onto his territory even though he gave his approval, and to get the challenge brought forward. Our lives are at stake.”
Wulfkin surrounded us in a semicircle, and I bet my life if Levin gave the word, they’d attack us without hesitation. The reality of our grim situation hammered into me. We were cornered, no escape. All I could picture was me fighting for our lives, wondering who’d take my side. Marcin?
I stared at Levin, who stood with a conceited expression stretching his lips. Chin lifted and head back, he wore a cocky smile I’d gladly rip off his face.
Everything rested with me, and I had to make Marcin realize that me winning was the only way for my family to survive.
“Hello and welcome.” Levin’s voice boomed across the wide clearing. Even the dracwulves silenced. The monster from my nightmares stood on top of his tree stump, inspecting everyone with his beady eyes. Marcin inched closer to his second-in-command, hushing his whispers.
Just the sound of Levin’s voice had loathing leeching through my veins, and with each passing second, I contemplated finishing him before I left for Turkey. He was a horrendous wulfkin who had no right to lead anyone, let alone take another gulp of air.
“Today is a ceremonial day to remember. We’re holding the battle of innocence, as suggested by our reputable guest, Varlac Sultan Boran.” Levin didn’t even attempt to conceal the hatred in his voice.
Yep, a full out war had commenced under the guise of fake politeness and rules that apparently meant jack when it came to the European Varlac.
“I call on our two champions. Marcin and Selena.”
My body kept shaking, but I forced one leg out in front of the other. Soon, I stood alongside Levin. Marcin was on his other side. The great expanse of wulfkin in front of us wore a cocktail of expressions from confusion to pity to anger. They had no idea who the real me was, only what they’d heard from the lips of a liar, and yet they apparently judged me.
At the edge of the group, Father glanced my way with a slight nod, the one that said to keep following the rules, to keep being a puppet. But an inferno roared out of control through my chest, and every molecule of my body trembled with the temptation to drag Levin from his platform and rip his heart out.
The dracwulves’ snarls bled into the breeze. I fisted my hands. I can do this. I can do this. Don’t give Levin the satisfaction.
“The rules are simple,” he continued. “These abominations, the dracwulves, will be released into the wild for our champions to hunt and bring back, preferably dead. Their heads will suffice.” I heard the smirk in his voice.
“Are you mentally ill?” I couldn’t hold back my tongue as I faced Levin. “You’re purposefully releasing two drugged dracwulves into your woods. They’ll kill everything in their paths. Humans included, if they reach the nearest town.”
He didn’t even glance my way but spoke louder. “Marcin will represent Enre. Selena will stand for Daciana. Come back with a dracwulf, and the wulfkin you represent will be innocent. Fail and they will face death. And remember, the first champion to bring back a dracwulf will claim the boon.” He clapped loudly. “Nice and simple. Oh, and the dracwulves have been given a shot to help bring out their true nature.”
Bastard. My insides battled between the terror of facing a wild dracwulf and not harming my pets.
“Releasing wild dracwulves into the woods goes against your own rules,” Marcin said. “You have to stop this now.”
Levin waved at a handful of guards, dressed in long, black coats with the iron wolf emblem on their upper sleeve. They approached the dracwulves. One of them lifted a rifle and released a round into the air.
Klaus and Grit scampered behind their trees, the chains holding them back from bolting.
The mass of wulfkin stepped farther away, almost in unison. I stopped myself from charging the guards and using the weapons on them instead.
My insides were wrapped and broken at the shots.
Another round was released, the thud echoing around us like an erupting volcano, spitting embers and la
va into the air.
The group of guards closed in on the dracwulves as they pulled against their restraints. Two wulfkin crept closer and fiddled with the large iron locks, unlatching them. The guards stood in a semicircle, a barricade between us and my former pets.
Several spectators retreated toward the castle in a wild rush.
Three more shots were fired into the air.
Grit scampered the quickest, the chains unraveling from around his neck as he sprinted away. My pet, Klaus, was free too, but he didn’t move. He stood motionless, his gaze finding me between two guards. A silent chill crept along my spine, the subtle benediction of fear.
Wild dracwulves were notorious hunters and never forgot who harmed them. In this case, I’d let them down and allowed Levin to chain them up like beasts. Dracwulves always returned for vengeance. Always. But I prayed our pets were different and remembered me, even under the influence of drugs.
Klaus released a blood-curdling howl, the kind that raised the hairs on my arms. I took a step backward.
He turned and bolted deep into the woods, blending into the shadows.
Goddess, please have him remember the good times we’d spent, the treats I’d given him, when he’d slept on my bed, or I’d soon be hunted for letting him down and allowing someone to hurt him.
My lungs contracted painfully. Each exhale escaped in gasps.
No one else said a word.
“Well, I did say today was going to be a momentous day.” Levin laughed as only a madman who’d just unleashed demons into the world could. “But right now, this challenge is a bit too easy for our challengers.”
It was? What was he on?
“Father, what are you doing?” Marcin’s protest was ignored, along with any common sense it seemed.
“Marcin and Selena will be given a serum, making it impossible to transform into their wolf forms for the next three days.”
My father stepped out from the crowd. “You’ve gone too far now, Emperor. I won’t abide by this.”
“This wasn’t part of the rules,” I blurted.
“Tsk, tsk. Let me finish.” Levin wiggled a finger at me.
I was inches from reaching out and snapping it in half.
“As I was saying—”
“Enough,” my father boomed. “No more will be said. This is a hard enough challenge. You will not impose additional rules.”
Levin huffed. “Those dracwulves are still young, and what fun would this be if we made it too easy for our entrants?” He raised his head and continued. “One more thing—
“Bullshit,” Marcin’s voice exploded. “We are here to help prove innocence, not be judged ourselves. You’ve gone too far.”
Levin waved a hand, and several guards stepped closer. “Enough fuckin’ interruptions. These are my rules, and you will listen. The champions have three days to capture their dracwulves. Otherwise, their representatives will be found guilty, along with the champions. All will be punished accordingly.”
My father started pacing. “I don’t accept these terms. You should have discussed this with me first.”
Levin jumped down from his pedestal and stalked closed. “Dear Sultan, this is my land and my laws. Besides, you requested an early challenge. What’s wrong with upping the stakes a bit? Surely, your ancestors would have approved. Or have you grown weak in your old age?”
Father’s face reddened, but Zeki stepped alongside him. “We should’ve been aware of the punishment before the challenge.”
“Does it matter?” Levin asked. “I want to make sure everyone participating takes it seriously.” He approached Marcin and clapped a hard hand to his back. “Isn’t that right, son?”
Then he turned to the crowd. “And may the best wulfkin win the boon.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Marcin
Fuck control. Releasing my wolf and lunging for Father would give me the ultimate satisfaction. He’d gone too far. Everything he touched always turned to shit, and this had become fuckin’ absurd. Pacing back and forth between two trees wasn’t helping my charging adrenaline or my wolf who shoved against my insides, demanding release and retribution.
“Marcin.” Barka, our medic, motioned me toward her with a curt wave of her hand. I trotted closer, my pulse bouncing beneath my veins, and everything around me blurred from the rage pumping through me. Baka had been practicing the art of treating wulfkin since before my birth, but her methods weren’t always the best, like the misdiagnosis of my blood poisoning. Yet when it came to potions, she was a magician. Maybe she’d entered the wrong profession.
A guard approached and patted me down, each touch a hard strike.
I caught his sinister grin, snatched his wrist, and shoved him away. “Enough. I’m not hiding anything.”
He shouted, “Marcin’s clean.”
What the fuck was I going to sneak into the race?
Barka rolled up my sleeve, and I felt the piercing syringe sliding into my arm—a concoction of the blood they’d taken from me minutes earlier and a serum to temporarily pacify my wolf. A buzz zipped through me, deadening the sensation in my chest, in my stomach. My pulse halted, and a surge of panic gripped me. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs seized. I smacked a fist into my chest and recoiled, convinced I would die from suffocation before the tournament even started. Was this Father’s plan? Then as if a window had been opened, a gush of air flooded me, and I gulped for the next inhale.
The warmth and strength of my wolf were gone, replaced by emptiness. Darkness. And suddenly I felt less of a wulfkin. Only three days, I kept reminding myself.
Ten feet away, Father smirked my way, but behind his dead eyes was a clear threat. My suspicions darted to the council. Had Tibor or another told Father of my plans? I searched the field behind the castle—wulfkin were conversing in quiet whispers, a few exchanging what I guessed was money. The gamble on who would win had commenced.
Selena approached Barka and received her injection. The tightness at the corners of her mouth had zero to do with the pain, especially with the death glare she hurled toward my father. Her lips were flat lines, and I worried what state of mind she embraced. Losing it now wasn’t a smart decision, though I suspected it was Father’s intention. Throw us off our game, especially Selena.
I reached over and took her hand in mine. “Don’t let him get to you.”
She nodded, obviously not trusting her voice, trembling against my touch. Her tight-set jaw revealed how close to the edge of flipping out she was, similar to the wulfkin I’d trained, the ones I’d pushed to breaking point until they revealed their true nature—fight or flight.
I squeezed her hand lightly, giving her something else to focus on rather than the anger that overwhelmed us both. “Prove my father wrong. Show him how amazing you are.”
Her brow twisted into a tangle of lines; then she slipped her hand free. Selena’s mouth parted, but no words came. She dropped her gaze, catching her breath.
All the encouraging words in the world meant crap if she wasn’t ready to accept them. And I couldn’t blame her. Without her wolf, her old hip injury slowed her down, as I’d seen back in the venery. Add her internal struggle about hunting her own pets, and she’d make rash decisions. When Father had killed Enre’s pet fox, Enre withdrew and had never been the same. Father’s actions had snapped his mind. And Selena didn’t deserve to live with such torture and resentment.
“Selena,” I whispered. “We’re in this together.”
She turned to face me, the edges of her mouth curling upward. Behind her, I spotted Tibor, the head councilman, watching the circus theatrics taking place. He wouldn’t meet my gaze, but rather shook his head and vanished into the horde of wulfkin.
I stepped around Selena to chase after him and make him face the consequences of his passivity, but a firm hand pressed down on my shoulder from behind, drawing me back.
“Marcin, it’s time.” Father nudged me to face him, then drew me away from the group by an elbow to a small pat
ch of woods with no one in earshot.
When he spoke, his words were barely audible. “I know you don’t trust me, but sometimes,” he said, glancing at the wulfkin in the distance, then at me, “trust is all we have. I believe you will do the right thing, and you need to know I’m doing the right thing too. Even if it doesn’t seem so.”
Placing my faith in Father was as idiotic as believing a wild dracwulf wouldn’t rip my heart out. His rules were to slow down Selena, to ensure I won, to give him his victory. That was what mattered.
Fuck him. I wasn’t playing his game now or ever, and once this ridiculous carnival was over, I would thrust him aside, even if it meant using my fists and teeth. His reign would end. But first I had to protect Selena and ensure her family was safe, along with my brother and Daciana, I needed to win the boon. I had to show the council, the sultan, my father, everyone ... that I could play by the rules when it mattered.
Father brushed past me and called out, “Let the games start.” His announcement sparked a frenzy of wulfkin closing in behind us in a semicircle. Conversations and whispers escalated like a plague of locusts.
Selena was by my side, and despite the nerves biting into my calmness, I knew there would be no going back.
We were guided to a band of trees where shadows shifted and dark patches could easily conceal a dracwulf. Shivers wrapped around my spine, twisting and pulling. Snow cascaded quickly now. I inhaled, but the depth of my smelling sense was gone. Pine scents tickled my nostrils. I couldn’t sniff out the dracwulves. I didn’t have my wolf’s strength, but I’d trained in human form for years. I’d use that experience to my advantage. Whatever it took, I’d win the boon. Not for Father, but to protect those who meant the world to me, to make up for my mistakes in the past.
A guard pushed a backpack into my hands and shoved one toward Selena. “Water, a blade, a cigarette lighter, snacks, and blanket.”
Next to me, Selena’s focus was straight ahead, lost in the zone. Exactly where I had to be. Get it together, man.
I shook myself, stomped the ground with my boots to drive away the cold. The dracwulves had bolted dead straight, but my plan was to stay close to Selena. These were her pets, and she would be more familiar with their behavior than anyone. Besides, I suspected they might seek her out, especially with the way the larger dracwulf had stared at her in disbelief. And I planned to be there for my chance to win.