by J. Conrad
And then, just as Eiriana had shifted into the small, woodland creature, I bolted into the woods with a surge of speed I didn’t know I had. The hard, leaf-covered earth passed under my boots in great strides. The ax in my hand felt like nothing at all. The bag on my back seemed weightless. The lightheadedness of flight made the trees around me blur together, and it was exhilarating. I was running—running for my freedom.
“Elin, no! Elin, you don’t know what you’re doing! Please!” Eiriana called from her tree branch, but I wasn’t listening. By nightfall I would be far away; away from Gwyneth’s torture, away from this Fae and her demands, and away from anyone else who might betray me.
Chapter 14
With my senses heightened and my muscles taut with the need of escape, I made great use of my run into the old forest. I whistled for Bella but didn’t slacken my pace until a stitch in my side made me nearly double over. I must have been running for over half an hour. Thinking that Eiriana would surely follow me, I gave it everything I had. But she hadn’t pursued me, at least not in any form I noticed. Maybe she felt bad about almost impaling me on my own ax.
Panting and holding my abdomen, I called for the work horse. I hoped she hadn’t turned around and gone back to Blaenwood. I had never been through this part of the forest before and didn’t want to go much longer on foot. That, and I was exhausted. I couldn’t take a direct route to Dunkrist as I had done before, because the first time I visited there, Trystan and I had left from the clearing, which was east of the house. Leaving Eiriana in her tree, I had run due south, so I would have to change course soon. But putting so much distance between myself and Blaenwood meant that Gwyneth wasn’t likely to follow. And it would take time to call her minions to fetch me.
There was nothing notable about this part of the old wood. The barren trees were silent under the pale, grey sky, and at times the leaves crunching under my feet seemed the only noise. Occasionally I saw a sparrow or a blackbird, but none of them lingered or came close to speak with me. Toward dinner time by the light, I turned northeast. My heart fluttered hopefully.
Just as the daylight was fading, as I was searching for a concealed place to sleep for the night, a large, black wolf rushed between the trees about twenty feet in front of me. I gasped, startled at first, but stopped and waited. Another wolf trotted behind the first, and then another and another. Soon, perhaps a dozen gathered there. The wolves were larger than the average, in colors of brown, grey, black, and tan. They might have been ordinary wolves, not shifters like Trystan’s kind, but being alone with a pack of predatory animals made me want to act fast. I wouldn’t be able to outrun them.
I called out with thought-speak to the black wolf that stood nearest me. All the others lingered behind this one. I tried to remember what Trystan had taught me about wolves.
Good day to you. I am Elin of Blaenwood. I seek passage through your forest.
The wolf pricked its ears as it regarded me. I could just make out the large, orange eyes. A few of the other wolves made low, guttural sounds and came a few steps closer.
Elin, you say? the black wolf thought back to me. You have the gift. Why is a human girl in this part of the forest alone? Its voice was female, and oddly familiar.
It couldn’t be. I had heard that voice so many times in my memories that I would know it anywhere, especially after my talks with Trystan about his mother. My lips felt like clay as I stumbled for the words. Seren? Is that you?
Answer the question, human, thought a grey wolf to her right. He curled his lips, growling softly.
I’m only passing through. I’m journeying to a safe place northeast of here. I didn’t know if it was prudent to tell them where I was really going. Trystan had been so secretive about our being in Dunkrist together.
And who are you to address the Wolf Queen as ‘Seren?’ the grey wolf asked.
I beg your pardon, but I didn’t realize she was the queen. My name is Elin, and I met Se— Her Majesty many years ago when I was a child. She saved my father and me from servants of the Calek who kidnapped my mother. I took a deep breath, standing up straight and thinking of the ax in my bag. Would it help against so many if they decided to attack?
A tan wolf behind Seren offered, This may be a trick. The enemy is everywhere, Your Majesty. Humans can’t speak with our kind in this way.
Yes, replied the black wolf. She took a few steps toward me. But I don’t think this girl is entirely human. Elin of Blaenwood, you guessed correctly. I’m the one you knew as Seren. I remember the incident you speak of. That was during a time of great imbalance for us.
Trystan never told me his mother was the Wolf Queen. How could he have neglected to mention that? I smiled, my breath coming out as white mist. It’s so nice to see you again.
Come closer. Let me have a look at you, the Wolf Queen said.
My heart rate increased, my palms sweating as I began walking toward the pack. They must be able to smell my fear, but I didn’t know how to suppress it completely. As I drew closer, I noticed that some of the wolves had something like a small pack on their backs. I stopped a few paces from the Wolf Queen.
I’ll change so that we may speak more easily, Seren said. Before my eyes, the wolf began to shift. Standing up on her hind legs, the sleek, black fur began to melt away into pale, white skin. She grew long, straight, black hair, shedding her pointed ears for small human ones. Her front legs became arms, her back paws turned into bare feet standing in the leaves. Seren, the woman, stood facing me with her orange eyes. She looked a little older than when I last saw her, but there was no doubt this was the same Seren I remembered from my childhood.
Two wolves carrying the packs I saw trotted briskly to either side of her. Seren reached down and pulled something from one of them. It was a garment like a robe, which she wrapped around her body and tied behind her. She pulled out shoes and slipped them on her feet. From the pack on the other wolf’s back she produced a long, woolen coat and tugged it on.
Seren brought herself within inches of me, studying my face and even touching my cheek. She sniffed at my coat. “Elin. It is you. You have grown so much from the little girl I carried to my den.” The Wolf Queen turned briefly to her pack, the wolves patiently waiting in the background. “Hunt and make camp.” All the animals scattered but one, the grey wolf who had been the most suspicious.
I advise that I stay behind, Your Majesty, and guard you and your guest during your visit, the grey wolf thought to Seren.
Very well, Gavin. You may stay, she returned. She looked back to me.
“It’s been eleven years,” I said. The thought of holding Trystan in my arms as a wolf puppy produced the longing I couldn’t seem to shake off. I hoped we didn’t have to talk about him. “You look just as I remember you.”
“I can smell fear on you. And hardship,” Seren said. “I haven’t often seen human females in the deep woods alone. Are you running from something?”
My stomach dropped. “Yes. The woman my father married, she—she is a Calek. I’m going back to—” and just like that, I almost carelessly brought up Trystan, because I had almost said “the den I shared with your son.” A sinking feeling told me to steer clear of this subject. It might upset her if she knew I parted with her son on unfriendly terms, and Trystan hadn’t wanted to give anyone the wrong idea. “—the wilderness. I want to make a place of my own, to return to primitive ways and live off the land, away from most humans.”
Seren cocked her head, frowning. “Your father married a Calek? Did he do this knowingly?”
“No, he knows nothing. She concealed it from him,” I said.
Seren nodded. “Then it is wise that you left, but I don’t understand your need for isolation, so far away from your kind.”
“I have nowhere else to go,” I said.
The way she peered into my eyes made me feel like she could see straight into my soul. I guess she was trying to read me. “Well, I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that one with your gift would se
ek a life in nature. Do whatever you think best. It seems we have much catching up to do.” She smiled.
Soon the wolves returned dragging a deer they had killed. Two of the males shifted into human form, clothing themselves much as Seren had done. They made a pile of logs and kindling, and one of the men squatted before it. He held out his hand, speaking a word in another language. I heard a crackling sound and a small plume of smoke began rising from a twig. The branch ignited into a small flame, quickly growing and spreading until it became a roaring fire. Meanwhile, the other man made a spit and cleaned the deer for roasting.
I sat next to Seren as the rest of the pack gathered around the fire. Many of the wolves still cast leery glances in my direction. Was it dishonest of me not to tell Seren of my time with her son? Was I becoming like the people who had wronged me—becoming what I most hated? I had to protect myself.
“You may share this meal with us,” Seren said, and I thanked her. I knew the only reason they were going through the trouble of cooking it was because of me.
Seren bowed her head in what appeared to be prayer, her pack doing the same. No one spoke much while we waited for the deer to cook, and occasionally I heard Seren exchanging thought-speak with the others. What I picked up mostly concerned preparations for the night. But there were other times when I didn’t catch their thoughts, when they shielded them from me. I waited quietly as the Wolf Queen took the first piece of meat, then while one of the males in human form did the same. Seren nodded at me and I tore off part of the roast, followed by the others in their turn. I was grateful to be eating with my bare, filthy hands, just like the day I met Trystan. I had bread, cheese, and dried meat in my sack, but this would help sustain me longer. No one was saying much, but my craving for information drove me to break the silence.
“Your Majesty,” I said. “I’ve learned much in the last few months since my father remarried. I found out that my maternal grandmother is a Fae. I know her as Eiriana. Before I left home today, she told me some interesting things about the king’s new heir. I wanted to learn more of this, but she said she was sworn to secrecy. She mentioned that two lines shall be joined for the good of the kingdom.”
Seren tore a piece of meat away from the bone, chewing thoughtfully. She nodded. “Your maternal grandmother is a Fae? Are you certain of this?”
“Well, I don’t know how to prove it, besides her claiming to be. I even overheard my stepmother, the Calek, agree that it’s true,” I said.
“That is a curious thing to learn so late in life. You hadn’t known your grandmother was such a being before? Had she concealed this?” the Wolf Queen asked.
“Not exactly. I had never met her until my father’s wedding, several months ago in autumn,” I said.
“Strange,” Seren replied. Her eyes flicked to my face and lingered there. “Fae are a peculiar breed, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d agreed to secrecy about the subject of the king’s heir for some reason. But I’m not so sworn. What is it you would like to know, Elin?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The idea that Seren would tell me without hesitation was refreshing. Still, I needed to be careful how I phrased my questions. “Well, Eiriana said that King Odswin had children with a noble woman outside the kingdom, and that they were raised in secret. The worthiest of the male children was then selected to be the king’s heir. And there is to be a royal ball in less than a fortnight, so the new prince can select a bride. But the bride can’t be just anyone. She must be someone of the proper line, because the prince marrying the chosen girl will join two lines who’ve been feuding for centuries. This accomplished, they’ll combine forces and defeat the Calek.”
Seren’s eyes widened and I saw the recognition sweep over her face. “It’s strange that a Fae told you so much—that a Fae would tell anyone so much for that matter. But yes, she spoke the truth and you are closer to the heart of the matter than you know. You see, I’m the woman who raised King Odswin’s litter outside the kingdom, and my son Trystan was the male chosen as his heir. He is known as ‘Prince Tarian’ in the human world. In my land, as the Wolf Queen, I’ve undertaken this duty for my people. Now it is Trystan’s turn to do his duty to his kind. He will marry the selected girl born of Fae blood, uniting the Draugosero and the Fae Realm.” She paused, frowning. I noticed that a few of the wolves had locked eyes on me as well.
Now it was my turn to stare at her with wide eyes. So that was Trystan’s secret duty, the thing he couldn’t speak about. And that’s what Eiriana wasn’t telling me. Why had they withheld it? I shook my head. They had done me a grievous wrong. My heart began fluttering like a moth headed for the flame as everything started coming together at once.
“Your Majesty,” I said, swallowing. Despite her frank nature, I still had misgivings about bringing up my time with Trystan. But wouldn’t telling her be safer than telling anyone else? I shifted uncomfortably, already feeling like I’d done something wrong. “I must tell you something. I met your son, Trystan, in the woods several moons ago and we spent some time together. He taught me so much about surviving in the wild. He mentioned his duty often, but never said what it was, only that he needed to depart to fulfill it.”
Seren’s eyes flashed and she opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted her. “Wait. I want you to know that he was a perfect gentleman and honorable. He stressed the need of his… purity before he was to undergo a ritual. This is very strange, but earlier today, Eiriana asked that I stay at Blaenwood to attend the royal ball ten days from now. She said I am to marry the prince, to join two lines. If everything I’ve been told so far is true, well, that would mean I’m the girl of the Fae line.”
I shook my head, dread creeping up my spine like a spider. Frowning, I looked up to meet the Wolf Queen’s eyes, my head spinning. “I don’t know if I want this. I was never told of these things growing up and it seems… I just can’t understand why I was never informed. By anyone, until now.” But in the back of my mind, a little flame ignited at the thought that “Prince Tarian” was Trystan. Eiriana had really been asking me to marry Trystan. He hadn’t even known I was the one he was supposed to fulfill his duty with. We were together all that time, yet it was a secret to both of us.
Seren dropped the bone she was holding, glaring at me with her orange eyes narrowed into slits. “Do you have any idea of what you’re speaking? The joining has been planned for generations. It isn’t something that would’ve been withheld from you, were you the chosen one. But are you also saying that you are the human girl who denned with my son?”
My stomach began flipping around like a fish. I had instinctively known that bringing up this subject was a bad idea, yet I confided in her—all of it. Why had I given in? And what had Trystan told her?
“Yes. We denned together for three moons. Trystan said he wasn’t looking forward to doing his duty, but that—”
Hearing my thoughts, Seren finished, “If he mated with someone, he would be unfit for the Damsing Ritual.” The Wolf Queen stood up and the two human males on the other side of the fire did likewise. I leapt to my feet and faced her, my heart hammering in my chest.
Seren continued. “Yes, he did want to mate with you. Do you realize that you almost mated with the heir to the throne? Do you understand what that would’ve done? He still speaks of you. And my task as queen has been all the harder because even now he longs to be with the girl he met in the woods. But I had no idea you were she. You speak of yourself as though you’re the chosen one, because you’ve seen your advantage if I were to believe you! It’s reprehensible.”
I shook my head, unable to accept her reaction. This was what a little bit of trust brought me. “No, Your Majesty, we didn’t almost mate. I assure you I meant no harm.”
“Let us kill her, milady,” one of the human males said. “That will rid Trystan of his affliction. Then he’ll be able to keep his mind on his duties, instead of dreaming of rutting with some feral woman who meddles in matters bigger than herself.”
I wanted to cover my ears. I wanted to scream, or maybe hide, so great was my disbelief at what I was hearing—that this was their view of my time with Trystan.
“No,” I said. “It wasn’t like that.”
But Seren only glared at me, clenching her fists and growling in rage. Baring her teeth like an animal, the black-haired woman with her fierce, orange eyes began to transform. Her slender body grew in height and bulk, her torso and arms filling out in thick, dense muscle. Fur sprang from her skin and covered her body in a black coat, while her delicate, human facial features turned into an elongated muzzle and wolf’s fangs. Nearly ten feet tall, she towered over me, her powerful claws poised like she was ready to tear me apart. Yes, this was the great beast I saw the day Mother was taken, the Rai who could rip off limbs and hurl humans into trees like rag dolls.
Dizzy with terror, my chest heaved in and out as I said, “No, no, we didn’t ‘almost mate.’ I told him I didn’t want to—I left. It’s the truth,” I said.
“Simply say the word, Your Majesty,” the man said. He hadn’t shifted into a Rai like Seren, but it didn’t matter. I was outnumbered a dozen to one by mostly males.
Seren held up her paw at him. With a rougher voice, she said to me, “Had I known you’d grow up to be the snake who would nearly ruin a century of hard work, I would’ve killed you as a child. To think that I trusted you. I thought you an honest human because of your gift with animals, but you’re no different.”
“I didn’t know,” I said. “When I met Trystan months ago, I knew none of this. But don’t you see? Even if we had mated, it would have made no difference. I’m the Fae girl. My grandmother, Eiriana told me that—she didn’t name Trystan, but she said I was to marry the prince—”
“Her story is full of holes and lies,” Gavin said. “See how she stumbles over her words.”