by H. D. Gordon
“Okay then,” I said, and rested my head on Adriel’s strong shoulder, finding with no small amount of wonder that I fit perfectly there.
I breathed in the fresh scent of him as he placed a gentle kiss atop my head where it still rested on his shoulder. When I felt him lean into me as well, resting his cheek against the top of my head and inhaling deeply, I wondered if a broken heart could be taught to beat again.
“Okay, then,” Adriel replied.
And that, it seemed, was that.
20
Decisions had to be made, and I was mighty glad that I was not the one who would have to make them, though I did appreciate having a say. That was certainly an experience I could get used to.
After everyone had rested, those who cared to gathered in the sitting room once more. The same people who had come before came to listen and give input, and for the most part, they also held the same positions they’d taken before.
Some wanted to kill the Hounds who’d entered Mina by luring them into one part of town and dropping a magical bomb of some sort on them. Others wanted to capture and imprison the Hounds, insisting that killing them was not necessary.
“As long as those bastards are alive in our town, no one will be safe. Our children, our elderly—we’re putting them all at risk if we allow them to live,” Asha argued. “That’s just stupid and foolish.”
“I’m not suggesting we let them run free,” Goldie replied, “I’m just saying that I agree that perhaps we don’t need to kill them all. Maybe we could use them as some sort of bargaining chip, provided they’re alive to do so. We’re not a bunch of murderers. That would make us no better than them.”
Asha rolled her eyes as murmurs rippled through the room. Whether they were murmurs of agreement or disagreement, I didn’t know. I still wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it. I could see where Goldie, Aysari, Malayah, and some of the others stood in the position that not all the Hounds needed to die… But as a former Dog, when I thought about Hounds, I thought about whips and beatings, kicks to the ribs, collars and cages.
Maybe they all did deserve to die.
On the other hand, Adriel had said something that had stuck with me. He’d said that none of us were free until we were all free, and I thought I was beginning to understand that logic more and more. The Dogs were very literally enslaved, but were the Hounds not also slaves to a system, to a hierarchy that exploited the many for the benefit of the few? Was there not a powerful structure also keeping them in line, forcing them into their own version of chains?
From this perspective, maybe they didn’t deserve to die. Maybe some deserved a chance at defying the structure, and perhaps in doing so, playing some role in its destruction.
“We can’t afford to be weak,” Asha was saying. “During wartime, the weaker side loses. There are too many people counting on us. It’s too risky to try to capture the Hounds.”
“I think we should lock them up,” I said, speaking for the first time. My cheeks heated as all the eyes in the room found me.
Asha rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. “Of course you think we should lock them up,” she mumbled.
I ignored her, as was quickly becoming the norm between us, and continued. “We need numbers in this fight. Right now, there are a couple hundred Wolves in Mina who are away from the rule of their Masters likely for the first time in their lives. There’s a potential that some of them could be persuaded to join us.”
“First of all,” Asha said, “there are a couple hundred Hounds in Mina, not just ordinary Wolves. Second, even if that’s true, the odds are that some of them can’t be persuaded, and what will we do with them, Rook?”
I considered this a moment, then said, “We kill the ones who can’t be convinced.”
“And how will we know who has really flipped?” Asha pushed. “Are you willing to risk everyone on the words of Hounds?”
Someone near the edge of the room cleared their throat, and a pale-skinned female who looked nearly human stepped forward. She had wild red hair that stuck out on her head, and freckles dusted her nose.
“I’m a Searcher Vampire,” she said. “I can reach into their minds and test their sincerity. I’m happy to help.” She looked at me and gave a small, sad smile. “I’m not so sure they all need to die, either.”
Until this show of sympathy, I hadn’t realized how much the sharp looks and whispers had been bothering me. I was relieved to see that at least one person didn’t seem to be blaming me for this mess, despite Asha’s apparent best efforts at convincing everyone of the opposite.
There wasn’t much for Asha or any of the others to say after the Searcher made her offer, so with some sort of unspoken understanding, everyone in the large room turned their attention to Adriel, who’d been sitting silently, listening to the exchanges, same as he had before.
His back was straight, his elbows propped on the armrests of the leather chair in which he was sitting, and his hands folded neatly in front of him. He sat so still that if not for his striking beauty and powerful aura, he would easily go unnoticed, like a statue one passes by enough times to stop seeing.
He gave a low sigh and pulled his scarlet eyes away from the fireplace he’d been staring into, casting his gaze over the room, meeting the anticipatory stares of the gathered one by one. When his eyes met mine, I thought maybe they lingered a bit, but I was sure there was nothing to make of it. From what I’d seen of Adriel, he treated every one of his people with the same kindness and respect he’d shown me.
I immediately rejected the idea that this disappointed me a little. Why should Adriel treat me any differently?
“What we agree on is that we need to take back our town,” Adriel said, addressing all of us. “And we need to act quickly, before the Pack Masters find a way to open another portal. With so many Hounds roaming free in Mina, it’s only a matter of time.”
There were several nods from people around the room, but everyone remained silent, waiting for their leader to finish speaking.
“We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves regarding how to take on the Hounds, as we don’t currently have the means or the numbers to execute either of the plans,” Adriel continued. “There are Magic users among us, but none powerful enough without at least some supplies to create a spell that would affect so many of the Hounds at once, and I’m currently too weak to do it myself. I’ll need more than a few hours to recover.”
I blinked as he admitted that last part, but no one else around me seemed surprised. It took me a moment to realize that I had never met a leader who admitted their own weaknesses so honestly to their people.
What was more surprising was that they only seemed to respect him more for it.
“Additionally,” Adriel added, “we don’t have the numbers to capture or kill them in a hand-to-hand manner. There are not enough fighters among us. Right now, we need help. I will get it for us… but as for the Hounds… I agree with Rook. We should try to turn those we can to our side and kill those who can’t be reasoned with. Everything in moderation.”
“Even matters of mercy and murder?” Asha asked.
Adriel gave her a sad smile, and it was not hard to see how people melted under it. “Especially matters of mercy and murder, Asha. Especially those.”
It was put to a vote.
Everyone who wanted to voiced their opinions got to. Everyone got a chance to be heard. Despite this, I got the feeling that Adriel’s stance had heavily influenced those of the others, and even Asha went along with his direction after the matter was decided.
The Erl Queen had provided another meal for us, and everyone gathered in a great hall that had the same theme as the rest of the castle—dark and gloomy. There were enormous, tattered tapestries hanging on the walls, and the ceiling was tall enough that its arched beams were cast mostly into shadows. Long, wooden tables that were built to seat hundreds stretched the length of the room, and the imposing, spear-holding members of the queen’s army dined along with us,
as silent as the endless night beyond the walls.
Goldie sat beside me, along with Amara and the others. None of us spoke, because we were too busy watching all the foreign bodies around us. We ate out of bowls filled with some kind of yellow mash, and if one could stand the gooey consistency, the blandness of it wasn’t too bad. I ate it, anyway, because I knew well enough that hungry Wolves don’t get to be choosy.
Everyone was present save for Adriel and the Erl Queen, and I wondered what he had meant when he’d said he would get us help. This also reminded me of the trade I’d made with the Erl Queen upon my arrival here, and the glowing scarlet necklace that I’d handed over.
What had Adriel put inside it? What had he sacrificed? And why did I have the sinking feeling that he was currently sacrificing again?
When the two of them entered the Great Hall, they did so from the side of a platform, where a table sat watching over all the others with a handful of tall, ornate chairs waiting behind it. Upon this table was a glorious spread of meats and cheeses, fresh fruits, steamed vegetables, and large, chilled goblets of water and wine. I looked down at the yellow mash in my bowl, sighed, and took another bite. Having lived the life of a slave, I knew well enough to fill my belly with whatever was available on every occasion that I could find.
Adriel and the Erl Queen walked in side-by-side. They were both in their mortal forms; him the devastatingly handsome male, and her the female of his equal. Her arm was laced through his elbow, which he held out for her, and I tried to ignore a small tug of jealousy that struck me from out of nowhere. It was almost cruel how perfectly beautiful they both were.
Keep your paws off Adriel. He’s spoken for, she had told me.
Adriel escorted the queen to the table on the platform, and two monstrous guards pulled out the ornate chairs for them to take a seat. Every person in the hall was watching this display with great interest, myself included.
After they’d both been seated, the Erl Queen cleared her throat and gazed out at the rest of us where we sat lined up on benches at the long tables. Though I was closer to the back of the hall, several paces away from the platform where they sat, the queen met my eyes across the distance. A taunting half smile pulled up one side of her lips. She looked utterly pleased with herself, and for a reason I couldn’t exactly pinpoint, this set my blood to boiling.
I was getting really tired of being challenged and questioned and persecuted by other females. Did males not do those things to us enough already?
But there was a clear show of power here, an obvious statement of priority in this dark place over which the Erl Queen ruled.
“I hope you all are enjoying the accommodations and cuisine,” the Erl Queen said in a voice as sweet as honey.
She was still smiling in my direction, the stupid bitch. I stared right back.
“Thanks to your handsome leader, I have agreed to send enough of my soldiers to take back your town from the Hounds,” she continued. Finally pulling her gaze away from me, she crooked a delicate finger at one of the guards nearest her, and he stepped forward and bent the knee before her.
“I want you to take one hundred of the Valac and assist Adriel in capturing the Hounds,” the Erl Queen ordered. “Follow his command, and once the deed is done, return to me.”
The kneeling guard placed his huge fist over the left side of his chest and nodded. “Of course, your majesty. Your will shall be done.”
“Wonderful,” the Erl Queen said, and grinned widely out at all of us. Beside her, Adriel sat as still as a statue, his face the blank, expressionless mask that I’d come to dislike seeing on him.
We finished the rest of the meal in silence, and I kept trying to catch Adriel’s eyes, hoping that he would look at me so that I could express… Something, some kind of sympathy or understanding or…
Something.
But I finished my bowl of yellow mash and goblet of cheap ale and not once did Adriel look out at me.
21
The Erl Queen was good to her word.
One hundred of her Valac soldiers would follow us into Mina and help us recover the town from the Hounds. Adriel presented the choice to everyone in the sitting room after the meal, though I was starting to see that the same people kept showing up.
Yarik and Yarin were there, of course. Standing beside each other like duel-toned twins, one with a light demeanor, the other perpetually solemn. Goldie had also come, with Amara ever trailing at her side. Bakari was present, and healing nicely from his wounds, but I had a feeling that even if he weren’t, he’d still have shown up, too. There were the Fae couple, Aysari and Eryx, who were rarely glimpsed apart, and then my personal favorite, Asha.
There were a few others as well.
Cavan, the Wolf I’d met in the square and almost hooked up with was there, alongside the Searcher Vampire female who’d offered her mind-reading abilities for when we captured and tried to turn the Hounds to our side. And the children I’d rescued in the square, Malayah, with the silver-blue eyes, and her hairy companion, who liked to be called by the name of Bear, had come, too.
The female Harpy who’d first warned us of the Hounds’ impending attack had shown up, too. She was so striking that at times I had to remind myself not to stare, lest she think I was some sort of weirdo. Her skin was smooth and dark, and her form laced with power and muscle. Her hair was the color of her wings when she was in her other form, contrasting blue and red that made her all the more stunning.
Her armor was also magnificent. She wore a chest plate made of sturdy but light metal, and a band of wicked looking blades hung across her body like a deadly sash. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, with full lips and eyes that remained gold no matter which physical form she was exhibiting.
By listening, I learned that her name was Akila. When she’d arrived, she done so with nine of her children, all bird Shifters, and all female. I estimated that the girls were all about my age—eighteen years old or so, and could hardly tell them apart with how much they resembled their mother and each other. The fact that they all wore the same types of weapons and armor didn’t make it easier. They were like a small, beautiful army in themselves. For all this, it really was hard not to stare. I wanted to know their stories, how they had come to be so apparently badass.
As a Shifter myself, I’d always wondered about other types of Shifters, had often pondered what it would be like to meet one, had never dreamed that I’d meet a whole flock of them. I’d assumed I never would, because the likelihood of a long life had been so out of my reach.
But everything was different now.
Everything had changed.
Glancing around the sitting room, seeing all the different types of people gathered, working together toward a common goal, I was struck again with the wonderment of it all.
Adriel had resumed his spot in the straight-backed leather chair near one of the blazing fireplaces. I kept glancing over at him, trying to read what might be going on in that pretty head of his, but he only stared into the flames, as if the secrets of the Realms burned there.
Everyone who would be joining the hundred Valac soldiers was here in this room. The rest of the near five hundred citizens of Mina would wait behind, within the relative safety of the Erl Queen’s castle.
When Adriel stood and moved to the center of the room, silence fell amongst the rest of us. We all gave our attention to him and waited as he slid his hands in the pockets of his slacks and met our gazes individually.
“It’s time,” he said. “If you don’t wish to fight the Hounds, there is no shame in that. I don’t want to hear anyone making any comments about who stays and who goes. That decision must be made by each individual, and it is not anyone else’s place to judge it. Do we agree?”
Everyone in the room nodded or said aye, and I ignored the sharp glance Asha shot me.
“But if you’re coming,” Adriel continued, “We need to be crystal clear on our collective objective. We decided by vote that we would capture as ma
ny of the Hounds as we could, that we would not go in intent on killing all of them… However, if you encounter a situation where it is your life or the Hound’s, kill the Hound. Don’t put yourself at risk. Kill the damn Hound. Better them than you.”
Again, there were nods of agreement. With each passing moment, my stomach was flipping over and over. To be totally honest, despite my promise to fight alongside Adriel the previous evening, I hadn’t truly decided if I would go back into Mina with the others and help subdue the Hounds.
To be brutally honest, just the thought of doing so scared the wits out of me.
“Okay,” Adriel said, and released a slow breath. “If we’re all in agreement, then let’s go.” His red eyes shone with unchecked determination, and I found myself clinging to the strength there.
As if he could sense this, his scarlet gaze found mine across the room, and I was grateful enough that had we been alone, I might have thanked him for it.
Holding my stare, characteristic smirk pulling up one side of his perfect mouth, Adriel said, “Let’s go take our town back from the Hounds.”
Ultimately, my feet made the decision for me.
There was no way I wasn’t going to follow the others as they trailed Adriel out of the sitting room. He ruffled Amara’s hair and offered her a wink on the way out, and my heart clenched watching it.
As Adriel led the way out of the Erl Queen’s castle and back over the bridge on which I’d first arrived, I walked alongside Goldie, who held my hand. It was physical contact that was as much for my benefit as it was for hers. Of everyone in this group—save for Cavan, maybe, though I didn’t know his story—Goldie and I were the only two with a unique history with Hounds.
To Goldie and me, Hounds were the violent tools of our former oppressors. Hounds had beaten and raped us, the former of which I received far more and the latter tipped toward Goldie. A Hound had stripped her down and made her beg naked in Dogshead Square when she was only thirteen years old, apologizing for crying while he’d been forcing himself on her.