Season of the Wolf

by Rachel Jonas

  “There’s a bit of a situation,” she began.

  “Where’s Liam?” I didn’t have the patience to wait for her to find the right way to tell me whatever she needed to tell me. When she leveled that same sympathetic stare on me Elise had, I knew I was right.

  Something was wrong and they weren’t telling me what they knew.

  “Where did Elise go in such a hurry?” Ethan countered when Hilda didn’t readily answer my question.

  “She received a text. Coordinates,” she clarified.

  Frustration brimmed over with being given the runaround.

  “Hilda, please!” My voice quivered, feeling my body shake with anticipation for what her real answer would be to my question. Where was Liam?

  A firm line creased her forehead when she frowned. “I’m not at liberty to say anything more than I already have,” she answered.

  This was unbelievable. She had to have known this was killing me.

  “I’m not holding his secret by choice,” she said cryptically. “Magic forbids me.”

  My brow quirked, unsure what that meant.

  “The furniture in my study is charmed. No one who sits on or touches any piece can lie to me,” she willingly shared. “Liam was aware of the way it worked before he chose to disclose his truths, the ones that lie deep within.”

  There was no missing the grave look she now wore.

  “In turn, I’m bound by magic not to disclose anything that’s been shared by anyone under the spell’s influence,” she clarified.

  So … she knew exactly where Liam was, what he’d done, but wasn’t at liberty to say.

  Magic was so tricky. There were so many rules and boundaries.

  “Is he in danger?” I asked next.

  When Hilda nodded, my heart and stomach sank.

  Ethan stepped forward, his expression marking a sudden spike in concern. “Shouldn’t you have gone with Elise then? Isn’t there something you could have done if he’s in trouble?”

  More of that solemn look being passed our way when Hilda shook her head.

  “No,” she sighed. “If Elise can’t fix this … neither can I.”

  First, I needed to sit, so I backed toward the steps. Then, I needed to run, so I pressed toward the door, deciding I’d just … go. I’d comb these woods until I found them.

  “Evangeline, don’t.” The stern warning came from Hilda and I wanted to push past her, but didn’t. Instead I listened.

  “He sent your mother coordinates,” she hinted, still magically bound from saying too much. “He needs her, specifically, to find him.”

  I searched my thoughts, hunting for morsels of information to piece together. Hints he may have left in his letter.

  He spoke of wanting me to understand his reasons for whatever action this was he’d taken. He also stated that he was doing this for me, to remedy the fact that he could no longer protect me. Because he’s no longer a … dragon.

  Dread and fear swam circles in my stomach like two sharks honing in on a kill.

  It hit me. The truth. He was on a mission to resurrect his dragon, and there were only a few ways to do such a thing that I knew of. One was by magic, which wasn’t an option for him. Because he’d been turned human by a witch, another couldn’t undo that spell.

  Leaving him with only one method to consider.

  The original method.

  One I wasn’t even sure still worked—to die by fire and be resurrected by the original dragon, Elise.

  He was planning to take the most extreme measures to restore his dragon. If he hadn’t done it already …

  I felt sick, weak, deciding to take that seat on the step after all when my knees nearly gave out. I stared at everything, but focused on nothing. For a moment, the room grew dim like I’d pass out.

  “Evangeline … you must know he’s been considering this for a while,” Hilda shared. “Elise and I both thought we talked him out of it, which is why it didn’t seem necessary to warn you before it came to this.”

  She didn’t need to explain. I didn’t blame her or Elise, I believed they truly did try to convince Liam this wasn’t a good idea.

  But I knew him.

  Knew exactly what pushed him toward the decision.

  Me.

  My actions. Last night must have just been the last straw, the last evidence he needed to see that I wouldn’t sit back on some throne while those I love were put in danger. It wasn’t even a choice. Going to them, putting my neck on the line was just … a reaction.

  One that ultimately may cost me everything.

  “How long do I have?” I asked solemnly, feeling my resolve becoming firmer by the minute. I had to try to find him, had to stop him.

  “You may already be too late,” was Hilda’s grim reply. “And besides, I can’t give an exact location because all he sent were coordinates, no address.”

  I racked my brain, asking myself where he’d go to do this. To … let the fire consume him in belief that it Elise could fix everything. My stomach turned and I ignored it, needing to focus.

  “His house,” I said after a burst of air filled my lungs when I got to my feet.

  “You should rethink this,” Hilda urged again. “If he’s already succeeded, Evangeline, there might not be much left but … remains.”

  My stomach swirled again, but there was no stopping me. I grabbed a pair of shoes from the closet and slipped my feet into them. Dallas traipsed down the stairs in jeans and a tee, popping a baseball cap over his messy hair. I guessed he’d been listening, because he was clearly intent on coming, too.

  By this point, Ethan had time to let the others know what had taken place, and all seemed determined to follow, to help me find the brother given to them by fate instead of blood.

  My eyes welled with tears at the sight of them all, their loyalty ever present. Even toward me, the shell of what remained of the sister they once knew.

  “Let’s go,” I said as we exited, hoping Hilda understood that I had to do this. If there was any chance I could stop Liam, could talk him out of this. There was still a chance we could find Sebastian’s witch and do this another way.

  But there was something else I knew about Liam. He wasn’t the most patient man in the world. In short, I needed to prepare my heart before we got there, accepting that, like usual, the odds of him waiting weren’t likely in our favor.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Evie

  We trekked the woods, passing through makeshift camps composed of those the flood displaced. There were many still walking about, doing their part to distribute food and supplies. It was hard to get my bearings straight with all the added commotion, the chatter.

  Breathing deep, I channeled my wolf, letting her keen sense of direction lead me.

  “This way,” I called out, prompting the others to take off running right behind me.

  Hurdling large boulders and hollowed out logs of fallen trees, we drew closer. I knew we were. Sniffing the air, I picked up on the occasional hit of smoke, but knew it could have been that of the many bonfires that had been built overnight and this morning for warmth.

  Still, the thought lingered that that smoke might not have been for warmth, or cooking. It may have been the result of Liam’s ill-planned idea to reconnect with his dragon.

  I was beside myself with worry, trying to hold it together as I ran. So hard my chest ached, drawing in surges of air as my fists pumped back and forth to move me faster.

  The surroundings became familiar and I recalled the first time I willingly reached out to Liam through our tether when I sought him in the woods. It was the day Nick admitted to his real feelings for me, and also the day I fought mine for Liam the hardest.

  My dragon had sent out a distress call to him when I panicked, thinking I was lost, and he answered, leading me to him, soothing me with his confidence and certainty I still envied. Now, this time as I ran, it was only me inside my head, praying those days I didn’t realize were so good would return.

>   I’d been so happy to have him back, but missed our connection more than I would ever admit.

  While most of me was pissed to high-heaven he’d done this, a smaller part of me understood. And maybe even prayed it worked. Yes, if he told me ahead of time, I would’ve done all I could to talk him out of it, for fear of the risk being too great. But now that the deed was likely already done … my heart … it did hope.

  We were close and the once dense crowd had thinned considerably. The thought crossed my mind that, although most had no idea who I was, didn’t even recognize my face or the role I could assume in the future, they flocked nearby on purpose. Whether that reason was because they had a general idea of where I resided, or if the pull had been something supernatural. Kind of like how a hive behaves instinctively to protect the queen.

  Eventually, we hadn’t seen anyone for miles, and there, off in the distance, I recognized the familiar outline of a single-pitched roof—one that had been my refuge on more than one occasion.

  Our pace slowed and I knew this was exactly where we were supposed to be. Scanning the perimeter, we inched closer. Within a few feet, I stopped again when my ears perked at the sound of embers bursting as not-so-distant flames crackled in the wind.

  A strangely brilliant, crimson light burst from the opposite side of what was once Liam’s home, illuminating the bark of nearby trees. My stomach swam with a fresh wave of dread, thinking we’d arrived right in the middle of the tragic act.

  I couldn’t move forward. Not with the terrible images that flooded my thoughts.

  Thoughts of Liam’s body burning, the last traces of life leaving him.

  A firm hand braced my shoulder and I looked up to meet Declan’s gaze, finding nothing but compassion there.

  “I’ll go,” he offered. “And if the deed hasn’t been finished …” His voice trailed off, but I understood, nodding.

  Tobias and Josiah followed, leaving Caleb, Ethan, Ivan, Dallas and I to standby, waiting for instructions.

  I paced, wearing a path in the tall grass, trampling it down into the damp soil. So many thoughts flew through my head, I couldn’t possibly nail down one.

  I wrestled with being angry Liam had kept this from me, to anxiously hoping Declan returned soon to tell me what I wanted to hear—that everything was okay, that things hadn’t all gone to hell this morning.

  I paced while Ivan and Caleb watched me closely.

  When five minutes came and went, I decided enough was enough.

  “Hold on, kid,” Dallas called out, stepping in my path to stop me. “I don’t think you understand what you could be walking into,” he warned.

  I stepped around him and his pace matched mine as I trudged toward the house, the strange red light, the crackling that, perhaps, unnerved me most.

  “I don’t care,” I stated firmly. “I need to see him.”

  “Just wait for Declan to give the all clear,” he suggested.

  I shook my head, stepping over a small fence no taller than my knees. The flames blazed louder and I heard voices now. Elise’s, Declan’s I believed. And another noise that was hard to place—something reminiscent of the same warning growl I nearly released on Hilda not too long ago.

  The sound of it made me pause my steps again, which Dallas seemed grateful for, maybe thinking I hesitated because he said something that brought me to my senses. Little did he know, I barely heard him now, honing in on that strange breathing.

  Liam …

  It had to be him, and it sounded like he was in pain.

  I have no idea where the strength or the will came from, but I trudged forward again, fully aware of what I might see when I got to him. There was simply no slowing down.

  If he was in pain, if he needed me, I—

  My feet stopped dead in their tracks, halting at the corner that had once hidden this scene from view. One where Elise, Declan, Josiah, and Tobias kept at a safe distance as the sight before them seemed to leave them all in limbo—torn between trusting that the man they’d known for centuries was still present, but also considering they ought to trust their instincts to run.

  Amidst my thoughts as I stared at a very-much-alive Liam, was confusion. It was him, but … not.

  The vibrant red I’d seen from far away wasn’t what I expected. They were his flames—their deep crimson replacing the pale orange I’d grown accustomed to seeing. And large wings stretched from his back, wings nearly twice the breadth of the ones that carried us above the trees on my first flight not too long ago. The tips of his lengthy hair moved in the draft of his dragon’s fire—a fire like none I’d ever seen before.

  “Evangeline, stand back,” Elise warned, calling out when I took a step forward. She came to me right away, glancing back toward Liam as if to keep a cautious eye on him.

  “He’s not stable,” she explained in a rush of panicked breath. The look on her face left me with the impression she didn’t trust him. Almost like … she was afraid.

  I glanced up when she finished speaking, surprised to find the blindingly white eyes of my warrior already fixed on me, as if he’d only now become aware of my presence.

  “Get her away from here,” his voice thundered with a warning. At least … it should have been his voice. Instead, I heard the unfamiliar baritone of something altogether different.

  Elise’s gaze volleyed between Liam and I when she braced my shoulders. “He’s trying to protect you,” she explained quickly, pushing me back until I was flush against Dallas’ chest and his hands replaced hers.

  “Get her home, please,” Elise urged, speaking to Dallas above my head. “I’ll be in contact as soon as I can,” she added before turning to address my brothers right after.

  “Boys, I’ll need you to stay.” Her eyes drifted over her shoulder again, that look of deep concern still present. “We may need your help.”

  Without hesitation, they nodded and stepped up, ready to do whatever she needed.

  “Come on, kid,” Dallas instructed, keeping a firm hold on me as I stumbled in his shadow, glancing back until Liam was out of sight.

  He was alive, he recognized me, but honestly … that was all I knew for certain.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Evie

  If it hadn’t been for Hilda, I would’ve forgotten to eat, instead pacing the entire day, and now into the night. Her quiet knock at my door a moment ago broke the silence I’d sat in for hours—hours I spent wondering about Liam, questioning whether I should have let Dallas escort me away so easily.

  I should have stayed, made sure he was okay.

  A silver tray lined with chicken soup and fresh baked bread was placed on my desk and whereas I hadn’t been hungry since the ordeal earlier, I was suddenly starving.

  “It’s not much, but I prepared it with my own two hands,” she smiled, making sure I knew this meal was a labor of love, not just something she conjured with the twirl of a finger.

  I sat and lifted my gaze to smile back. “Thank you.”

  I wasn’t sure when she found the time to cook. Within minutes of my return, she rushed off to her workspace and I hadn’t seen her since. She’d locked herself in after muttering something about the Oracles requesting that she commune with them concerning ‘a very sensitive matter’. I got the impression it was urgent, but at the rate of change here in Seaton Falls, it could have been about anything from the flood to my brothers’ returning.

  Or … maybe it was about what Liam had done today.

  It was entirely possible they’d had a vision of what I saw with my own two eyes—him with those large wings, those bright, red flames.

  I still had no idea what it all meant and could only hope they weren’t alarmed.

  Because … I kinda was.

  To my surprise, Hilda didn’t leave right away after delivering dinner, instead taking a seat on the edge of my bed nearby. I peered up at her a moment, observing her as she looked around my space, focusing on a picture pinned above the lamp of my parents.

  H
er smile grew.

  “That was a brave thing you did for them,” she stated, nodding toward the photo.

  I brought the spoon to my mouth, deciding not to reply. The act was one I considered to be more necessary than anything else.

  “And it was perhaps even more brave for those who accompanied you,” she went on. “Considering their emotional investment was not in your parents, but in you.”

  I paused at those words, finding so much truth in them.

  “It’s strange how your world has evolved,” she went on, her gaze landing on me as I ate. “Just months ago, we were all so sure Nicholas was the devil incarnate,” she chuckled. “And now, it seems we were wrong.”

  And this was why I fought so hard to save him, fought so hard to keep the Council from killing him. While no, I didn’t foresee any of this, his redemption, he’s definitely proven himself to be worthy of the title friend.

  “It would still be wise for us to keep a watchful eye on him,” she went on.

  I didn’t disagree.

  “When he followed you the night of the flood, did he mention the sound again?”

  I paused mid-chew when she asked, hating that she brought it to my remembrance. I liked to think things with Nick and I were improving, but this small detail—the maddening sound he described hearing whenever we were close—was a loud, clear sign that it was all an illusion.

  “I only noticed it affecting him during combat training, but I think there was too much going on when we were in town, trying to get back to safety,” I answered.

  Hilda was silent, pursing her lips together while she thought.

  “Do you think it means something?”

  At the sound of my question, her eyes came back to mine. And then a smile, one I wasn’t sure how genuine it was. It could have easily been to convey a sense of calm that didn’t really exist within her.

  “I have a theory, but, like all things, it will surely reveal itself in time.” After speaking, she scanned me curiously, but then said nothing more of it before changing the subject.