by G. Bailey
Two guards, hidden in the shadows of the room, step forward as Breelyn stands. They undo her cuffs, and she bows her head to the alphas before walking past me, a small smile my way. She looks back at Callahan, her brow creasing. He looks right back at her until she goes out of the door, and silence rings once more.
Alpha Soren looks down at Callahan. “Never before has an angel been welcomed into our city, and even kneeling in this court is setting history, Commander Callahan of the Fenrir Court.”
I glance at Callahan’s head of wavy, sun-kissed blond hair, and he looks back at me, his warm, whiskey amber eyes meeting mine before he looks up at Alpha Soren.
“Then I am truly honoured, Alpha Soren, to kneel before you in your court. I was born in the Fenrir Court and trained to be a soldier from a young age. I fought well enough to be promoted to Commander of the Fenrir Court army, under the rule of Viscount Deimos.” He pauses, his wings moving with him. “In my lifetime, I have seen a world fall and one reborn in its ashes. I have seen enough to scar a mind, as I am sure can be echoed in the minds of many in this room. Our races are enemies, that much is true, but I am here because that doesn’t have to be the case. When I first met the alpha heirs and Mairin Fall, I saw a change on the horizon for our world. There are gods and goddesses in the world, and I believe their presence, in a time of war, means one side of this war has been blessed. I know which side I am on, and I am here today to ask for you to look past my angel wings, past what marks our blood as different, and to realise our goals are the same.”
His words ring out into the courtroom, and I lock eyes with Valentine for just a moment, realizing this is exactly why they brought Callahan here. He is a respected angel, a commander who worked hard for his life and title.
“What is it you want for this world, Commander?” Alpha Reine questions.
“Peace,” he replies. “A world where no child suffers and blood isn’t spilt in war. I am no threat to you or your pack. It is a majestic honour to be here and to help you.”
“As before,” Alpha Soren begins, “would anyone like to speak on behalf of Commander Callahan?”
I go to stand, but Adira shoots her arm out, pushing me back as she stands up. I knew she wouldn’t sit silently. “I wish to speak the truth, and I can’t sit here without saying it.”
“Speak, child,” Alpha Soren commands.
I curl my hands into fists. “Callahan was sneaking off on the train, coming back scenting of angels and deception. I believe he is nothing more than a spy, who saved Mairin’s life to get closer to the alpha heirs and on the train. When I was in the city, spying on them, I saw Commander Callahan kill many angels and humans, with almost a soulless quality much like many of the angels in the city. They enslave humans there, refuse to even let them have names, and I have no doubt that is what they want for the wolves of this city.”
“As the commander, I had to—”
“Kill? Control? Put humans in their place?” Adira questions, cutting him off. “Many in the city fear the commander more than they do their viscount, and that is for a reason.”
“I was born powerful and with a gift,” Callahan replies, narrowing his eyes on her. “I’m stronger and faster than the average angel, so of course I was feared when I held a position of power. As for leaving the train, yes, I did, but to get food. Blood, as you are all aware, I drink to survive. But I do not drink human blood, and I have never taken without permission.”
“Adira, you may sit,” Alpha Reine tells her, and she does, briefly flashing me a smile. Bitch.
“May I speak?” I question.
Alpha Soren nods. “Rise, Mairin.”
I glare at Adira as I stand up, straightening my back as I face them all to speak for my friend. I’m well aware his life is on the line. I can feel the pressure building on me. I look at my new friend who saved my life, protecting me, and raise my head high. “Commander Callahan and I met in the Fenrir Court, my first chance at seeing how angels live and humans suffer. They suffer, there is no doubt in my mind about that. Angels rule and wolves, we hide. Right?”
“Mai—” Henderson tries to make me stop, but I won’t.
“If we only ever judge based on what’s in our blood, then we are all damned by other’s actions. I would like to be judged on my actions, on the risks I take, and the times in my life I have been brave. Callahan is brave, braver than most males I’ve met, and he has a good soul. Killing this male for having wings makes us no better than the angel king himself,” I tell them all, a few of them gasping. “You’ve hidden away, and I understand why, but unless you plan to hide for the rest of our lives, trust must be given. My alphas brought an angel into their home, and I hope each of you can see he is no threat to us. He is our ally in the war ahead. Unusual times call for unusual choices. I plead with you to put your preconceived judgment in the past and give Callahan a chance. A chance to talk with you and teach you of how the angel courts live and breathe.”
“And how to take them down,” Callahan softly adds in. “Viscount Deimos wants change.”
I sit down and cross my arms. Seeing the proud looks on my alphas’ faces makes me sit a little taller.
Alpha Soren stands. “The time for change is upon us. I stand for Commander Callahan to be allowed to stay in the city, with his wings hidden and two wolf guards at his side or outside his room at all times. No flying. Stand if you agree.”
My alphas stand, but no one else does, making the room an even number. I look at Alpha Reine, and she shakes her head, making it clear her opinion. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Adira grin, and I look at the betas, wishing one of them could give Callahan a chance. The sad thing is, I understand where they are coming from and their deep-rooted hate for the angel race. They want them all dead, and having one in the city isn’t what they would wish for, war or not. They can’t see him for who he is, not like we know him.
A chair scrapes, and Solandis Fall stands up, swaying the decision in our favour. All the beta wolves look sharply at her as she nods to Callahan. “If you betray our pack, I will rip your wings off and feed them to you, angel.”
He inclines his head, and Solandis looks over at me for a brief second.
“It is decided. Take his cuffs off. This court meeting is over,” Alpha Soren commands, turning to talk with Alpha Reine and my alphas.
“Looks like Mai wins once again,” Adira says, standing up, her sharp eyes looking down at me. “Eventually your luck is going to run out.”
“Eventually your lies are going to come to light,” I say, standing up to face her. “And then who will need luck? It won’t be me.”
She bares her teeth at me, a deep growl vibrating out of her chest before she storms past me. The guards finish taking Callahan’s cuffs off as I get to his side, and I smile at him. He flashes me a relieved look. “Thank you.”
I nod, placing my hand on his arm. “I save my friends. We’re kind of even now.”
He chuckles as I lower my hand. “That we are.”
I walk past him and to Solandis, who is talking with a male with thick dark brown hair and blue eyes. He looks at me, detestation flashing in his eyes before stepping around Solandis and going to my alphas.
“Ignore him,” Solandis says. “Moody old bugger that he is.”
“Why did you stand?” I ask outright, getting to the point.
“For you,” she replies, surprising me. “You tried to save my brother from a painful death and my sister from a difficult, life-changing decision on the day of the attack.”
My eyes widen for a second. She is Tualla’s sister. Now that I stare at her, I notice they have similarly shaped faces but little else.
“I’m sorry for your loss. That was a terrible day,” I say.
“The Levi got in through the wall in my plaza. I lost many of my people,” she explains to me. “My family and I are mourning, and my loyalty is with my sister in the rite. But I do wish you good luck. My family is no longer in your debt, Mairin Fall.”
&nbs
p; I bow my head in respect to her, stepping back and looking over at my alphas as I walk out of the room.
Thank you, I mouth to them, and they each tilt their lips up in a smile. I walk out of the courtroom and straight to Breelyn, embracing her in a hug. Even Phim joins the hug, and I fully relax for the first time in this city.
“Want to see the pack city, Bree?”
“Damn yes,” she replies. “Time to see my home.”
Home...we are finally home.
“Dot, what do you think?” I ask, well aware she is ignoring me, but the second I walked into the library this morning, a book on advanced riddle creation landed on the desk I was heading for. I know she is near and no doubt has a judgmental word or two about the riddle I’ve written for Valentine. I had intended to look around the library myself, before the book I wanted arrived and I got the suspicion I was being watched closely. I hope it’s Dot. I can’t scent her, unlike everyone else I’ve come across, and I’m nothing but curious about who and what she is. I’ve seen and heard of nothing like her. “Fine, I’m going to read it to you, just in case you are listening.”
I swear I hear a slight whisper of a chuckle.
“I am found in sight,
Clueless to many,
Unavoidable to some.
I am stolen even in the darkest of nights with only a look.”
Silence follows as I write my riddle down on a piece of paper from my room and fold it in two, writing Valentine’s name on the top. I push my seat out and stand, looking around the beautiful room. My favourite place in the castle by far. Even Breelyn loves it here, but she doesn’t believe me about Dot, and considering Dot hasn’t shown her face the two times I’ve brought Breelyn and Callahan here, they think I’m going crazy. “I’m going to take your silence as confirmation of how much you love my riddle.”
A laugh echoes around, and I shake my head as I leave the library, bumping right into Ragnar waiting outside. “Hello, you scared me.”
I place my hand over my racing heart, and he picks it up off my chest, kissing the tips of my fingers. “I’m sorry for how I acted the other day. I was out of line.”
I search his eyes, remembering the wolf who makes me smile, who cared and loved me way before we met once more. The nights and days roll into one memory until I nod. I’m not happy with him, and I can’t understand what he did, but Ragnar deserves the benefit of the doubt this once.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” I warn him. “You frightened me, Ragnar. I had to run from you.”
He steps closer. “I feel like we are getting to know each other once more in this rite, and I swear, Mai darling, I will never intentionally frighten you.”
His lips fall onto mine, a pressured and passionate kiss, crumpling the note in my hand as he grabs my waist and presses me to him, his scent a swirling mixture of desire. But something doesn’t feel right as he kisses me...
I break away, smiling softly, wondering if it’s just how he has been acting recently that is putting me off him. I’ve always wanted Ragnar and felt a soul-burning connection, but—
“What is this?” Ragnar asks, slipping the letter from my hand. My cheeks light up as he reads the riddle and hands me it back.
“For Valentine, I presume?” he questions. “You two and your riddles. He used to write them on the trees around your house, and you’d write the answer on the massive oak tree outside his.”
“I didn’t know that,” I say, smiling, imagining us as two children, drawing on trees and figuring out how to speak to each other.
Ragnar nods once. “He didn’t like to talk to people after his sister’s death.”
“He lost his sister?” I whisper.
“Sometimes I forget you don’t remember,” he replies, running his hand down my arm. “You’re so beautiful, like you always were, but life has changed you. You’re stronger, sexier, different.”
“Even if I did remember, that wouldn’t change those things about me,” I reply. “I am who I am because of my past.”
“You were born strong, and your life has tested that strength, weakened you. Without it, you could have ruled this world instead of—”
Weakened me? I wouldn’t call what I am now weak, and I didn’t expect Ragnar to say that. It makes me pause as three guards walk past, making Ragnar halt mid-sentence but not move away from me. “I’m going to Valentine’s room, hoping he isn’t in there so I can sneak this in. Want to come with me?”
“Yes, then I’m stealing you for the day,” he says, wrapping his arm around my waist. “A whole day of us alone where I can do whatever I want with you.”
I rest my head on his arm. “I should be training, Ragnar. I only took a break for lunch and to visit the library. Actually, where were you this morning? You’re always in training.”
“I had a friend to see,” he answers, a mischievous grin on his face. “And I got you something. I want to give you it somewhere more romantic than a corridor, but...”
He pulls out a small box and opens it, revealing a gold band ring with a golden apple, filled with tiny diamonds. “It’s...well, beautiful. But why an apple?”
He picks the ring out, and I offer him my hand, watching as he slides it on my middle finger. “When the gods ruled this world, there was an apple called the Golden Apple of Discord. It was true, undeniable power. A glowing bundle of shifter energy from the creator of the gods, shaped almost like an apple. The gods and goddesses argued over who should be the keeper of such power, making them more powerful than anyone on this earth, until it was stolen by a goddess, who hid it away before dying and taking its location to her grave. Her name was Persephone.”
My eyes widen as I run a finger over the ring. “So no one ever found it?”
“No,” he replies, pursing his lips. “This ring will stay on your hand during your shift to wolf and back. It’s made of a metal that our shifter energy cannot bend or rip.”
“Wow… Do you—” I pause. “Do you think the king of the angels wants me because of my soul bond to Persephone? Because she might tell me where it is or I might be able to see her memories?”
Something sparks in his eyes. “Perhaps. We will never know, as he won’t get close enough to you to find out. Can you see her memories?”
I shrug, lowering my hand. “In my dreams...I’ve seen things. So maybe.”
“Interesting,” he replies, watching me so closely. I lean up and kiss his cheek.
“Thank you for my gift and the history behind it,” I tell him. I’ve not had a gift off Ragnar before, and I half expected it to be a car or something similar. “Let’s go.”
He links his cold hand with mine, and for a moment, I think I scent someone else nearby. An oddly familiar dry cedar and musky citrus lemon scent, but it’s gone quickly. I look around us, the corridor empty of anything but bookshelves filled with books. Ragnar’s eyes glitter in the dark corridors as he looks back at me, and when he blinks, the light of the stars is gone so quickly. A coldness fills my chest, like a sense of dread, and it stays with me as we walk through the castle and to my alphas’ rooms. There are four doors, each with a silent guard stood outside, and we go to the first door.
“Move,” Ragnar commands, a coldness to his voice.
“Please,” I say after him, and he only smirks at me. The guard steps aside, and Ragnar opens the door, letting me in while he waits outside the room. Valentine’s room is grander than mine, on a level I wasn’t expecting. His bed is on a stone platform, with an actual fountain of water around it, broken only by a row of steps going up to the bed. A massive chandelier hangs above the four-poster stone bed filled with red sheets. The floor is dark red, deep pinks and white mosaics, and the walls are raw stone. I step in and rush up the steps to his bed, placing the note on his pillow and breathing in his scent, which fills the room, making my cheeks slightly flush.
A breeze blows through the room from an open glass door, and I walk over, stepping out into a small balcony behind the waterfall, close enough for me
to reach my arm out and maybe just touch the water. Several large plants in pots line the balcony and a seat, with a pile of books on a small table near the door. I lift the cover of the first book, smiling when I see the title.
“Riddles. 422.”
I’m not the only one doing research, it seems. Knowing he is reading these for me only makes my heart warm. I leave Valentine’s room, jumping when Silas steps in front of me.
“It’s rude to sneak into other people’s rooms without asking,” Silas states, his body so close to mine, his scent possessing me in a comforting and seductive blanket. I step closer, arching my neck to meet his winter snow eyes.
“You can sneak into my room anytime, Mai,” Ragnar interrupts us, but neither Silas nor I move, both of us staring each other down. I love when he challenges me like this, a competition of wills in a teasing dance.
I lift my hand and run my thumb across his bottom lip, the world around us disappearing, his eyes burning into molten lava. “Telling me what to do again, Silas?”
He breathes in deep, stepping closer, our bodies lined up. “Yes. Even if your stubborn ass is never going to listen to me.”
“Never,” I reply with a grin, lowering my hand, but he catches it and places it over his heart, over his dark shirt, his silver buttons pushing against my thumb.
Ragnar places his hand on my shoulder, and I turn to him, but he is looking at Silas, who slowly turns his gaze from me. “I’m stealing Mai for the day, and we should be going.”
“I will join you both,” Silas announces.
“I’d love to have you two to myself for a bit,” I say, smiling at Ragnar, who doesn’t look that happy about Silas joining us. “I mean, if it’s okay, Ragnar? I don’t want to ruin what you have planned?”
“Of course it’s okay,” Ragnar smoothly replies, taking my hand and leading me down the corridor. Silas easily keeps up behind us, the corridor too narrow for us all to walk side by side. I link my fingers through Ragnar’s, feeling how tense he is at my side now.