VALERIE Dowson was dead. They led us to his corpse, and I did not expect such brutality. Such pure carnage as I looked upon him. Blood poured from an open wound in his neck. Another in his stomach. His eyes were frozen, wide in disbelieve. In horror. He laid in a puddle of his own blood, and something about the coppery smell of it was turning my stomach. Alyssa made a sound of distress at the sight of him and twisted away to hide her face in Ralph’s chest. He seemed unprepared for her reaction and hesitated, unsure of what to do but to let her hide there in his arms. She had probably never seen such a horror like this, but I had. I had lived it once before, and many times in my memory since then. The sight of Dowson’s corpse was nothing more than an echo of my family. Of what had happened to them that horrible night. Of the way their bodies looked once the violence had ebbed. I knew death too intimately to be shaken like Alyssa was. As we stood, observing the scene, a man was inv
VALERIEI stepped aside to allow Amelia into the room, surprised and confused by her visit. She hadn’t returned home yet? What had she been doing in the palace all this time?Regardless, she smiled warmly upon me and stepped into the room, a jar of something in her hands. “I thought I would bring you some antiseptic salves. I made them myself. They’re quite useful for treating wounds.”I took the jar from her, grateful for the offer. I did not have any injuries of my own, but I would have to use it to treat Lucia’s wrists. “Thank you, Mistress Amelia.” She did not seem set on turning and leaving then, so I stepped aside and gestured awkwardly. “Please, come in.”Her smile faltered a little and she stepped past me. She took in Xavier’s room—the grand accents on the walls, the shimmering chandelier above, and the heart to the side, which was still faintly ablaze with a small fire. Then she delicately folded herself into a seat on the sofa. “I heard about what had happened from Ralph. I’
XAVIERRalph and I had journeyed to the barracks to question the guards on the matter of Dowson. It was unacceptable to know that someone in our watch had turned a blind eye to such an important subject.Ralph had gathered them all into a line, and he was approaching each one individually. Looking them in the eye and asking, “What do you know Dowson’s death? Where were you when it happened? Did you see anything suspicious?”One by one, they insisted they knew nothing. And one by one, they seemed to be growing more nervous, more agitated by the interrogation.Amidst our questioning, the room erupted in accusations.“Oh, whoever knows something just say it!”“It wasn’t me! I wasn’t stationed at the time.”“Daniel certainly had reason to use the bathroom quite often.”“Shut up, Garett! It wasn’t me, either! I simply had an upset stomach.”Their shouts erupted into a loud raucous, and Ralph brought the room to a sudden halt. There was a way about Ralph that could strike fear into the hear
XAVIERWe moved swiftly, though the ride would be much longer avoiding the main streets of Oreheroad.We needed to stay inconspicuous. We needed to move like shadows among the city. Which, to Ralph, meant cutting through alleyways and creeping through residential districts., weaving our horses past food carts and pedestrians.The house of Duff was located in the Southeastern quarters of Orheroad. And as the city opened before us, I could not help but wonder why he had not attended the festivities. It was, after all, Reuben’s natural inclination to party. But I was not complaining. It was more convenient, being that he was far from the palace. Far from Caeser’s men.We had driven in a simple carriage, so as not to alert him of our presence, and I was quickly growing tired of the bumps and knocks in the road. Though cars were plentiful in the city, the palace did not own any relative to that of a commoner, or even a noble. Ours were distinct. Vehicles of high regard that could only be d
VALERIE That night, I dreamt of a woman with green eyes. At first, I thought I was seeing myself. But there were certain differences in our faces. Things that I could pick apart in detail if I looked at her long enough. She was a few years older, her eyes far lighter. And her belly bulged, large and telling as she ran through the brambles of a thick and endless forest. Yapping came from behind her. A sound that took me back to the night of the raid. I knew that sound better than anyone. It had not left my thoughts in years. The woman stumbled through the thickets. She ran, clutching onto trees with one hand and her belly with the other. She could not move fast with a child in her womb, and as she turned back, a trio of werewolves dashed through the slats in the trees. They were large. The size of horses, at least. And they were close on her tail. Still, she ran. As quickly as her legs would take her. She ran until pain twinged on her face and she felt her legs give. And even aft
VALERIE The next day, Xavier took me to his study. And she was there. I walked in and at the sight of her, it was like all the air was knocked from my lungs. Staring at Ava felt like a dream. It was her. I knew it was her. And she seemed to recognize me as well. If I had been holding anything at the moment, I would have dropped it. But instead I just froze there, staring at her. Wondering if I’d ever actually woken that morning, or if I was still steadily dreaming. And when I realized this was no dream at all, my heart quickened in my chest. “V-Valerie,” Ava mumbled, her eyes wide, her mouth parted. We did nothing but stand there, facing one another for a long while. Then tears hit my eyes. I stumbled to her, my legs numb beneath me, and wrapped her in my arms. We nearly went to the floor together, my knees buckling under me and Ava too weak to hold my weight. I hugged her tightly—too tightly, because Ava let out a groan. I released, feeling the high-risen skin on her back.
CAESAR Xavier’s response might have been prompt. And perhaps I had underestimated him. But I was a man who liked to stay ahead of the curb. Two-steps ahead, if I was being honest. I had arranged a safe haven for the wizard—an old family home of mine. It was once known as the House of Murphy before I married the Alpha’s daughter and took my crown. But now the grand mansion stood there lonely and decaying. It had once been a beautiful marvel among the city, and now it was beginning to crumble, overtaken by vines and shrubbery. No one was left to use it after all. Besides me. Occasionally—at any usual time—the maids would be sent to keep the house in order. The rooms would need dusting in the case of once-yearly visit, and any vermin would need to be eradicated. But apart from them, it was entirely abandoned, and therefor…the perfect place to stow away a fugitive. In addition, the mating season was still in full effect. Every ounce of attention in Oreheroad was on the mating season,
XAVIERThe end of the festival was fast approaching, and Ares was a wild, insatiable thing within me.Are you really going to do it? he was asking, pleading, snarling. Are you really going to let her go? We will never see her again. The others will not be like her. Keep her. Keep her. I can not.Then you should have never brought that poor human girl back. You should have never fulfilled your mission. Our mate leaves us now. Our mate leaves us. There is nothing I can do. It is her freedom to leave.Mark her, Ares howled. Mark her so you may find her and take her back.I pressed Ares’s voice to the back of my mind, bringing myself into focus. I was already distracted enough with thoughts of Valerie. He was making it twice as difficult to be productive in my search for the wizard.A handful of councilors were gathered in front of me, their heads bowed. Their body language was tense, their expressions wrought with fear.They did not ease. And they should not have. They were all in a gr