Page 52 of Her Royal Blood

“Never get on Wadson’s bad side,” he joked and the moment passed without incident, but had there been more Crypt Clawtroops in Brahman’s Peak, we would have had a lot more trouble.

The Crypt Claw were ruthless ‘fight till you die warriors’ who never exhibited mercy, however those guarding the flying war machines seemed less hostile.

Hawk and I pretended to guard the perimeter by marching around the warehouse, until a horn blasted for dinner. We then went in with the rest of the Crypt Claw and helped the workers assemble and depart.

“Everybody out,” Hawk yelled. “Nobody stays behind. I have orders that everyone needs to go to the mess hall for dinner, clean your workspaces, take your things.” Hawk was menacing and brutal and for a moment I wondered if he had been Crypt Claw before he became a vigilante.

I saw Cheyenne out of the corner of my eye and gave him a small thumbs up sign which he returned. That signal meant that the bombs had been planted, and all we had to do was evacuate. I waited until every last worker was out of the building and nothing but Crypt Claw remained. I nodded my head to Cheyenne and he and the soldier with the slash on his uniform and they were the first to disappear. After one more march around the perimeter of the workshop Hawk and I also left.

Without having discussed the exact plans, or shifting into our wolves we walked away from the building as quickly as possible. I didn’t care that the scarred warrior and any others still near the workshop were about to be blown to bits, such was the way of war. They were on the losing side, but they were moving as quickly as we were and so I assumed they’d make it to a safe distance before the whole place bled.

Another blast came shortly afterwards and everything spiraled into madness. Hawk and I realized that the bombs were denating as Crypt Claw started to run. He and I both shifted andtook off as we knew that we only had a matter of seconds before the whole place would be raining down dangerous debris.

Running with all of my strength Hawk and I both sprinted through the streets of Brahman's Peak. Behind us blast after blast propelled rocks, fractured pieces of wood, and large objects into the air which landed with heavy thuds all around us. Dodging the falling debris, Hawk and I barely made it out of Brahman's Peak without being seriously injured. The devastation and damage done, not only to the warships and workshops, but to the entire palace was significant. We ran until we reached the forest following the sound of my brother's beckoning.

We’re near the edge of the clearing,his wolf said only once, so other shifted wolves wouldn’t know we were communicating.

Hawk and I found Cheyenne and the other soldier catching their breath hidden within a grove of pine trees. The tree trunks were thick and the canopy of pine needles dense enough to hide our wolves. As soon as Hawk and I arrived they shifted back into their human form as did we so that our telepathy could not be detected by other wolves in the area.

“We did it,” Cheyenne said with a beaming smile, looking dirty, bedraggled and bloody.

“Are you hurt?” I asked with concern, not even bothering to look and see if the places that were aching on me were injuries.

“Minor cuts and scrapes,” he said, still looking triumphant.

The rest of us checked our bodies for injuries and luckily we were all clear having sustained a few scrapes and bruises.

“I just have this.” Hawk showed us a small gash on his shoulder. “Just a scratch,” he laughed.

The other soldier with Cheyenne looked his body over. “I’ve been injured much worse during training.” He shrugged off his minor abrasions and cuts.

“Nice work, Ely,” Cheyenne clapped the soldier’s back. “You’ve become quite a good spy. I can use a man like you on these kinds of missions,” Cheyenne said to the soldier who smiled.

“My pleasure, I love planting bombs,” he said with almost too much enthusiasm.

“Well, I thought that was going to be an impossible task, but we pulled it off. Glad you came in time Lex, it was good to have both of your help getting the workers out of there. I’m not sure how much of the castle survived but at least they weren’t at the epicenter. So with the airships destroyed ours will be the only one in the air. I tested it in Angeline Falls. Bastien performed an invisible cloaking spell to keep it hidden and it flies beautifully, so I need to get back to Navarrah City to alert Father.” It was good to see Cheyenne so triumphant and successful.

“I can go back,” Ely offered, “and tell your father of our mission’s success. I’m sure you and Prince Lex have other more important missions ahead of you.”

“We’ll need to go to the Obsidian Valley and secure their alliance. It was good that Bastien helped you hide our ship, it shows that they are willing to support us. We have to convince the Goldlaces to fight with us. I hope Aria has been able to free Halo. I can feel her, she seems calm, steady, you know, like she’s waiting for something. I don’t know if her mission has been completed. I don’t risk speaking to her down the bond in case she hasn’t learned to shield her thoughts from other mages, namely Sire Vanoire,” I said, hoping to see Aria as soon as possible and get her out of Onyx Rah where Polonius was still an eminent threat.

“The bond?” Cheyenne’s brows raised as he asked.

“Yes brother,” I said with a smile. “She and I mated. I wasn’t going to take any more risks. We’ll be married as soon as we get the chance.”

“I’m excited for you, brother.” And Cheyenne meant it, though his expression was frozen with shock.

“And I’m excited for you. I’ve officially abdicated my succession, you’re next in line to be king.” I knew I should have waited for Father to give him the news officially, but I was so proud of him, I wanted Cheyenne to hear it from me that I was willingly stepping down.

“I am, why? How? Are you sure?” Cheyenne was such a humble man, I admired him so much for that trait as I wasn’t as humble.

“Because I would rather rule by Aria’s side as her King. She will rule her people and I’ll gladly support her. It is my honor and my duty to my mate and soon my wife to serve her as she needs me.” Cheyenne threw his arms around me and we embraced.

“I am proud of you, brother. One day we will be allies, ruling two powerful nations. I do not wish our father to leave his role as king, but when he does, it would be an honor to rule Navarrah City with you and Aria overseeing Onyx Rah.” I could only imagine the peace and prosperity that day would bring.

“This is what we’re fighting for," I told him. “So we have to go to the Obsidian Valley and get their support.” I focused us back on the task at hand as we weren’t safe.

“I agree,” Hawk added, “but respectfully, I'd like to stay back in Brahman’s Peak. First, Aria may need me and if she does, I hope you can tell her through your bond, Lex, that I’m close. She can shift into her wolf and call me, or use one of her mage tricks. I really don’t know how such things work, but since Brahman’s Peak is broken and likely vulnerable right now, I want to get as many families out as I can. This is my time to liberate the people and I just can’t pass it up.” He almost looked desperate.

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