Page 97 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

Ryker’s growling gained an even more vicious edge, but Rynn paid him no mind, despite her back being to him. The insult was clear, and I raised my brows at the brazenness of my friend. She had definitely been leaving out a lot of information on how things were going with her and the Alpha Pack. We’d be having words about this later once we were alone.

Her mismatched eyes, one golden brown and the other a deep, vivid blue, slid to mine, and she pressed her lips into a hard line. Yeah, she knew I’d be grilling her about this later.

The growling abruptly cut off, and I looked away from Rynn to see Cade staring at Ryker, some unspoken communication passing between them. Ryker’s lip curled in distaste before he tugged off his shirt and threw it at Rynn. She snarled, but he was already turning away and shucking off the rest of his clothing. Velesians rarely wore boots, as they preferred to stay in contact with the earth. A second after his clothes hit the ground, an enormous wolf with a grey coat flecked with white burst free from the cage of human skin.

Then he darted into the forest without another glance atany of us as Rynn stared after him with a predatory focus before pulling his shirt on with jerky movements.

“Rynn.” Cade sank so much dominance into that one word that Rynn’s head snapped towards him, almost of its own accord, and he smiled at the venom in her gaze. “Ryker’s going to make sure we’re not disturbed, and you are going to explain what the fuck is going on here.”

“Is that an order?” she asked cooly, not looking away from the alpha stare she was on the receiving end of.

“Does it need to be?” Cade crossed his arms, making his biceps bulge.

Rynn’s upper lip trembled in a snarl as she glared at Cade.

“Okaaay.” I drew out the word and grabbed Rynn’s arm, tugging her away. “We’re gonna need a minute.”

“I didn’t say you could leave,” Cade said in a low, threatening tone.

“And I don’t give a shit,” I snapped. “I need to speak with my friend. Once I’ve done that, we’ll talk and get this all figured out.” Bastian started to stir on the ground, and I glanced at Vail. “Why don’t you help Cade check on the overeager pussycat.”

“Both of you really try my patience,” Cade grumbled and moved towards the ailuran, who had managed to shake his head and was blinking blearily at the world. Vail nodded at me. He’d keep them away from me and Rynn while we talked. Velesian hearing was very sharp, but if we kept our voices low, it’d be fine.

Neither of us said anything as I pulled Rynn through the woods. When I was confident we were a good enough distance away to not be overheard, I stopped. She immediately pulled her arm free and fixed her features into the stubborn look I knew so well. It was the one that said she knew what she was doing, she was absolutely in the right, and the rest of us were idiots for not realizing it.

So I did what I’d done every time she’d gotten into this mood while we’d been at Drudonia. I reached out and flicked her on the nose. Hard.

“Fuck off, Sam!” She rubbed her nose and glared at me.

“What in all the moonsdamned fuck is going on?” I mimicked Cade’s stance from earlier and crossed my arms. Unfortunately, my biceps were nowhere near as intimidating as his. “Last I checked, you were worried the Alpha Pack didn’t want you anymore because you hadn’t been able to go to them right away.” Rynn’s mother had passed away last year. They’d had a strained relationship, but Rynn had still felt obligated to help her elderly mother in her final days. So she’d delayed leaving her pack to join the Alphas, but she’dwantedto go, and now she was looking at them like she wanted to rip their throats out.

Rynn’s lips trembled, but it wasn’t in a snarl this time. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m being banished from the Order of Narchis.”

“What?” My eyes widened.

She looked away as she tried to collect herself, tugging at Ryker’s shirt. He was smaller than the rest of the Alphas, but it still drowned her lean frame, falling to mid-thigh. Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto the shirt before she wiped the rest of them away.

“Remember last month when I went searching in Fervis territory?”

“You mean when I told you not to go there because if you got caught it would cause all kinds of problems?” Rynn raised her chin, still defiant despite the tears falling. “Let me guess.” I sighed. “You got caught?”

She nodded miserably. “Aetanthrope scout spotted me. I should have known better, but there aren’t many eagle shifters in the Order of Fervis.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Rynnwasreally good at sneaking around, but she got too cocky sometimes.

“What did they do?”

“Refused to release me back to the Narchis. They said I’d been promised to them before my pack changed its mind and made the deal with the Alphas. Claimed they were owed compensation. Cade sent Bastian and Ryker tofetchme.” Her eyes sparked. “Bastian promised them I would be punished.”

I was suddenly quite sure she hadn’t slammed him into that tree hard enough. “The banishment is your punishment I take it?”

Rynn blinked away her tears as she fought to compose herself. It was strange seeing her cry. I wanted to hug her, but I knew she would have hated that. So instead, I pretended I couldn’t see the wet streaks running down her cheeks or the way her eyes had reddened. Within a few minutes, she was back to her normal, cool and steady expression.

“They announced it this morning to everyone gathered.” She looked back towards the trees we’d walked through, to where Cade and the others waited. “I’m to leave with them as soon as the meet is over. The agreement is that I’m forbidden from traveling through Narchis territory unless I’m in the company of one of them.”

I took that to mean Cade, Bastian, or Ryker.

“And I can only go through Fervis territory if I get permission first—which they won’t give.” She looked back at me. “That leaves going through the neutral area of Drudonia my only option for getting to the Moroi realm, and Cade could easily tell the rangers who are posted in that area to not let me pass.”

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