Page 32 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
I would’ve been more relieved to see the leader of Galen den’ Mora, though, if they hadn’t just had their claws in my mind. That song still had a hold of me, and I still felt its echoes, my feet wanting to steer me toward Highwick of their own volition. I wiggled my toes into the earth, trying to feel more firmly planted and less likely to be taken away by my mind. The visturongs had all returned to their hollows, nothing but upturned earth left in their wake.
The rest of the Songkeepers waved from the distance, calling out to Ora as they wandered over to us on shaking legs.
“The journey here was not exactly restorative,” Ora quipped, their warm eyes finding mine. “But I’m glad to be back home.”
“That song,” I said, looking around the woods. “It was as if I’d been hypnotized. I... all I heard was ‘go home’ over and over in my mind.”
“Gods,” Navin said, his eyes going wide. “I had never considered it before.” He looked between Ora and me. “What if these songs can control Wolves, too?”
Left unsaid as I stared at him in horror was the question “What if Wolves are monsters?”
Briar
AFTER OUR MOMENT IN THE FOREST, MAEZ SEEMED TO DISappear. I didn’t even know if she was still in the castle or if she’d left me there. The magic still flowed easily through the house—food, warm baths, clean clothes, as if a bunch of invisible maids had been tending to the place—but Maez was gone.
I wondered if I’d spooked her. Did she fear that moment we kissed as much as it excited me? She was like a wild animal, one whose power had been threatened, and now she fled from me, and I wondered if she was afraid she’d lose more of that dark magic to me. It’s what I’d hoped for—that I could spool her back into herself and away from the darkness. It seemed her Wolf form was a conduit for that change. I wondered if she’d never shift again.
I sat on the settee with my head in my hands, losing all manner of hope when she didn’t return one day and then the next. I couldn’t just bake and read and pretend everything was normal. I didn’t want to be cooped up in a castle alone.
When I heard the rustling sound of movement, hope reignited in me. Maez had finally returned. But when I lifted my head, I saw six soldiers spilling from the stairwell and fanning out over the room. My heart leapt into my throat as I spotted their fawn leathers, inky black buckles, and the bursting suns carved onto their hammered bronze armor.
Onyx Wolves.
I shot to my feet, eyes widening with alertness as I held up my hands. They didn’t even try to hide their approach, knowing I was outnumbered.
“What is happening?” My frenzied voice trembled as the soldiers circled me.
“Where is the sorceress?” the head one, judging by the crest of his helmet, asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.” My eyes darted between the six of them. They had curving metal blades, scythe-like, that I was certain were sharp enough to cut my head clean from my body.
“Well then, we’ll just be taking you,” he said, lifting his blade to point it at me. “The Crimson Princess. Her mate.” His eyes scanned up and down my body with a hunger that made my stomach curdle. “You will make an excellent little piece of bait to lure the beast back out of hiding.”
“No.”
“No?” He balked. “You might be a royal, girl, but this isn’t a negotiation.”
My lip curled and I wondered if I could take on six soldiers on my own. I bet Calla could. I bet they were fierce enough to take on ten times the number. But I was given only the basics of fight training. I was taught how to use my wits and looks to get what I wanted. And I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to charm my way out of this one.
“Let’s go,” the head solder said, beckoning me with his sword. When I didn’t move, he smiled. “Or we could do this the hard way?”
It was clear which one he preferred.
My mind spiderwebbed out, thinking of every possibility. I had three exits from this room—four, if I counted the window. It was a steep fall, but we’d just had a snowstorm, and as long as the powder wasn’t too iced over, I could make it...
Too risky. I’d just as likely impale myself on an icicle as I would escape.
The upper stairwell led to a long hallway where these soldiers would probably outpace me before I could lock a door behind me. The stairwell the soldiers came up was narrow and twisting and currently blocked by a hulking soldier. If I could lure them away...
No, that would have to be the backup plan.
The best option was the bathing chamber to my left. I could lock the door and then climb out the window. The soldiers would certainly be able to knock the door down, but it would give me enough time to escape.
I licked my lips and swallowed, knowing this could end very badly for me, knowing the Briar before would’ve bowed her head and played the part of a good little puppy in order to be treated more kindly by her new captors. But I was done being a puppet, let alone a puppy. What had it ever got me? First Nero, then Evres, now the Onyx pack wanted me for their own plans—first as a bride and now as bait.
No more.
“Let’s go,” the head soldier said again as his comrades at my back pressed in closer. I looked to the grand stairwell. “Don’t,” he warned.
