“I don’t know!” Sadie sobbed. “I ran off with the human. I broke off from them in Taigos. I don’t know where they are.”
“I’ve known you since you were a pup.” Hemming spat at her. “Your parents would be so disappointed you turned into a bloody skin chaser—even more so than disobeying your King. But here’s the thing: I don’t believe you. You think I’d accept you abandoned your pack for a human? You think I’m that stupid? Fine then. I know what will get you to talk.”
He whirled on Navin and kicked him so hard on the jaw that Navin’s eyes rolled back.
“Stop!” Sadie screamed. “Gods! Stop!”
Blood trickled from Navin’s temple as he blinked vacantly, trying to stay conscious. There would be no shifting for him, no magical healing. If they injured Navin badly enough, he wouldn’t survive his wounds.
“Hmm—maybe she does love this human piece of filth—”
“Hemming,” Soris growled, tipping his chin to the window above Navin’s head. “We’ve got a problem.”
Orange light flashed through the window.
“I guess we don’t have to find them after all.” Hemming chuckled, rubbing his hands together. “I knew they’d be foolish enough to try to save you, you lying bitch.” He turned to the two wolves behind him. “You two go find them. Bring them back here.”
The two younger Wolves darted to the door at his command.
“Do you think they’ll be able to take Grae?” Soris asked, looking in the direction they left.
“Grae is a good enough fighter, sure—I should know,” Hemming huffed. “I was the one who first put a sword in his hand. But him and Hector against Ax and Fedic? Against my boys? Not a chance.”
“A proud father of many strong boys. I thought you were already at the top of the heap, Hem,” Soris said with a low chuckle. “But look at you now. Your eldest is Nero’s heir. Evres will take Olmdere and you’ll have the wealth of two kingdoms at your fingertips.”
Grae’s fists clenched by his side.
Soris’s eyes stayed fixed on the far wall. “And Grae’s mate? Do you think they’ll find her, too?”
“She was trained to protect the Crimson Princess, but she’s never been battle-tested.” Hemming shrugged.
I shook my head, realizing I was still a nameless Wolf to them. King Nero wouldn’t tell anyone I was a Marriel, especially not after disowning Grae. My name would only legitimize Grae’s claim to Olmdere.
“Grae would never let his mate come along into battle,” Soris jeered. “She’s probably hiding in a hole somewhere.” Grae and I exchanged glances. I winked at him and his cheeks dimpled, his canines flashing.
“No matter,” Hemming said. “When we kill Grae, she’ll die, too.”
A predatory rumble shook from Hector’s throat at the threat. They were no longer planning on bringing us back for judgment. The orders must’ve changed the moment Aiden died. These Wolf guards were now assassins.
The sound of the two young Wolves’ footsteps faded away and Grae looked between us, signing, “Ready?”
Hector was all but coiled, waiting for that one word that would unleash him. I unsheathed my dagger and nodded. I took one last steadying breath and we crept out the doorway and into the hall. Grae stood in front of the shut door behind which Sadie and Navin were waiting. He tipped his chin up to the ceiling and Hector and I followed suit, our last prayer to the Moon Goddess, before his boot slammed into the door.
Splinters flew as the door snapped clean off its rusty hinges. The three of us barreled into the room, Grae aiming for Hemming as I turned toward Soris. With the element of surprise, I was able to slice across his bicep before he could grab his sword. He growled, jumping back from my next swing. I felt the whoosh of air just in time to duck under Hemming’s swinging fist as Grae kicked him backward.
“You.” Hemming seethed at me.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Hemming,” I said, choking up on the grip of my dagger. “But I don’t hide from a fight.”
“Then it will be more fun to kill you.”
With a bellowing shout, he shoved off the wall and charged forward. Grae intercepted him, forcing him to pivot to block the blow. Soris ran toward me, trying to use his dominating size to overpower me. But muscle and brawn only won a battle when combined with speed and tact. And the way he barreled toward me made it easy to sidestep and trip him.
He collided with the wall, barely having time to lift his hands to shield his face. His hand snaked out and snatched my ankle, yanking me to the ground. The air knocked out of my lungs as I slammed into the wood, my skull bouncing off the floorboards. With my neck craned back, I saw an upside-down Hector and Grae circling around Hemming. Despite it being two on one, Hemming was holding his own. His fist collided with Hector’s side and Grae just had time to dart out of the strike of his blade before attacking again. The chaos of their battle was cut short as Soris yanked me forward, grappling to pin me to the ground.
I bucked my hips, headbutting him square in the nose with enough force to hear it crunch. Using the whole weight of my body, I shoved him onto his back, thrusting my dagger down but hitting nothing but floorboard as Soris rolled to the side. I lurched back, scrambling to my feet and setting distance between us again. My chest heaved as I squared off with Soris, but before Soris charged at me, he pivoted and kicked out Grae’s foot, Grae’s attention too trained on Hemming.
Sadie growled as she struggled against her bindings in the corner, flailing across the floor to free herself, shredding at the ropes with her teeth. I felt her frustration but didn’t have time to help her at the moment.
Instead I shot forward, attacking with my dagger again as I heard the awful bark and thud of Hector hitting the floor, the shing of metal clashing. Sadie screamed her brother’s name. Fear roiled in me that, even as I kept my eyes trained on Soris, Grae and Hector might be losing their battle against Hemming. Soris shoved me backward and charged at me again. This time, I held for a split second longer before spinning, using my momentum to drive Soris’s skull into the wall.
Whether the impact rendered him unconscious or not, it didn’t matter. I whirled, following through with my dagger and stabbing him between his shoulder blades. I knew from his wet gasp that I had pierced his lung. He flopped to the ground as Grae’s dagger clattered to my feet. I spun just in time to see Grae’s bloodied face hit the floor. He crawled forward toward his weapon as Hector tried to hold off Hemming solo. King Nero’s right hand had proven why he’d claimed the title—his fighting prowess evident in his relatively unscathed features while he rained his wrath upon Hector’s brutalized body.
Blood dripped from the corner of Hector’s lip, one eye so swollen it was nearly shut. He swayed on his feet, his guard lowered—an easy target. Grae scrambled to his feet and we launched forward in unison, but we were too many strides away.