The commotion that Madelynn and Axil made at the north end of the wall allowed us to slip into the storm drain and pop out inside the city undetected. I had no pointed ears to hide, neither did Kailani, so it was just Raife who had to keep his long white hair and sharp tipped ears disguised under a hat while we were inside the human city.
There were shouts of alarm along the upper castle wall and the residents were running about quickly, closing up shops as warriors mounted horses for war. We mimicked their frantic movements, rushing through town towards an industrial area.
“What is the extent of your powers now?” Kailani whispered. “Can you make someone unlock a door or give us keys?”
Panic washed over me at the thought that getting my brother back might hinge on my using a power that I had held for a grand total of one day. “Doubtful, but I could freeze them until you stole the key,” I told her honestly.
She nodded. “That would work.”
“You think the queen is experimenting on him?” Raife asked his wife as we jogged towards the giant buildings. But his words made me stumble and I had to steady myself as I followed them, worried what Kailani’s answer would be.
“I do. I think she wants his wolf magic,” she stated and that caused my panic to increase. “Or she knows he is the new wolf queen’s brother, and wants him as a hostage. In which case he would be in the dungeon.”
Okay, that was even more terrifying.
We kept our heads down and weaved in and out of the streets until we stood before a large brick building with giant glass windows. There were two guards patrolling the front, each holding a harpoon spear type of weapon that glinted in the light.
Kailani looked to me. “Show time.”
I steeled myself as she walked right through the gates and up to the men. They gripped their weapons, raising them slightly as she approached and I concentrated on freezing them from further movement. I envisioned them frozen like statues and then used the king’s magic to throw it over them. Their limbs ceased moving, but they were also unable to speak.
Kailani looked left and right at the passing people and reached into one of the guards’ waist belts from where she produced a set of keys.
Slipping them into her pocket, she looked back at me. “Make them walk to the side of the building with us.”
Walk them! I wasn’t sure I could do that. Already I could feel them fighting me. It was like someone pushing back at me physically. Holding on to the power, I envisioned them walking forward and both of the guards lurched onward, knocking into Kailani and causing her to yelp.
A few people glanced in our direction and we smiled nervously. The guards looked like they had sticks up their butts, walking in a jerky abnormal pattern.
Raife rushed to the side of one guard and linked his arms through to steady him and Kailani did the same with the other. This did not look natural and any passersby would think they were drunk.
“Sorry,” I whispered as we all made our way away from the front of the building to the side where there was no one watching. We were shaded by the structure now and completely hidden by the fence.
The guards’ eyes were wide and I felt slightly bad that I was controlling them this way, but knowing they could be guarding a building my brother was in, I got over that guilt quickly.
Kailani looked at me and then cracked one of the guards over the head with a small rock she’d been hiding behind her back. He crumpled to the ground and then she repeated the action with the next one. Raife appraised his wife with pride and then they both made quick work of tying the guards’ hands behind their backs.
“Okay, we don’t have much time. Let’s check inside and if Oslo’s not there … they will have him in the dungeon,” Kailani said.
I frowned. “The raid just happened last night: what if they are still traveling back on foot?”
Axil got the news just after it happened and Fallenmoore was at least a day’s journey on foot—
“They have flyers. Humans with metal wings. I’m sure they flew him here as he’s a high-value target,” she said and I swallowed hard, not wanting to believe they already had my little brother and might be experimenting on him.
Keys in hand, Kailani ran for the side door and unlocked it. She seemed like she knew her way around this building and I was grateful. Raife and I slipped inside after her and I noticed we were in an open hallway lined with closed doors. The elf queen ducked into a room to the right and emerged wearing a white coat.
“Head down, patient,” she told me and handed Raife the other coat and a clipboard.
Oh. Right. I would act like a patient in this … whatever it was. A place they stole our magic? The thought gave me the shivers, but it was good thinking if we were caught.
I heard a few voices up ahead and Kailani hooked her hand under my elbow as I held my arms behind my back in a mock cuffed fashion. Then she marched us forward with confidence. This woman was full of more courage than I’d given her credit for when I’d first met her. I’d mistaken her kindness as a submissive weakness. I was wrong. And I was so grateful she was here with me now because I was feeling anything but confident.
We entered a main room where two others in lab coats were making hot tea and chatting easily. Kailani walked past them and they barely glanced in our direction. Only when we entered another hallway did one of them call after us.
“Hey, where are you taking that patient?” the woman questioned.
Kailani froze, not looking back. “Do you know which room Oslo Swiftwater is in? The little wolf boy from Fallenmoore?” she asked over her shoulder.
My heart hammered in my chest at her bold question.
“Who?” the woman in the lab coat called out. “We don’t have any wolves right now.”
That was a relief and also a worry. Where was he?
“Hey, who are you?” the woman demanded and I spun round, throwing my magic over her and her male counterpart and freezing them both mid stride.
“He’s not here,” I whined as Raife and Kailani subdued and tied up the two physicians.
Kailani looked worried. “Then there is only one other place he would be. I have to get you into the castle.”
She motioned that we head back the way we came and my heart fell. I wanted him to be here. I wanted this to be easy.
We stepped outside to where the two unconscious guards were. Kailani stripped down to her undergarments and put on the guard’s uniform. Raife did as well, tucking his hair into a bun and shoving it deep into his hat.
“What’s your plan, my love?” he asked her, strapping his bow over his back.
She looked up at him. “We arrest her, bring her in and say we have captured the wolf queen.”
Raife’s face fell. “They could kill her. Or strip her magic.”
Kailani swallowed. “I know, but it’s the only way I know how to get her inside. The palace is heavily guarded, we will be lucky if we are not recognized and caught while handing her over.”
“Do it,” I commanded. I didn’t care what happened to me, I just needed to be with my brother.
Raife turned to face me. “You have the king’s power right now. If Zaphira puts you in one of her machines, then she will have it too. She could control everyone. We can’t let that happen.”
I nodded. “If she brings me towards any machine, I will turn my fingers to claws and cut my own throat out before I give her my magic. I swear it.” Kailani looked horrified at my suggestion but Raife nodded as if he were pleased with that answer. I knew the cost of what I carried and that it could never fall into enemy hands. I just prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
“I’ll find my way into the castle and protect you,” Raife told me but I knew it was an empty promise. No one could give me such an assurance but I appreciated it nonetheless. My mind wandered to what Axil and Madelynn were doing right now. Had they retreated? Were they hurt? Had they come inside the city walls to look for us? That would be crazy. I just hoped they were alive.
Kailani shook her head. “For all the work we did to bring the kingdom together in the war, I can’t believe it’s up to just the three of us to do this.”
Raife nodded. “It was always going to be me that killed her.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small clear vial and I frowned.
“Colorless, odorless poison. I have dreamed about Zaphira choking on it since I was fourteen.”
Wow, that was dark, and yet I totally approved. “If she’s in there, go for it. Don’t worry about me,” I told him. “I’ll get my brother out.”
Kailani pulled me in for a hug and then kissed her husband chastely. We all knew the likelihood of us surviving this was not great.
“Okay, Zara gets Oslo out, Raife tries to kill the queen, and I’ll be on hand if either of you fail so that I can finish the job,” she announced.
I grinned at that; she had totally grown on me.
With that, Kailani used the handcuffs from her guard uniform to cuff my wrists in front of me. I hung my head forward and she and Raife marched me out of the fenced-in area and over to the main road. The streets were sparsely populated now; everyone had run into their homes seemingly due to the commotion at the front gates.
We walked down a few more roads and then hung a right. I flicked my gaze up to see a giant palace with large columns in front of it. It loomed up ahead and my stomach tied into knots. There were over two dozen guards, fully armed, standing beside each column. The wind rushed past us and I wondered if it was due to Madelynn and Axil fighting out front.
By the time we reached the first guard at the palace steps, I was a ball of nerves. This was a lot of people to try and control if things went badly. He saw us approaching and broke his formation to meet us before we could get any closer.
“Are you new? Prisoners don’t get held here unless we are told to do so by the queen herself,” the man said to Raife. “You need to go to the lock-up on Spring Street.”
Raife reached out and grasped the sides of my jaw, forcing me to look up at the guard. “Are you dumb? This is the queen of Fallenmoore. We just captured her trying to infiltrate the west wall.”
I built up a deep wolfy growl in my throat to add proof to his claim and the soldier paled as he looked down at my cuffed hands. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a separate pair of cuffs and then yanked me from Kailani’s grasp. The second set of cuffs closed around my skin and I knew the moment they touched me that something was wrong. My wolf suddenly felt… very far away.
“You don’t use human cuffs on a magic user,” he hissed at both Kailani and Raife. With a key, he unlocked the older set of cuffs so that only the newer ones remained.
Human cuffs. That meant … these newer ones were made for magic users?
I pulled on my wolf, just a little bit, to see if I could get her to come to the surface.
Nothing.
Full-blown panic rose up inside of me and I tried to use the king’s power, forcing the man before me to take them off.
Nothing.
“No!” I whimpered and yanked at my wrists, looking up at Kailani with alarm.
I could see her fear just below the surface but she was hiding it, playing her part.
“My bad. Should we drop her off with the lead guard in the dungeon?” Kailani asked.
The man before us had short cropped blond hair and he looked Kailani up and down. “Can you handle that?” he questioned her, since clearly she’d messed up my cuffs.
In one swift move Kailani kicked my knee out and I fell to the ground with a shout. Raife then hooked under my armpit on my left side and Kailani on my right so that they were dragging me. “I can handle it.” She blew the guard a kiss and he grinned.
I let my legs go limp, dragging behind me as Raife and Kailani pulled me across the front castle steps.
We passed over two dozen guards and I prayed no one would recognize the elf king’s magnificent golden bow strapped to his back. Other guards had bows but they were black with chunky steel.
It felt like it took us forever to reach the front doors of the castle and walk inside. When we stepped into the open entryway it was even busier than outside. Warriors rushed about shouting directions and asking for help at the front wall.
Madelynn and Axil were giving them Hades.
It made me grin.
Kailani herded us down a hallway and then we were alone, suddenly descending a stone staircase.
“I’m so sorry, Zara, did I hurt your knee? I panicked,” Kailani whispered as she helped me stand properly so I could walk.
I shook my head. “You did great. I’m not hurt and if I was, I heal fast so don’t worry about it.” It was true, she’d gotten us all inside which was a miracle.
“Was the flirting necessary?” Raife asked and I sensed his jealousy, which caused me to smile slightly.
“Yes, I think it was. I got us inside, didn’t I?” she snapped back.
We reached the bottom steps and the damp smell of a musty dungeon reached my nostrils. Plus one other thing.
Oslo.
His scent was faint, but it was here.
“My brother,” I whimpered.
Kailani grasped my upper arm tightly and then looked at her husband. “Get your revenge, my love. I’ll help Zara and meet you outside the wall.”
Raife looked shocked then, like he hadn’t actually believed this day would come. He was here, inside the private castle of the Nightfall queen herself.
He nodded, leaning in to kiss her. “I love you,” he whispered and then he disappeared back up the steps.
Kailani stood still, yanking on my cuffs and grunting in desperation. “I don’t really know what these are or how they work. I can’t get them off,” she said.
“I don’t care. Take me to my brother. He’s scared, I can smell it,” I urged her.
With that we walked into the open hallway and then into a larger room surrounded by cells in a circular shape.
At first glance, they all appeared full. When my gaze landed on my brother, head hung low as he hugged his knees, I screamed.
“Oslo!” I ran for him but Kailani hauled me backwards, hard. The two guards who stood in the center of the circular room looked up then.
“Who’s this?” one of them asked, pulling his knife from his belt.
“Zara Swiftwater, wolven queen.” Kailani told them with pride.
He stepped over to me and looked down at my wrists, seemingly to check my cuffs. Then he glanced over at Oslo’s cell. “Is that fella who just came in her son?”
Kailani shrugged. “How should I know? I just found her breeching the wall. Queen wants her locked up down here, I assume.”
My son. Did I look that old?
“You assumed correct.” A powerful female voice entered the room and Kailani went pale, like she’d seen a ghost.
I felt my own inner fear ramp up a notch as the Nightfall queen herself walked into the room. I didn’t need to know what she looked like to know who she was. She oozed power. Covered head to toe in red leather, she walked like an alpha, chin tipped high as she held our gaze.
“Cuff her. She’s not a guard and she’s very powerful,” the queen ordered the guard as she watched Kailani.
The guard scrambled to get the cuffs off his belt and that’s when Kailani went berserk. She rushed towards the queen, puckering her lips and sucking the air from the room. I didn’t understand what was happening, maybe this was her power? But either way I was going to rush the queen with her. Both of us could definitely take her to the ground. Even as a human with my hands tied behind my back, I was still a powerful fighter.
One second I was turning in Zaphira’s direction and the next a funnel of wind picked me up and threw me against the far wall. Oslo screamed as I cracked my head on the stone, slinking to the ground in confusion.
The queen held her hands out, a wind funnel filling the room as she laughed madly. She had fae power? Kailani was on the floor beside me and the guard was affixing the cuffs to her hands. It all happened so fast I barely understood what Zaphira had just done. She had thrown a wind bomb at us.
The Nightfall queen smiled. “You know I realized it wasn’t that I wanted to expunge the realm of all magic users,” she said and then it started to snow inside the room. She was displaying her variety of powers and I felt sick knowing she’d stolen this from good people. “I just wanted to be one,” she added and then a blinding flash of light pulsed in the room, causing my eyes to squint shut.
Footsteps neared and then I smelled her right beside me but my vision was black. She’d blinded me, hopefully temporarily. “But there is one gift I have been waiting to acquire,” she whispered in my ear then stroked my cheek, pressing her warm fingers against the side of my face. “A powerful alpha wolf.”
I snapped my head to the right and took in as many fingers as I could into my mouth, then I bit down.
Hard.
Warm coppery blood gushed over my tongue as my canines severed one of her fingers and then the queen’s blood-curdling scream rang throughout the room.
I spat the finger onto the ground, laughing manically in the hopes that she would fear I was mentally unstable. Cyrus would approve.
“My finger!” she bellowed in a guttural scream. “Get me a healer.”
Shapes started to dance before my eyes as my vision slowly returned, and I prepared myself for her retaliation. Some dark shape sailed towards me and before I could decipher what it was, there was a crack to the side of my head and once again, blackness overtook me.
