The Forbidden Wolf King: Kings of Avalier, Book 4(56)

“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?