I let out a chortle of disbelief. It was an unfathomable kindness for humans to knowingly harbor Wolves.
“The Silver Wolves have Sadie and Navin,” Hector said, cutting to the point. He shifted his weight back and forth, clearly eager to get moving.
“Aren’t they your pack?” Malou asked.
“Not since we disobeyed King Nero and followed Grae, no.” Hector snarled, a full Wolf snarl, and Mina gasped. “Look, we can explain later, but I’m sure they’re still in town looking for the rest of us. You need to hide and we need to get to them before they try to get answers out of Sadie.”
“Gods,” Malou cursed, touching her fingers to her forehead in prayer. “We’ll come with you.”
“No.” I held up my hand. “It’s too dangerous.”
“We want to help,” Ora insisted. “Let us.”
“Navin and Sadie are our friends, too,” Mina signed.
“We might not be good with weapons, but we can create a distraction,” Malou said with a wink. “Never trust a fiddle player around a pack of matches.”
Grae and Hector looked at me, waiting for me to make the final decision.
“Okay, fine.” I relented. “You can create a diversion. But if a Wolf is anywhere near, you run, got it?”
“Yes,” Malou said, leaping up and snatching her cloak off the back hook.
I looked at Ora as the others readied. They were the one I felt the most guilty for misleading. I hated to admit how close I’d become to Ora. They revealed a world to me I didn’t know existed. They opened up parts of my soul, too, and their disappointment would’ve shattered me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Ora took a step toward me and placed a hand on my arm, the gentleness making me want to crumble. “Wolf or no, Calla, you’re a good person,” they said. “I’m glad you see that humans can be good people, too.”
“Talk later,” Hector snapped, breaking our shared moment.
For all his bickering with Sadie, it was clear how much he cared for her, how panicked he was that she could be hurt. He looked ready to fight a whole pack by himself to protect her, and I realized my own feelings weren’t too far off that. We plunged back into the rainstorm, planning as we ran. What a strange group we were—humans and Wolves, running into danger together, to save our friends.
And yet maybe it wasn’t so strange—or, at least, shouldn’t be. If I got my throne, I’d make sure this was the way of Olmdere, at least.
Fur or skin, it didn’t matter. When someone we loved was in danger, we fought back.
Thirty-Three
A lone candle lit the window, signaling the Wolves’ presence at the far end of town. We crept through the outer streets, wading through calf-deep puddles to keep to the shadows. The rainstorm had eased to a fine mist that coated our faces as we prowled closer. The others broke off to the building across the street while Grae, Hector, and I snuck around the back.
I pointed a finger up to the darkened window next to the illuminated one. Grae crouched and put out his hands to give me a boost. He vaulted me upward with ease, and I hooked my elbows around the open window ledge. The rotten wood groaned as I anchored my leg and swung myself inside. I paused, listening to the low, mean growls of men talking in the adjacent room. I peeked out the window and gave Grae a nod. He took a step backward and then ran, leaping up to the window ledge and swinging himself inside in one swift movement.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his act of stealth and strength. The Gods were taunting me with this gorgeous Wolf. Hector appeared through the window before I could tell Grae as much, snapping our mission back into focus.
We tiptoed to the far wall, where flickers of candlelight flashed through the splintering boards. I pressed my eye to the widest gap, fighting the urge to gasp as I spotted Sadie sitting in the corner. Her wrists and ankles were bound, her face swollen and bloodied. Navin sat in mirror to her, panting as he rested his head against the wall.
Four Wolves loomed over them. Hemming, Soris, and the two others whose names I’d never bothered to learn. They were the same height as Hemming, but younger and leaner, looking the same age as me. They’d be the easiest to take down. Get them first and then we’d have a better chance against the others.
“Where are they, Sadie?” Hemming asked, storming up to her and smacking her in the face.
She didn’t answer and Hemming booted her in the gut. Sadie cried out, and Hector unsheathed the dagger on his hip.