“No,” I whimpered, not wanting to know whatever it was that had made Axil look as if he’d seen death.
Tears filled his eyes and his bottom lip quivered. “Last night, Queen Zaphira sent an army of necromerian raiders to Fallenmoore. She must have been watching—”
“Axil, tell me!” I screamed, a sob already forming in my throat.
He released a shaky breath and looked me right in the eyes, his own still welling with tears. “Cyrus was killed and Oslo was taken.”
Nothing in this world could have prepared me for those words to come out of his mouth. My legs collapsed beneath me and everything went dark.
SPECIAL_IMAGE-images/svgimg0003.svg-REPLACE_ME
I came to in Axil’s arms a few moments later. Raife was there, some purple light glowing from his palm to my face as I blinked rapidly.
Why was I lying on the floor of the barn? Pure grief poured through me at the memory of what Axil had told me.
I sobbed and rolled onto my side as my wolf took over. I couldn’t be strong, not in my human form, it was too much to bear.
Cyrus. My sweet big brother. My coach. A husband. Father.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
But it was.
I welcomed the pain that the snapping of bones and ripping of muscles brought. It felt good in this moment. I wanted to feel hurt, it was better than feeling hollow. Like a huge gaping hole had opened in my chest.
Tipping my head up, I let loose with a gut-wrenching howl. I couldn’t help but wonder if Axil hadn’t claimed me last night if I would have felt Cyrus dying through the pack link. Something strong like that, a death, could be felt by all pack members. Maybe it was a small mercy I didn’t.
I expected Axil to take me into his arms, to try and sooth me with words but instead it was Raife who knelt before me, grasped the sides of my wolf’s face lightly and forced me to look into his gaze.
“I know,” he said calmly, eyes glowing with rage. “I hate that I know exactly how you feel but I do. Zaphira took my mother, father and all of my siblings from me in one fell swoop and I’ve waited years for this revenge.”
My wolf whimpered as I held his stare and I felt in that moment that he was the only one in the world who understood me and what I was going through.
“But you don’t have to wait years for your revenge, Zara,” he said. “You can get it now and you can save your little brother before she takes him too.”
Oslo. At the mention of his name, I sprang into a standing position, forcing Raife to let go of my face. The only thing that parted the dark clouds of my grief was the thought of my little brother.
“Ready?” Raife asked.
I nodded eagerly. If the Nightfall queen did have Oslo, she was about to learn that she’d messed with the wrong woman.
Just then the barn doors were thrown open and Kailani ran inside, panting. “I heard about your little brother getting taken. I know where the queen would hide him, and how to get into the castle.”
This had just become a rescue mission.
I looked up at Axil and he appeared conflicted for a moment. This changed everything, Oslo was taken – we had to save him first.
“Let’s do it,” Axil agreed.
Kailani rushed forward, making quick work of strapping the saddles to our backs. If she grew up in Nightfall City and knew the area like the back of her hand, then I needed her to get Oslo back. If we were to infiltrate the castle, she was our best bet.
“Where are your clothes for after you shift?” Kailani asked and I indicated to the pile of clothing in the corner. She scooped it up, stashed it in her bag and then leapt onto my back without fear.
I looked over at Axil, and he spoke into my mind using our newly formed pack link. ‘We’ll be able to communicate in wolf form. Leave the dangerous stuff to me and Raife, and you just worry about getting Oslo free.’
I dipped my head. ‘I will.’
With that, we stepped out of the barn and onto the snowy ground. Our small contingent of Royal Wolven Guards was waiting for us in a V pack formation. Axil nodded to them as he passed and they fell into line behind us. I tried not to allow my mind to wonder what I could have done differently to save Cyrus. Arwen and Drae had made so many runs last night getting the Royal Guard here, it was almost like the necromerians had waited until they were done before they attacked. The calculated ruthlessness of it made a flame of rage burn within me.
It had been snowing for hours and there was a permanent chill in the air which was to be expected in the Winter portion of the fae realm. I had thick wolf fur and the Mud Flats often got snow, so it didn’t bother me. The only thing on my mind was my little brother. I’d lost my parents, now Cyrus, I couldn’t lose him too.
It was about an hour’s sprint to the border. The fae, elvin and dragon peoples had done a wonderful job of coming together to amass a united front against the Nightfall army. I saw fae standing beside elvin folk and everyone working together. It was a beautiful thing given the circumstances, and I was proud our people were on their way to lend a hand.
Kailani was holding on to the saddle tightly so I rode fast and hard with Axil and Raife right beside us. When we reached the ice wall at the border, I steeled myself.
The necromerians were sailing over the wall only to be skewered by the elvin Bow Men.
‘How are we going to do this?’ I asked Axil, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
There were people dying left and right and blood-sucking necromerians stood in our way. I would have said that flying by air would be the best option but as I looked up, I saw the glint of metal wings. Their skies were littered with them. The Nightfall queen and her machines seemed to have no end to what they were capable of.
‘The Royal Guard and I will carve a path for you,’ Axil said and I trusted him enough to take him at his word. I had to think about my brother now, everything else was secondary.
Hold on, Oslo, I thought. If that madwoman hurt a hair on his head, I would skin her alive and all of her children too. I could not be trusted to remain reasonable where my family was concerned. If you harmed those I loved then all honor was dead and I wasn’t going to play by the rules. This was my game now and I intended to win. By the end of this day, I would either lie dead on the ground or the queen’s head would be stuck to a spike in the center of Nightfall City.
Nothing in between.
With a growl, I took off running and Axil followed. We gained speed and then, as if sharing one mind, we leapt up and over the giant ice wall together and landed in the center of the chaos below. The Royal Guard jumped high over the wall as well and settled at our side, fanning out to flank us.
The Nightfall warriors and the necromerians immediately turned their attention to us and I steeled myself.
But nothing happened.
They stood frozen like marble statues and I knew in that moment that Axil was controlling them.
“Now!” Raife cried, and a barrage of arrows rained down from the trees, piercing the frozen warriors in the chest. Our Royal Guard leapt from their positions and ripped out the throats of the necros.
It all was happening so fast I couldn’t process it.
“Go!” Kailani lightly kicked me with her heels, like you would a horse, and that got me moving. I bolted from the crowded space and through the woods, towards the center of their lands and where Nightfall City castle lay beyond. A great wind rushed past us and I assumed it was Madelynn for a second until I saw a human male with short-cropped ears running towards us with his arms outstretched.