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Letting out a long breath and pushing my ever-escaping hair back out of my face, I moved to help another refugee. There were only a few left.
I'd just taken a step when a loud boom shook the entire structure.
Fuck! More explosives?! Once they'd gotten in, we'd thought we were safe from those. That likely meant they'd figured out we were down here …
"Go!" shouted Alpha Blackwood. "Get everyone out!"
Healthy shifters picked up the remaining injured, and we ran for the exit.
Tye hoisted a slumped Jaiel to his shoulders and motioned with his chin toward the tunnel. "Let's go."
Nodding, I ran over and waited for him to enter, then ducked in behind him, clambering into the dusty stone tunnel as quickly as I could.
Alpha Blackwood tapped a button in the stone as he crawled in, and a stone door that looked like a wall closed behind us.
We moved in the darkness for what felt like hours, squeezing through portions that had partially collapsed, and across sections of the passage flooded with stagnant water. Until finally, we stumbled outside.
Cool night air brushed against my skin as I took a deep, steadying breath. And far in the distance a wolf howled.
We made it! The tunnel had led to a break in the forest right outside the stone wall surrounding the town.
Tye waited nearby, his yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight with Jaiel still slug over a shoulder.
"Help me, Kaiya?" Alpha Blackwood growled, gesturing to the passage.
Nodding, I helped him place stones and brush over the exit, hopefully delaying anyone from stumbling upon our route and giving chase.
He gestured to the forest in the direction of Dragon's Peak. "If we run, we should make it to the stronghold by sunup."
I nodded as something passed above, blocking out the moonlight for a moment.
My heart thumped, and I lifted my gaze to see a large shadow moving against the dark sky.
A few pinpricks of light lit up the sides, and there was a slight glow on a white, curved surface.
Was that an airship?! Holy hells!
We stared as the large ship disappeared behind the trees, heading for the front of the stronghold.
If an airship was coming here, that could only mean one thing —
"Frexin?" Tye asked, putting words to my fears.
I nodded as my mind spun.
"How do you know the Reaper?" Alpha Blackwood asked, voice hard.
"The Reaper?" I hissed.
The older man nodded and turned to Tye. "I think it's time you told me what you're doing here, son."
Tye looked to me and then to Alpha Blackwood. "Lady Frexin sent Kaiya and Jaiel to this Isle for a mission. I followed them … hunting her. But we've all stumbled into some dark project she's keeping secret from the Empire under the supervision of that mage. I — we were not aware, Alpha, and I'm sorry for the pain it's caused your people."
The hairs on my arms stood on end, and a chill ran up my spine as Alpha Blackwood watched us, unmoving, unblinking.
After what felt like an eternity, he nodded.
"I thought I was keeping her at bay, but it would appear the Reaper fooled me as well," he said. "Turning my son against his pack like that was unexpected."
