But I can see the truth in his face. She’s slipping away. And without a proper healer, without someone who can actually heal her instead of just slowing the bleeding—
The door bangs open again. A senior healer rushes in, summoned by someone, her eyes going wide at the carnage.
“Do whatever you have to do,” I command, moving aside. “Whatever it takes.”
She immediately drops beside Daciana, her hands already glowing. “She’s too far gone,” the woman whispers. “I can’t save her.”
“I can.” Kieran falls to his knees and touches Daciana’s neck, his wolf in his eyes, his lips moving as he begins to chant in a foreign tongue I do not understand. The air in the room grows frigid, and I can feel the hair on my arms rise as his magic brushes against me.
After a full minute, he stops and removes his hand, which is covered in Daciana’s blood. “You can save her now.”
The healer gapes at him before looking down at the warrior, whose chest is moving slightly. The healer whispers, “Thank you.”
Kieran addresses Lucian and me now. “The rot. I can track them through the rot.”
Hope flares, hot and desperate. “How? What do you mean?” I ask him.
“Necromancy leaves a signature.” His hands begin tomove in intricate patterns, magic gathering around his fingers. “Death corrupts everything it touches. The air, the ground, the very fabric of reality. It rots.” His eyes meet mine grimly. “And rot always leaves a trail.”
Lucian moves closer, his power still crackling beneath his skin. “You can follow it?”
“Yes.” Kieran’s jaw tightens. “But we need to move fast. The longer they have the Queen, the more dangerous this becomes.”
“Then, go.” The King’s command comes across harsh, desperate. “Lead the way.”
Leon looks up from where he has been helping the healer with Daciana. Blood stains his hands, his shirt. “I’m coming with you.”
“No,” Lucian tells him. “You stay here. Coordinate a search of the palace. Make sure every inch is covered.”
“Your Majesty—”
“That’s an order.” Lucian’s eyes flash. “Someone needs to keep an eye on the palace while we’re gone. That someone is you.”
Leon’s jaw works, both fury and frustration clear on his face. But he nods. “Find them. Bring them home.”
“We will.” I’m already heading for the door. “Kieran, let’s move.”
We race through the palace, guards scrambling out of our way. Kieran leads us to the eastern courtyard, his hands still weaving those strange patterns, magic pulsing with each gesture.
“There.” He points toward the forest beyond the palace walls. “The rot is strong. Recent.”
My wolf surges forward, demanding I shift, demanding I hunt. “How far?”
“A couple of miles. Maybe more.” Kieran’s expression darkens. “They’re moving fast. Faster than any normal person can travel.”
Because Selene isn’t normal anymore. Something else is wearing her skin, using her body like a puppet.
The thought makes rage burn through my veins.
“We shift.” Lucian is already stripping off his shirt. “We track them down, and we end this.”
I don’t need to be told twice. The transformation tears through me—bones cracking, muscles reforming. My wolf explodes out of me, larger and more vicious than usual, fueled by fury and fear.
Kieran shifts beside me—his wolf massive, silver-furred and ancient. Lucian’s shift is instantaneous, his black wolf radiating power that makes the air crackle with electricity.
We run.
The forest blurs around us, branches whipping past as we follow Kieran’s lead. His nose stays low to the ground, tracking something I can’t smell, can’t sense. But I trust him. I have to.
