He points to two Alphas standing near the front of the group. One is a woman, tall and broad-shouldered, with short-cropped dark hair and a scar running down her left cheek. She carries a massive sword strapped to her back and stands with the easy confidence of someone who has seen real combat. The other is a man, perhaps a few years older, with sun-weathered skin and hands that speak of years of wielding weapons. He is checking the straps on his armor with meticulous care, and I can sense the focused determination radiating from him even from this distance.
I nod cordially, as if this information means something to me. As if I care which of these strangers might survive long enough to try to claim me as their reward. "Impressive."
"They are some of our finest warriors," my father says with satisfaction. "If anyone can succeed where others have failed, it will be one of them."
I want to ask him why he keeps sending our finest warriors to their probable deaths. I want to demand to know what he thinks dragon gold will actually accomplish, whether it will bring my mother back or fill the emptiness that has consumed him since her death. I want to scream that his obsession is destroying our kingdom, one dead soldier at a time.
But I do not say any of those things. Instead, I simply smile and climb into my carriage, my bags clutched in one hand and my heart pounding against my ribs. A few odd glances arethrown my way as they catch my bare feet and my less than full attire. My current gown isn’t meant for the outdoors but it won’t stay on long anyway. I’ve packed better clothing for when we reach the edge of Valoria, including shoes that protect my feet from the harsh terrain.
I sag back against the plush interior, velvet cushions and silk curtains surrounding me. I have ridden in this carriage hundreds of times for various royal functions, always with Solace standing guard outside or riding alongside. It has never felt like a prison before, but it does now.
However, everything is planned. Solace will be riding with her own mare alongside my carriage now that I have joined the sendoff. And then, at the right time, I’ll slip out and continue onto the Shadowlands with my Beta at my side.
It’sperfect.
Until the opposite door I climbed in opens.
I look up, expecting perhaps one of the servants with a forgotten item or a last-minute message from someone in the castle. Instead, I find myself face-to-face with Solace, and she does not look happy.
She is dressed head to toe in black, as she always is. The fitted jacket and pants of her uniform hug her frame, designed for both mobility and protection. Today, though, she is wearing light armor beneath the jacket, pieces that will not restrict her movement if she needs to shift into her wolf form but will offer some defense against casual attacks. Her long black hair is pulled back from her face in a braid, her luminous dark eyes fixed on me with an intensity that makes my breath catch in my throat.
But it is not desire I see in those eyes right now. It is anger. Concern. Betrayal.
Sparks of blue flash in her eyes, her magic simmering just beneath the surface. Against every rule of protocol, Solaceclimbs into the carriage and sits down across from me before closing the door behind her, sealing us into this small private space. She leans forward, elbows on her knees, her voice dangerously quiet when she speaks.
"Explain."
Solace
Istare at Kaia and realize with startling clarity how close I am to strangling the princess. The urge is entirely inappropriate, but it’s there nonetheless as I sit across from her in the confines of her royal carriage. I only found out a minute ago that she planned to join the journey to the edge of Valoria, and even that discovery came by accident. I had been making my usual morning rounds, checking the perimeter and ensuring that all was secure before the procession departed, when one of the stable hands mentioned in passing that the princess had requested her own carriage be prepared for the journey.
The princess who has never, in all the years I have served as a guard, shown the slightest interest in seeing warriors off on their dragon hunt.
After our conversation last night, it does not make sense. We talked about this. We planned. Kaia was supposed to speak with her father, to negotiate, and seek his approval before embarking on any kind of trek across the Shadowlands. We were going to do this properly, with preparation and planning and the resources that would give us the best chance of success and survival.
But here she is, looking as sweet and innocent as ever, with that expression on her face that I have learned to recognize as trouble wrapped in beautiful packaging.
I try to read her face, searching for some explanation that will make this sudden departure make sense. My eyes drift to the stuffed bags sitting beside her on the velvet cushions, then down to her bare feet resting on the carriage floor.
She should be wearing proper footwear if she were truly planning to go only to the edge of Valoria to see the warriors off. She would be dressed more regally, more put together, presenting the image of the perfect princess supporting her father's grand quest.
Instead, she looks like someone preparing to slip away unnoticed.
My suspicion crystallizes into certainty, a mixture of confusion and worry flaring in my chest.
Kaia lets out a small squeak of surprise when I reach forward and grab the larger bag without asking permission. I pull it into my lap and open it, ignoring her protest as I examine the contents. Several kinds of cloths, a sturdy pair of shoes, changes of clothes, soaps, and a few medicinal herbs. This is not the packing of someone planning a half-day's journey to the border and back. These are supplies meant to sustain travelers for days, possibly longer.
"You are going to leave without asking, are you not?" The words come out harsher than I intend, but I cannot seem to soften them.
Kaia has the grace to look slightly guilty, but her chin lifts in that stubborn way I know all too well. "Father would never say yes. You know he would not. He would lock me in my room before allowing me to venture into the Shadowlands."
"So, instead you decided to slip away?" I set the bag aside, fighting to keep my voice level. "You can not just run from your kingdom, Princess. You have responsibilities here, people who depend on you."
"I am not running." Her eyes flash with that fire I love and fear in equal measure. "I am going to prove that I am capable of more than sitting in a tower waiting for some Alpha to decide my fate. And it will be fine because you are coming with me."
I laugh, but there is no humor in it. "Oh, am I?"
Kaia nods eagerly, and I can see her confidence growing now that the secret is out. "I made sure they hitched my horses to the carriage so I could take one, and I packed for you, too. I have everything we need, Sol. I planned this carefully." She pats the other bag and I know she’s done everything she believes she has to in order to make this trip successful.
