Page 55 of Season Warriors & Wolves

“How did you manage that?”

The witch itched her cheek. “Paid Melanthe’s sister a visit in Venzor before we came here.”

“Come on, Silas could be back any moment now,” Elias said, lifting a cloth bag over my head.

“Is this necessary?”

The bastard grinned and slid it over my head.

Elias and Visha led us through the snow thick winter gardens and toward the back castle walls. No one stopped us. There was no one to stop us at all. “Where are all the soldiers?”

“V gave them orders to clear the area so the transport of our most prized prisoner could go unnoticed from anyone planning to break you free. And there is an attack in the city, Moregan took most of the guard with her. The others have already received word of an ambush on Silas in Eldmoor and are searching and clearing the city parameters before he returns.”

“Who has gone to Snow if you are here?”

“Thora and Oryn.”

That made me halt on the spot. “The fuck?”

Visha tugged on my chains, urging me to continue. “I see you have not had a chance to exercise much vocabulary these days.”

“Where is my brother? How did he allow her to go where all the big wolves are? They have the beast and Melanthe, Visha. Fuck, Silas has gone with them, too. This is ridiculous.”

“Lower your voice,” Elias murmured, looking around the rather empty city walls.

She glanced under her lashes at Elias. “The king is here.”

“What king?” There was a chilling silence between Visha and Elias. “Kilian is here?” No, no, this was what Silas wanted.

The witch nodded as we climbed through the spiral stairs leading to the top of the walls and into the blistering wind of the northern kingdom. “He planned it this way on purpose. Silas was going to use Vrammethen to get to Kilian. He’d set dark magic traps everywhere in the area of the unblessed continent for your brother, knowing he would be set on at least saving one of you. Moregan, the general, has taken our side and pointed us exactly where these traps were in Isjord so we were able to work around them. Vrammethen was another matter, but nothing that would affect Thora since she is an elemental and doesn’t rely on dark magic like your brother.”

A reply stuck in my throat when my eyes finally adjusted to the landscape ahead. It was almost frightening how snow had covered all that laid ahead, like it wanted to sink this miserable city under it.

A small, cloaked figure spun round, noticing our presence. The young girl beamed and ran the distance to me, jumping in my arms.

“Missed me, young Pen?”

She wiped a few tears with the back of her glove. “You can say so.”

“They got you on the big girl duties now?” Snow would have had a fit by now.

She nodded excitedly. “I've been training loads. Visha and I can break Melanthe’s magic now. It’s how we got inside the veil. Uhm, it was mostly Visha, but I did help.”

“You can tell him later, Penelope. Let’s go,” Visha urged, undoing my chains and finally freeing my limbs from the heavy metal. Magic surged through my bones like a hit of the most potent drug. And with that tide, so rose the buried voices of the dead that had not stopped whispering in my ears since I bloomed my unholy blessing. I’d almost enjoyed my time down there. Almost.

Isjordian soldiers began marching in our direction and Elias put a hand on my arm to stop me from drawing magic. “V has it under control. They are under her influence. No need to hurt them.”

And with death so came emotion. The cloud of shadows surrounding Elias was very confusing. “Are you regretting this? Betraying your kingdom?”

“No,” he said, “But I am regretting abandoning them under Silas’s rule.”

Horns blared all-round the city, louder inside the castle gates as Silas along with his most subservient soldiers marched inside. Their strides were long and angry, all of their movement reflected what they felt. Unbridled anger. Such dark anger. Anger that suddenly morphed and crawled right inside their owners to turn into surprise and almost fear.

Their squadron halted and unsheathed magic and metal in the direction of the castle doors—in the direction of…my brother. Every shadow in the vicinity shivered for a moment before going pin still, solemn and darker—a silent army that stood beside my brother.

What was he doing? Had the idiot gone insane at his delicate age?

Nothing. My brother was nothing and everything, a cloud of packed thunder and calm sea at the same time as he marched nonchalantly toward Silas.