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His stomach frayed and his heart quaked. “Ash, I…” he began, but Ashwood shook his head.
“I already know,” he replied, his hand against his chest, his voice watery and strained.
A strong hand gripped Bellamy’s arm, holding him back, and Madam Langley said close to his ear, “You must let him go. For now. The reason will become clearer in another moment.”
Before he could process her words, they were gone, and Bellamy felt as if his entire world had crumbled.
Chapter 24
“Why did you let him…I must go to Ashwood,” Bellamy said, pacing the room like a caged animal, a renewed fire inside him. “I cannot leave him vulnerable and exposed to that vile…creature.”
He didn’t know how or what he planned to accomplish, but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. He would regret it the rest of his life.
“Of course you must,” Madam Langley replied to his utter astonishment. He thought for certain she would argue and protest. But perhaps she was only appeasing him, knowing how helpless he felt.
“You belong with him,” Madam Fairborn said, her hand cupping his shoulder. “Do you see that now?”
Bellamy nodded because he did. It had never been clearer than now. He didn’t want to take a suppressant to stifle his wolf, and he didn’t want to live another day without Ashwood. And despite Ashwood leaving with Kipling, he knew it was only to save him and the others. But it was Ashwood who needed saving now.
“He needs you as much as you need him.” Madam Fairborn leaned closer to him. “Which is why I’ve given you both a fighting chance.”
“What do you mean?” Bellamy’s gaze sought hers.
“There was Dragon’s Blood in the tea,” she whispered. “A deadly amount.”
He gasped. Kipling had been none the wiser, drinking generously from the cup, emptying it… “But wolves can heal themselves.”
When Bellamy had ingested doses of Dragon’s Blood in the tonic meant to cure the sickness, he’d already been taking the suppressant, and it made his wolf doubly weak. But how would it affect a healthy, more spirited wolf like Kipling?
“Soon enough, it will begin taking effect.” Madam Langley nudged him toward the staircase. “So now you must use your baser instincts and go after them.”
“Thank you…for everything…”
With renewed confidence, he scrambled toward the door, not wanting to get too sentimental, despite not knowing how it might end for him. Still, he had to try. At least get Ashwood to agree to leave with him. After that, he was out of ideas, and they would likely always be on the run, but at least they’d be together.
“Wait!” The voice belonged to Oscar, who came rushing into the room. Bellamy thought he must’ve been close by, listening, or he wouldn’t have appeared so stricken. “Be careful. I don’t want you to die after we finally saved you. And neither would Ashwood.”
“Turns out I’d rather die this way than any other,” he said with a watery smile.
“Glad you finally came to your senses.” Oscar swiped at a tear. “I shall hold my breath until I hear word of your safety.”
“So will we,” the twins said, now standing behind Oscar.
“How did you…? Did Oscar…?”
“It turns out Oscar’s embellishments are actually true some of the time.” Sparrow smirked. “He didn’t break his word. We’d already pieced most of it together.”
“Now go save your beloved,” Wren said and kissed his cheek.
Bellamy marveled at their restraint, given all the questions they must’ve had. But he didn’t have time to worry about any of that. “Before I forget,” he said, removing his mother’s ring from around his neck and handing the chain to Oscar. “This belonged to my mother. Will you keep it safe for me?”
Oscar’s eyebrows rose, and he pulled Bellamy into an embrace, apparently choked up at the sentiment. “You can count on me.”
“He must go,” Madam Langley urged, and they broke apart. “There isn’t much time.”
With one final glance over his shoulder, he ran down the steps and out onto the street, immediately realizing he had no way of figuring out which direction they’d headed. So he did the only logical thing—he ran toward the forest. One way or another, they would always end up beneath the canopy of trees.
But with each step he felt less confident he could even locate them. Once past the gambling hall—which reminded him too much of the one in Beggar’s Hole—he took a short break and leaned against a building. As he tried to get his thoughts in order, he began to doubt himself. What made him think he could help? He was woefully inept at being a human, let alone a wolf.
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes in an attempt to calm himself.
All at once, his senses felt on high alert. Perhaps the combination of the suppressant leaving his system and his time as a wolf brought everything into sharper focus. If he listened closely, he could hear a woodpecker thumping its beak against the trunk of a pine tree, smell the fresh bread lining the bakery shelves… He felt warmth spread through his stomach as something else layered over that scent.
