She swiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then forced herself to move. Her fingers dove into her satchel until they closed around a bundle of dried white oak bark.
“Can you boil some water?” she asked, voice hoarse.
Leywani nodded. Alena pressed the herbs into her hands. “Boil these until the water runs red. Then get her to drink three cups—slowly.”
The younger slave girl took the bark and hurried out.
“Will it save her?” Leywani asked.
Alena didn’t answer right away. Her throat clenched as she looked down at San—so still, so pale, her life flickering like a dying flame. “No. But it’ll ease the pain.”
Leaving her satchel behind, she rose. Phoebe stood watching from the doorway, one brow lifted in silent question.
Alena swallowed and steadied her voice. “The soldiers found out Kaixo is half Non-Human. They dragged him to their camp. I’m going to get him back.”
“No,” Phoebe said at once. “Absolutely not. You’ll be caught before you even reach him.”
Alena’s jaw clenched. They didn’t have time to argue. “If you think I’d leave Kaixo behind, then you really don’t know me at all.” She forced herself to think past the fury pounding in her chest. “We’ll use the wolves as a distraction, like we planned, and sneak in to save him.” Her gaze locked on Phoebe. “Either way, I’m not leaving without him.”
“Alena…” Phoebe’s face hardened. “You’re the Omega?—”
“I knowdamnwell who I am and what I’m supposed to do!” Alena’s voice cracked. Her fists trembled at her sides. “But the Omega is also a beacon of hope in the darkest times, and that’s exactly what I’ll be tonight.”
Phoebe shook her head, her tone softening. “You can’t save them all.” Her gaze drifted to San’s broken form, and something caved inside Alena’s chest.
“No,” she whispered fiercely, “but I can save one child.”
A long beat passed. Then Phoebe exhaled, shoulders sinking in defeat. “You’re as stubborn as your mother.” She turned towards the exit. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Behind them, Leywani, silent until now, startled. “Alena! Where are you going?”
“To the soldiers’ quarters,” she said without hesitation. “I’m bringing Kaixo back.”
Leywani’s eyes widened. “What? That’s madness! I’ll come with you.”
“No. I need you to stay with San.” She cast a final glance at her unconscious friend. “If things go south, no one will know you were involved.”
“But how will the two of you get the boy? The camp counts at least fifty guards and soldiers!” Leywani’s voice rose, her features pinched with worry. “It doesn’t make sense. And where’s Kat? Isn’t she with you?”
The question hit like a punch to the gut. Memories of the Green Mountains’ hillfort crashed into her—memories that made her heart ache.
Alena forced a smile. “Kat isn’t here.”
To Leywani, Katell had always been the warrior—the protector. The one people looked to in moments like this. But many things had changed since Alena had left the Freefolk Lands. And it was time the Rasennans learned just what that meant.
“But don’t worry,” she added, voice steady. “I have an army of wolves with me.”
“There’s only a handful keeping watch,”Phoebe whispered, crouched behind a tent. Her breath curled in the frigid air. “It’s like they don’t even consider the possibility of an attack from the outside. Clearly, we’re in luck.”
Alena nodded. The cold had seeped through her boots, numbing her toes, stiffening her legs. But it wasn’t only the chill anchoring her in place—it was the tension coiling in her chest.
The soldiers’ quarters loomed ahead, wedged between the two watchtowers at the main gate. Everything about them was meant to intimidate: squat stone halls that dominated the centre, a ring of timber barracks, cleaner, sturdier than thecrumbling slave quarters, and stables brimming with horses and livestock. Towering canvas tents flanked the gate, their hulking forms casting long, ominous shadows across the trampled earth.
Alena closed her eyes and reached out with her Gift. The tether to Apollo pulsed with quiet strength. The wolf was still on the move, weaving unseen through the night. He swept the camp: two men in each tower, one at the gate, a dozen clustered in a hall, eating and talking. The rest… asleep.
Then—a spark of recognition.
Kaixo.
