As if he were an animal.
The sight snapped something loose inside her.
“Get away from him,” she hissed.
Apollo’s growl followed hers, echoing off the stone.
The soldier spun, confusion flashing into alarm. His smirk died as he fumbled for the dagger at his waist.
Too slow.
Alena surged forward, feet sure, and drove her blade into his gut with practised precision.
She didn’t share Katell’s hunger for battle, but Phoebe had trained her well. The soldier’s breath hitched, and his mouth opened in a soundless cry. Alena yanked the sword free. Blood sprayed across the floor as he collapsed.
Her hands trembled, but her grip held. She didn’t look away—not this time.
A snarl tore through the air—Apollo launching into the second guard. The man toppled backwards in his chair, his scream cut short as the wolf’s jaws closed over his throat.
Alena was already moving, her pulse racing. She dropped to her knees beside the first fallen soldier, rifling through his cloak until she found a set of keys.
“Kaixo!”
The boy’s brown eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice, wide and disbelieving. Then a huge grin broke across his bruised face. “Alena!”
Relief hit her so hard it almost knocked the breath from her lungs.
She crossed the room in three strides, falling to her knees before him. She cupped his battered face between tender hands and thumbed the dried blood from his cheek.
Her stomach twisted.
A gash split his brow, still bleeding, and angry bruises bloomed along his arms, his wrists raw where the shackles bit in.
“I’m here. I’ve got you,” she murmured, pressing the edge of her cloak to his temple. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Kaixo nodded, then shook his head—fierce, stubborn, brave in a way that made her throat tighten.
She swallowed hard and pulled him into her arms. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his matted hair. “I should’ve come sooner.”
His small arms wrapped around her waist, and for a moment, everything else faded.
She pulled back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Come on. We’re not safe yet.”
She worked quickly on the manacles binding his wrists. The metal was thick and biting, crusted with rust and blood. Apollo padded over, his muzzle still stained red, and gave a low, reassuring whine. Kaixo reached out with trembling fingers andscratched behind the wolf’s ears, a weak laugh slipping through his bruised lips.
The final shackle hit the ground with a dullclank.
Alena rose and helped him to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Despite his weakened state, he seemed capable of walking by himself, his Non-Human strength keeping him upright. Alena pressed a steadying hand on his shoulder, the other clutching her sword.
The night air seeped through his thin tunic, and his body trembled beneath her hand. She quickened their pace, Apollo scouting ahead. Around them, the camp erupted in chaos—soldiers shouting, wolves snarling, hooves pounding the dirt.
Alena pulled Kaixo into the shadows beside a barrack, sheltering him from the wind. She stripped off her own cloak and wrapped it around him. The heavy wool swallowed his small frame, but the shivering eased.
“Rest for a moment,” Alena whispered, brushing the matted hair from Kaixo’s forehead. His skin was clammy beneath her fingertips, but his breathing had steadied. She turned from him, grounding herself, and reached outwards—through the tether of her magic—to the wolves.
Magic pulsed, dozens of threads yanking taut at once.
