“Can you make sure that everyone knows that information? The rebels weren’t present during the initial debrief, and they haven’t traveled this path.”
Seeing as the rebels had only recently arrived in Myrr, not that many had joined us, but there were enough to warrant spreading the news.
“Of course, my prince.” The ranger rode back, passing the word along as he went.
And so we continued, riding through woods, down uneven pathways. As the ranger said it would, the mountain road began to narrow bit by bit. I cast a glance into the trees when I caught Luccan stiffen in his seat.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
His nose, sensitive even by fae standards, lifted into the air as he sniffed. “Something is . . . musty. Like?—”
The neigh of a horse, followed by a guttural cry, cut him off. I twisted and swore.
“Direwolves,”I shouted as wolves that were half the size of my horse and with fangs the length of my smallest finger flooded the path. “At least thirty. More rushing from the trees.”
Qildor swung out of his saddle, and the rest of us followed. Our horses darted into the woods, fleeing the wolves as we ran toward the pack and the havoc they were wreaking upon our small force.
“Off the horses!” Luccan swung his sword as a wolf twice my size leapt from the trees. “Everyone, dismount!”
Releasing the horses into the woods wasn’t ideal, but they had good survival instincts and were well-trained to return. If we kept them in this cramped space, the wolves would go for them first. The soldiers of Myrr knew this too, but the rebels had been slower to dismount, not as used to direwolves. As a result, three steeds went down, their blood pooling in the snow. Two of the riders had already sustained injuries as well.
I spotted Thordur swinging his ax to protect one of the fallen rebels. His sister and Sayyida fought at his back as wolves closed in.
“Back to back!” I shouted. “Protect each other!”
Skeldatook down one wolf, then another. I stopped to scan the area as a massive wolf barreled out of the nearby forest. I braced for the impact, protecting my face and neck with my arms, just as an arrow speared through the beast’s skull.
“Incoming!” Thyra yelled, and Lasvin’s hooves slammed into the dead wolf.
I exhaled. “Good timing.”
“You think I’d let my sister’s mate die?” Thyra’s pegasus lifted higher into the air. Behind her, Astril and Freyia rode on gryphonback, both shooting at the wolves with vampiric speed and precision. “There are so many.”
Mountain packs were far larger than those in the flatlands of Winter’s Realm. But even for a mountain pack, this one was enormous. The initial thirty wolves had grown to what I estimated to be one hundred. The coordination of their attack told me they had likely been stalking us from afar.
“Not for long.” At my declaration, Thyra grinned and soared away, her white cloak a banner flying behind her. The vampires stayed near the ground, leaping from their mounts and switching to using their swords.
Wolf after wolf went down. Two of them put up a fight fit for the gods but went down by my sword all the same. In the fray, I spotted my mate, flanked by Sigri and Halladora, fighting wolves back into the trees. What felt like hours later, the ground ran red with the blood of direwolves and the few wolves that lived were racing away, seeking refuge in the woods.
“How many injured?” I shouted when the threat had passed.
Eight replies came back, two of them dire. One rebel had lost a foot, and a Balik soldier had sustained such a large injury that his innards had spilled out. The light left his eyes before the healers could try to perform miraculous magic.
In total, we’d lost fifteen lives to the wolves’ teeth and claws. The six who sustained only minor injuries still wanted to fight. Knowing they wouldn’t be of much use, I instead gave them instructions to return to Myrr. The soldier who had lost a foot had been stabilized and would join them.
“By the dead gods,” Isolde said as she and Arava landed, with Lord Balik following behind. “They weremerciless.”
“Direwolves always are.” I was so glad I hadn’t needed to worry about her during the fight. Direwolves were fierce predators, but wingless. “Stealthy, cunning, and they work together like few other creatures can, making them incredibly dangerous.”
“We didn’t see them fast enough.” Isolde sheathed Sassa’s Blade, the only Hallow traveling with us. Though Thyra had initially protested leaving it behind, the Frør Crown remained at Ramshold, guarded by Livia.
“They’re masters of blending into the forest.” Tadgh Balik watched the healers and the injured retreat the way we’d come.
“We’re lucky they didn’t take more,” I agreed.
Lord Balik gave his ground soldiers and the aerial unit commands to work together to find the horses. All the while, my mate stayed quiet. Listened and learned.
“How will this affect us later?” Isolde turned her gaze away from the dead to look up at me. Her violet eyes shone, wetter than normal, but she did not let the tears fall. I understood. To lead often meant putting on a brave face when you were drowning inside. Hoping to help my mate in some small way, I took her hand, squeezed it.
