* * *
The wolf seta killing pace through the forest, yet his path was straight. It was evident he had a destination in mind, and had Annelise not known it was ridiculous, she would have sworn his manner was anxious. He moved so quickly that she guessed it was distant. He glanced at the sky, which Annelise eyed with no small trepidationherself.
The farther they traveled, the lower her confidence that she could return to the palace by nightfall. She was already uncertain that she could find her way back alone. There was no choice but to follow thewolf.
He gave a bark some moments later and she saw his wagging tail. He raced back to her side, gave her a nudge, then hurried ahead to a clearing. Annelise followed him as quickly as she could, then stopped at the sight of blood in thesnow.
A carcass had been dragged into the forest to her right and she went tolook.
It was a dead wolf, the arrow still lodged in itsthroat.
It had been eaten by its fellows and there was precious little left beyond the fur. Annelise staggered back into the clearing inrevulsion.
But the wolf nudged her again, leading her to the far side of the clearing. There in the snow were the imprints of horses’hooves.
Large shodhorses.
Annelise fell to her knees to examine the tracks, the wolf fast beside her. “A destrier,” she whispered, her hand hovering above one set of prints. “Fleeing tosafety.”
The wolf barked as if to agree with her, then pushed his nose into another set oftracks.
“A second horse,” Annelise said in wonder, smiling as the wolf sniffed at more tracks. “A third and a fourth. Yves escaped! He rode back toBeauvoir!”
The wolf barked and ran circles around her, apparently sharing her joy. Annelise was so relieved that she felt tears on her cheeks and her throat was tight. She had the curious urge to hug the wolf, but he was nodog.
She turned to consider him and found him watching her again. “How on earth did you know to bring me to this place?” she askedsoftly.
Once again, he seemed to smile andwink.
Then he barked at the sky and darted to the other side of theclearing.
Annelise understood. It was time to return to the palace. She blew a kiss down the path that Yves had taken, wishing him well, then picked up her skirts and followed thewolf.
Although she quickly realized that he led her in another direction, she hurried after him, not wanting to be left to fend for herself. Darkness was falling quickly and if anything, the wolf ran more quickly thanbefore.
It was already twilight. Annelise’s hems were heavy with snow and her fingertips were chilled. The cold was growing more intense and, in only a matter of moments, the light would failcompletely.
She wondered if the wolf washungry.
She was so very glad to know that Yves had survived. Surely that knowledge was worth whatever her own fate might be thisnight?
A wolf howled in the forest, not nearly as distant as Annelise would have liked. Her wolf ran back to her, urging her to greater speed. His protectiveness was unexpected and quite welcome. She managed to run faster and he barked approval. She realized why when she saw the outline of a tower above the silhouetted trees ahead. Relief flooded through her at thesight.
Her spirits lifted and her step lightened. If nothing else, she would have shelter this night. With luck, she would find something to bar the entrance againstintruders.
The wolf ran back and forth excitedly at the door, then sat to one side as Annelise drew near. It was clear he intended for her to enter but she frowned when she noticed the tower’s advanced state ofdisrepair.
Would she be safer within or without? Annelise considered the crumbling tower, the stars visible in the sky overhead, then looked at thewolf.
“You mean for me to go inside? This place does not look solid enough to last the night.” Just saying the words fed herfears.
The wolf barked. He ran in a tight circle around her, then went back to the door, sitting beside it once more. His gaze never wavered from herface.
“What is in there?” she demanded, her voice rising in her uncertainty. “Who is inthere?”
Some of her fear must have been audible, for the wolf trotted through the open doorway. He disappeared into the shadows within, reappearing moments later with snow on his snout. He barked and wagged his tail, standing to one side as though inviting her onward. The snow made him look adorable andunthreatening.
Annelise frowned. The forest was already filled with shadows. She could not return to the palace before dark, and she did not know if she could open the gates once there. One last finger of light framed the doorway in gold as though it, too, would invite her to enter. Annelise shivered and wondered whether she would live to see themorn.
