Evander nods. His expression is hard and grim. He seems to gain no pleasure from these dark truths of his people’s history. Perhaps he has more of a heart than I first suspected.
“The next alpha decreed that Aurora would never set foot anywhere beyond the Lykin Plains on Midscape so that she ‘could not abandon her oath to our people.’ As long as she is on our land, she is bound to the vows she made to Bewulf. She tried to run for our borders, many times, but there have always been too many patrols for her to make it out of the wolf king’s magical reach and to the siren,” he continues.
So she came to the Natural World, instead, I realize. She fled to the one place that they probably did not have patrols. The one place that a magical spirit would never be expected to go: a land void of inherent magic.
“All this began a push and pull of power among the lykin. Aurora has been traded from king to king with a ring for thousands of years. Sometimes willingly, sometimes not. To have the ring of the moon spirit is to be considered ordained as our natural leader. To hold the ring is to hold the power.”
“She is not something to be traded and used,” I object, louder than I intended, but my emotions are running hot on her behalf. I clutch the little bottle with white knuckles. “She’s a noble spirit, one of the most ancient to walk among us.”
“Are we to let her go and give up the power she offers our kind? Even now, without the ring in the possession of a lykin, our powers are beginning to wane to what they once were.”
“That is your natural state!”
“Is it? For our ability to take our wolf forms only came about when we swore a blood bond to the ancient wolf spirit.” He arches his brows. “Or should we revoke that, too? Truly return to what is ‘natural?’”
“That depends, are you holding that wolf spirit captive for the sake of your transformations?”
“It is free to come and go,” he reluctantly admits.
“As it should be.” There is nothing but bitterness in my words. “The brutality you show spirits is truly breathtaking.”
“I—” Evander stops his objection with a shake of his head. When he returns his attention to me, a thin, crescent smile arcs across his lips. His words are pure malice and the jar quivers in his hands from his grip. “You’re right. We are a brutal people. Aurora’s suffering is but one page in a long tome of my kind’s viciousness. Alphas of packs have unflinchingly killed boys and girls that might have been a challenge to them. Our grasses are watered with the blood of those who lost age-old battles for supremacy. Entire packs were wiped out by men and women in search of one thing—the only thing that will give you the respect and authority over every lykin that breathes: Aurora’s bond.”
I look out to her tent, too disgusted to settle my eyes upon Evander for a moment longer. I was convinced well before this that I had to do all I could for Aurora. But that dedication has been hammered upon my heart.
“Well, there is no ring anymore. So your kind will have to figure out what to do without it.”
He chuckles so deeply his voice cracks slightly. His words are gravel when he says, “There is no ring, but her power still lives.”
“I don’t know how to give it up, and even if I did, I wouldn’t.”
“What makes you think you’re going to have a choice?” He arches his brows. “All King Conri wants is to control Aurora’s power and have her at his side to show off his legitimacy to any who would doubt him. He won’t care about you, just the power within you.”
Warmth had just been returning to my body when a fresh chill runs through my veins. I look back to Evander’s shadowed face. He’s dipped his chin slightly, his hair falling into his eyes.
“What is he going to do to me?” I return to my earlier question with new understanding.
“I cannot say. The alpha of the great pack can be an…unpredictable man.” Evander contradicts his words by glancing away. It’s only a flick of his eyes to the corner of the tent and back. But it’s a tell I’ve seen in others before. He’s lying.
“Guess what he’ll do.”
“You’ll be able to ask him yourself, tomorrow.” Evander hands me the cannister of salve. “Rub this on your wounds.”
“What?” I take the small jar numbly. I hardly register the instruction.
“He waits for our return in a town not far from here. Pray that he is in a decent mood.”
I stare at the jar, not moving.Tomorrow. Aurora and I must leave tonight if we want to have any chance of escaping. How do I get to her?
“My wounds are on my thighs,” I say. “I would have to disrobe to apply this salve. I’m going to Aurora’s tent to—” I’ve barely moved to leave when Evander catches my wrist.
“You think I’m going to let you go so you can try to escape with her?” He arches his brows. He’s seen right through me. Not that my plan was particularly unpredictable. But I’d hoped…
“I wouldn’t.”
“Spare me.” He rolls his eyes and pulls me toward him. I am between his knees. His legs are like a cage on either sideof me. Evander’s breath is hot on my neck as he growls. “You and Aurora are two pieces to the puzzle. She can’t leave without you…nor you without her. If you were to try, he would hunt you down, relentlessly. And I can’t return to the wolf king without you both in hand if I want to keep my flesh on my bones.”
My hands quiver, betraying my inner turmoil. Evander’s fingers glide over mine, rough and warm. Finding comfort in their steadiness feels like a betrayal. His fingertips are thick with calluses, rough, and as much a testament to a harsh life as the scars on his back.
