“Fine,” I bite out. “I’ll trust your judgement on what to fear and where to tread.”
She bristles, her fur hawking up in an ominous show along her massive back.“I fear nothing in these lands, but fighting will take up precious time. To be faster, you must work smarter.”
“You’re right,” I say, forcing my rapid heartbeats to calm by taking deep breaths. “I’m just…” I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. “I really need to win this trial, and I’m afraid I’ve been dropped farther out than the others.”
“You have. The Forbidden Lands are off limits to demons. I have no doubt the other royals will have been dropped into the jungle wilds that surround the city. None come beyond the jungle into the Forbidden Lands, and if they do, they do not leave in one piece.”
Fucking Crone.I knew that bitch was up to something.
Killing her is moving higher on my to-do list.
“Let’s show them that no matter what challenge they throw at me, I will come back ten times stronger.” I growl, my claws springing from my hands before I draw them back. My wolf is restless, but I need to conserve her strength for when it’s needed.
The wolf nods, and as she nudges me in the direction she wants me to go, I finally ask her name. It’s a testament to how completely she blindsided me that I haven’t asked before now.
“They call me ‘Reaper.’”
I wait for an explanation about why they call her that, but she offers none.
I suppose it’s not too difficult to figure it out. Her shadowy form is probably the last thing most beings would see before the reaper comes calling.
The idea that this might be a massive ruse to lure me to my death fleetingly crosses my mind. I have no doubt that Reaper is deadly. I could tell that from the first second I saw her. But my senses tell me that she’s not deadly tome. The same way I know in my heart that Ace, as fierce and brutal as he is, will never harm me, and that Temple, Blitz, and Luca will always have my back.
“My name is Nova,” I say.
For now, I have to believe that Reaper means me no harm—and hope it’s not my final mistake.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
For the next two hours, Reaper leads me through the land with no thorny attacks, or vine monsters, and especially no starving souls. Her presence gives me a reprieve from the monsters, and we make good progress through the bleak environment.
The downside of these quiet moments is that there’s no new danger to distract me from my injuries. Searing pain across my right shoulder where the thorn is embedded continues to make me wince. Normally, my cuts and bruises would have healed by now, but for some reason, the pain increases the farther we walk.
Finally, despite the deepening darkness, I have to ask Reaper for a break. The thorn in my back continues to bleed and the moisture dripping down my back on the inside of my suit is too much for me.
“It’s safe to rest here,”she says.
I move off the path to the tree she’s standing at, noting that maybe for the first time, there are tendrils of green filtering through the leaves and the canopy above. We’re certainly not out of the Forbidden Lands yet, as the ground is still made of ash, but I count this as moving in the right direction.
Placing my hand against the tree, I fight the weakness in my legs as the pain thrums through me at a steady pace.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I trigger the rune to remove my protective suit, returning to wearing just the dress I’m starting to hate. “I need to check my back.”
Staring down at the tattered and blood-stained gown, I extend my wolf claws before I can think twice about it and slice across each arm to remove the lace, turning the bodice into a tank-top style. I do the same to the lace on the skirt before slicing up the center and back to give myself four strips that can be tied around my legs like makeshift shorts. It’s about as far from fashionable as possible, but now it’s an outfit that I can run and move in, without having to keep the bodysuit on all the time. The rune is a powerful source of energy—despite its small size—but the damage to the suit is now draining my own energy to sustain the rune magic.
Once I’ve modified the dress as best I can, I turn my attention to my injuries.
Reaper nudges me, sniffing across my skin as I note that a few of the scratches on my arms have healed, but some of the deeper ones are still red and weeping. Before I can worry about why I’m healing so slowly, Reaper inches even closer, her tongue swiping across each of the wounds in a quick flick. Almost immediately, the sharp tugs of pain in my arms ease.
Her actions remind me so much of Luca licking across my face and nipping my shoulder to break the rune Roman placed on me that it brings back a sharp pang at the memory. Luca’s actions were quiet but determined, and the memory of his care for me makes my eyes burn.
“Thank you,” I choke out, the feeling of pack so welcome after being without my sisters and now my demon wolves in this hostile land. “I owe you.”
She brushes up against me again, her heavy weight feeling achingly familiar as she pushes me to the side, just as Blitz would do when he’s feeling a little needy.“There is no owing.”
Reaper has brought thoughts of all of my wolves to my mind now: Her intelligence like Temple’s, her ferocity like Ace’s, her caring like Luca’s, and her body language like Blitz’s. She might exude a deadly vibe that I’d hazard a guess is stronger than even the scariest of beasts in these lands, but apparently, if I’m bonded to her, her heart is as pure as they come.
She continues working over me and I slowly crouch to the ground to give her access to my wounded back and stomach. With her help, all of my visible cuts are healed, leaving me with a dull ache in some of my ribs—they’re bruised at minimum—and finally, the damn spike in my back.
