They didn't look like scars, though. They looked like open wounds, blood slowly leaking out.
And the smell.
I crawled to my father, my body simply reacting as I bit open my wrist and forced it to my father's open mouth. His eyes were already unfocused and far gone, but that didn't stop me from trying to pour my blood into him. I was so weak, I was shaking.
“The hunters always have to stick their nose where it doesn't belong,” General Lee said before tossing my father's heart aside. “Now, what to do with you?”
The scream that had been building in my chest was let out like a battle cry, and I lunged at him using all my strength, but he caught me by the throat and held me up. I struggled against him, but even if I wasn't in my weakened state, there was an obvious dark power rolling off him.
What is he?
From the time he had left my sight until now, something changed about him. And I was…
Scared.
His eyes were red and glowing, and black veins traveled across his entire body. The smell was starting to become overpowering, and every time that dark power brushed across my skin, it burned.
“Unfortunately, Adrian wants obedience. And that means I can't kill you right now, or else the princess is going to have a fit. But that doesn't mean I can't send a message.”
I fought against him, kicking and clawing at his arm as he dug his nails into my throat and gave me a wicked grin.
“Say hello to the council for me.”
Pain swept through me, and my consciousness slipped away, plunging me into the darkness.
Aurelia
Cedar's hand in mine was the only thing keeping me from rushing into the castle. I took the steps one at a time instead of running like I wanted.
She was at my side, whispering hopeful things, but I couldn't believe a single word. How did this happen?
I knew sending Vesper to follow him was a risk, but I never thought he would deliver her right to the council. Atlas was behind us, silent. Unusually silent. None of us wanted to be here. Any wrong step, and the council could punish all of us. Especially Atlas, since she wasn't supposed to be taking in any new clan members.
But all of that seemed so small. I felt it all happen through the bond, so fresh that I could feel every lick of pain that went through her. Unbearable. The grief that blasted down the bond was something I had never experienced. The only thing similar I could find was when my mother had died right in front of me.
“She’ll be okay,” Cedar said in a whisper.
“She has to be,” I whispered back.
The time it took for us to get to the entrance and finally to the throne room, where Kyan was sitting—more like lounging with her legs over the side—felt like an eternity.
She looked regal as always, with her red-tipped claws, her long silver hair, and some type of coat embedded with red jewels. Her eyes were narrowed, and it was like her body had been sculpted from rock.
She perked up as she saw us, a slow, cat-like smile spreading across her lips as she got up to greet us.
“Aurelia, congratulations on your new marriage. A pity to see you didn't bring the husband today.”
“This doesn't involve him.” I bowed in front of her, and both Cedar and Atlas followed my lead. “I've come to retrieve?—”
“The silver-haired hunter, I know. There's just one issue with that.”
She motioned to her guards, and they disappeared for a few minutes. When they brought in Vesper, she looked worse for wear. There was a large scar running down her neck that didn't seem fully healed. She was lethargic, and I could tell it took an immense effort to look at us.
The bond was painful, begging for me to go to her, but I took one step before I was pulled back by Cedar.
“She was finishing her servitude with the Leclair family. So, actually, I can't return her to you, Aurelia.”
Atlas stepped forward. “She was transferred to me. This can all be confirmed by them?—“
