“Fuck.” The curse was a weak, terrified hiss from between Stefano’s gritted teeth.
For Domus’ sake,they were going to filet him in front of us.
A low growl permeated the chaos.
The dagger paused mid-sweep as a hundred canvas coverings swiftly turned, facing something beyond Harthon.
The animalistic rumble came again, and I grew more certain that it hadn’t come from a human.
The warmth in my chest flickered as I searched around the bodies blocking my vision. All at once, they parted, and a choked gasp fled my throat.
It was the wolf—the same one from before, its intelligent amber eyes coasting over our gathering, sooty white fur slinking across lean muscles and ribs as it stalked in our direction.
Toward us.
Toward you.
When its eyes locked on mine, I knew.
“What the fuck?” Aric murmured in awe.
I blinked, not trusting my eyes, but the animal didn’t vanish. The same must have occurred to the Horrads, because the dagger aimed at Stefano was swiftly put away.
Confusion rocked me.
You wouldn’t sheathe a dagger with a wolf approaching. And itcontinuedto approach, lithely moving until it stopped right before me, the bodies at my back giving us a wide berth.
This close, I could see the scars marring the wolf’s black nose, the flecks of deep brown around its pupils, the deadly tip of a canine that hung over its bottom lip. It spun around and sat, its soft tail brushing my knees, like it was…guarding me.
My confusion only grew when three more Horrads now pointed to the sky. The leader stood still, regarding us.
“Your eyes are glowing,” Aric informed me, his gaze sober.
“I…I think that might be a good thing,” I replied cautiously. The wolf’s ears twitched.
The leader stepped forward, in front of Stefano now. Their hand joined the others, gesturing to the clouds above. Then they bowed.
At me.
Or the wolf?
All at once, the sound of shifting coarse fabric rolled across the camp as every single figure rushed to follow suit.
“What is going on?” I whispered.
Aric dared to answer. “Either they have a thing for big animals, or they think you’re summoning it, which means they also think you’re themagvis.”
“The story you told about your father’s horse—you said animals feared themagvis.”
“Yes, but she’s the only being who could do something as strange as this.”
The leader straightened, cuing our audience to do the same, and the air at my back shifted as someone stepped close. The wolf whipped around, maw parting on a deep, threatening snarl. Moving slowly, so as not to spook the animal, the Horrad kneeled and began fumbling with the ties on my wrists until they slid away.
Before me, the Horrad leader aimed their fingers at the ground before swinging them up, gesturing for me to…stand? With trepidation, I rose, shoulder protesting as my arms fell to my sides, knee throbbing as it bore weight.
A Horrad emerged from the tent, a cup and a platter of what looked like bread in their gloved hands.
The leader curled their fingers into their palm, beckoning me.
