“What about… Thayden,” Mother said, releasing a ragged sigh. “He won’t take this lightly.”
“No. He will not. But leave him to me.”
What was Wolfe going to do?
Thayden worried me because I’d never been able to figure him out. And he always seemed to have some way of staying in control no matter the problem. Mattieu would be right alongside him. As the soon to be Hand of the king, I was sure he’d already be plotting.
I imagined he’d be furious and probably even consider us ungrateful. He’d been taking care of our family since Father’s disappearance. That was one of the first things Grandmother told me when I first woke from the reset. Along with how we owed him everything.
“This is my fault. I never saw him for who he was. Maybe I hoped he’d changed.”
“We all make mistakes.” Wolfe kept his tone measured. “Speak of these matters to no one.”
They nodded.
“In fact, don’t even speak amongst yourselves. We can’t be too careful.”
“You have our silence,” Grandmother assured him.
“I must leave. Be ready to head home in two hours.”
"Where are you going?" The question slipped out before I could stop it, carrying a weight I hadn't expected. Something vulnerable and new, like testing the boundaries of what I was allowed to ask of him now. But I needed to know for my own peace. I didn’t want to be in this place without him for too long.
“I’m going to see Thayden. I have requested a meeting with him.”
A cold wave rolled through me. “Really? You’re going to see Thayden,now?”
By the Gods, he was going to kill him, wasn’t he?
“Don’t worry. He’s more useful to me alive.” He must have seen the blood drain from me. “For the moment.”
“Oh… alright.”
The hardened look in Wolfe’s eyes suggested that the moment Thayden stopped being useful, he’d gut him like a fish and display his head on a spike outside Vyrenth Hollow.
“Two hours, then we leave this Godsdamn place. Be ready.”
I nodded. “We’ll be ready.”
We were ready to leave before we even arrived.
Chapter 38
Wolfe
“Where Power Awakens”
Mine.
My mate.
My wife.
My boots echoed against the stone corridor as I walked away from the chamber, each footfall a steady rhythm against the storm still pounding in my chest.
I came to the mortal realm prepared for a war I was determined to win. I wasn’t going to leave without Elariya. Failure was not an option.
And yet, even now, the outcome felt somewhat unreal.
