Even still sheltered in the illusion I had created for her, Eleni heaved a deep sigh, her body relaxing completely as the Amulet settled on her chest.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I said to Ulric, while squeezing Eleni in my arms with almost bruising force.
I hated how emotional I was acting before so many strangers. And yet, I also didn’t care. Disaster had been averted in a way I never thought possible.
“There is no need to thank us,” Ulric said gently. “The day you saved Amara and Remus, you became a part of our pack. You will always find shelter and succor among us.”
I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, words failing me. In my 251 years of existence, I had never found myself in this situation where I was openly welcome.
A female spared me from responding as she approached us with folded fabric in her hands. She extended it towards me.
“Here is a fresh dress for your mate,” she said with a smile. “She shouldn’t stand before the goddess in torn rags.”
One glance at my Eleni’s outfit confirmed her statements. The Djarins had indeed shredded her uniform in their effort to rip off the necklace.
“Thank you,” I said again before glancing at the small crowd gathered around us. “All of you. I will never forget what you have done for us this day.”
Those in human form smiled, the others emitted a chuffing sound in acknowledgement.
“Come back to see us when you’re done caring for your mate,” Ulric said in a serious tone.
I gave him an inquisitive look.
“The attack wasn’t random. We found wards specifically targeting both of you, although most of them were aimed at her. Whoever set this up knew you were going to the temple and tried to stop you. Those wards were at least ten days old. Our shamans have disabled them. A few of us will continue scouting to see if we find any others. And there are a few more things you might want to see,” Ulric explained. “But mend your woman first. She is waning.”
“Very well, thank you. I will return,” I said, shifting again before soaring in the early night sky.
Chapter 15
Eleni
Iemerged from what had been a wonderfully relaxing moment in a hot spring to find myself in a less pleasant reality. I felt weak and my mind foggy. At least, the excruciating pain that had been tearing me asunder was gone. But I felt like a leaf, barely hanging on to its tree. The slightest breeze would tear me off that limb and sweep me away.
A part of me wanted it to happen, to finally be free of this hollowness, of the fracture deep within where something foreign festered. My mind desperately wanted to fade. But Lyall’s strong arms around me as he flew towards the temple kept me going, kept me wanting to cling to that shell of a life.
Still, with every flap of his wings, I braced for another attack. I wouldn’t survive it. The mere sight of anything coming at us might suffice to finish me off.
Thankfully, it never came.
The air chilled as we climbed higher towards one of the peaks of the mountain. Lyall closed his arms more tightly around me, the soft fur of his body keeping me warm. Then a passagesuddenly opened before us. My mate descended towards it, and my heart soared upon seeing the majestic entrance to the temple up ahead at the end of the pass.
Unless one knew of its location, you would never think of looking for it here.
Once more, I braced for another trap or ambush. But Lyall landed unimpeded in front of the stone stairs leading up to the massive doorway. It was flanked by two large statues of guardian wolves carved directly into the face of the mountain.
He shifted back into his human form as he climbed the stairs. I wanted to cast a detection spell in search of any signs of foul play, but I had neither the strength nor the focus necessary for it. My eyelids weighed a ton. At a visceral level, I believed that if I allowed myself to close my eyes longer than a blink, they would never reopen. The prospect of sweet oblivion tempted me more than any words could ever express.
But I wasn’t a quitter. We had come too far to give up now. And more importantly, I didn’t want to leave Lyall behind. I didn’t want to go to any place where he couldn’t follow.
The heavy doors parted with a will of their own as we made our approach. The grinding noise of rock against rock should have been much louder than the almost discreet one that reached my ears. Also we weren’t greeted by complete darkness, the very dim ambient light provided just enough for us to get a glimpse of the interior of the massive temple, which ended up being far bigger than the exterior led us to believe.
It consisted of a single rectangular room with two large alcoves on the left and right side of the entrance. Each one contained a purification fountain. Straight ahead in the main hall, a series of tall columns led the way to an exquisitely carved altar at the feet of an immense effigy of Hecate. The statue had been sculpted directly into the wall, in a recessed nook overlooking the room. It was a classic representation of thegoddess as three women in one, her hands holding her symbols consisting of the key, the torches, the snake, and the dagger. A torch hung on each of the four columns closest to the altar—two on each side.
To my surprise, Lyall didn’t take me directly to the altar, but went to the large alcove left of the entrance instead. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing, but only slurred sounds came out. He sat me at the edge of the large fountain then proceeded to undress me. Only then did I understand his purpose.
A wave of love filled my heart as he gently, methodically washed me. The care and love with which he handled me moved me to my core. I hadn’t been dirty per se, but the wounds inflicted by the Djarins had left some blood smears on me. Anyway, there was a reason for purification fountains to be placed inside a temple. Presenting oneself to the goddess while still sullied significantly reduced the chances of our pleas to be well received.
He fetched one of the towels stacked in a little nook at the back of the alcove and thoroughly dried me. He then put on me the simple but elegant black dress the Lycan female had given him for me. I knew that the Lycans had multiple stashes of clothes scattered throughout the mountains in various shelters so that they could dress whenever they came out of their wolf forms away from their home. I wondered if it came from one of them. But it felt a little too fancy for that. Whatever the source, I was grateful for it. I could only hope to survive this night so that I could properly thank them for literally saving my life when they didn’t even know me.
