“Leigh, what the hell is going on?” Gi asks, with her arms still overhead.
“Talk, Marlowe,” I growl. My patience is wearing thin. “I’m supposed to be somewhere, and if I don’t show up, Wilder will come looking for me. When he finds you, he will arrest you. If you want me to pardon you, you better speak fast. I’ll judge whether what you say is worth your freedom and Wilder’s ire. Is my grandmother in danger?”
“You need me on your side. I can help, but I need that pardon. Wilder will understand.”
“Don’t trust her, Leigh,” Gianna says, glaring at Marlowe. “Wilderhatesher.”
The former commander grits her teeth. “Leigh, forget about Wilder for a minute and take a second to consider how you need me. Snakes surround you, and the longer you don’t see that, the closer you are to being bit,” Marlowe says, and my stomach hardens as if she doled out a punishing blow.
She has me backed into a corner. If my grandmother is in danger, I can’t risk her life.
I take a deep breath. “Fine. What do you know?”
“The wolves have your grandmother. Prince Zeus breached the northern borders and has Queen Jorina as his hostage. He’s in Corona along with a sizable army.”
Gianna grabs my arm. Her long nails—needing a manicure—dig into my skin as I gasp.
“Zeus is here. And he has my g-grandmother?” My mind races, connecting the dots. Were his footprints the ones Janus was referencing last night? The thought of my grandmother in the clutches of that monster sends a chill down my spine.
I can barely process the information, my mouth going dry as I imagine the horrors she must be enduring. My grandmother is at the mercy of a ruthless prince. The fear is paralyzing, but I know I can’t let it consume me. I must save her, to get us out of this mess.
“Tell me everything. Did you see Zeus?” I demand. “If he is on the move with an army, that means Alden has given them the order to invade. The troops from Lua answer to Alden, the younger prince and enforcer. However, I am convinced that people would have noticed a foreign army crossing into our lands.”
Marlowe sighs, her expression grim. “Alden’s armies can transform into wolves. Under the cover of night, they could have easily slipped past our patrols undetected. But to pull off an invasion of this scale, it must have been in the works for a long time.”
I’m staring without seeing. For the wolves to have entered Corona, Alden must have orchestrated this invasion behind the scenes. He’s been lying to me from the start.
A scream bubbles up my throat. Alden’s proposal, his charm offensive—it was all a ruse to keep me distracted, to prevent me from noticing the signs of the impending attack. And like a fool, I fell for it, too caught up in my feelings to see that Alden’s talk of invasion was not just talk.
“He played me,” I whisper. I clench my hands into fists at the shakiness in my voice.
How could I have been so easily manipulated, so willing to believe in a future that was never meant to be? I should have trusted my instincts and seen through his deception from the beginning.
“We need to inform the Council immediately. Zeus could be heading straight for them,” I say.
“They aren’t,” Marlowe tells me. “The wolves are on their way to Aurora. Stellan’s been working with them. He is nothing more than a puppet. They are backing his campaign and money-rolling his enclave. In return, he’s letting them establish their war camp outside Aurora before marching on Borealis.”
“Stellan is working with the wolves?” I ask, but several shouts steal Marlowe’s attention. I follow her gaze, seeing an altercation among several men at the other end of the bazaar. They are yelling at each other, and it is evident by how they get in each other’s faces that they will go to blows. Soon, the Blades will arrive.
“Time to go.” I face Marlowe again, who has put her face covering back on.
Gi gapes. “Leigh, your meeting with Stellan started five minutes ago.”
I groan, grabbing her hand. “Come on, we need to get to Furies.”
“What are you going to do when you see Stellan?” Gi asks.
I grind my molars to dust. Stellan has some serious explaining to do. Until we talk, though, I can’t jump to conclusions. I need his information, the details about Zeus and Alden’s army, and confirmation of their arrival time. Only then can I formulate a plan to notify the Council and negotiate my grandmother’s rescue.
“Marlowe, are you coming?” I ask.
She nods. “Go ahead. I will meet you there.”
I’m looking forward to telling Janus and the others that a wedding with Alden never would have protected us. We’ve always been vulnerable. It’s time we face the truth and take action to defend our kingdom.
Leigh’s fucking late.
I check my watch for the umpteenth time, my foot tapping on the floor. The clock above the bar mocks me, its hands crawling at a snail’s pace. I’m running out of excuses for Leigh’s whereabouts. She’s not answering her phone, and Stellan is ready to leave, his impatience evident in the tightness of his jaw.
