Alden stiffens. “What?”
“There is a vampire. You met her at the club; her blood turned magical when she became a vampire. Drinking it reverses vampirism. I will offer some of it to you, but in exchange, you must go against your brother and father’s orders and leave Corona untouched forever.”
Alden stands abruptly, and so does Tanith. He paces before the fire with his hands behind his back. Tanith bares her fangs at me, a low growl rumbling in her throat. I stay glued to my chair, hoping to prove I am not a threat.
“How?” Alden asks. “You just conveniently have a curerightnow?”
I flinch. Alden is no longer the vibrant prince who tricked me at the palace. Instead, he is the Lua Enforcer, ready and willing to shred me to pieces with his claws.
But I have no other choice, so I press forward. “Yes. Some vampires have special abilities. Desiree is one of them.”
“Why haven’t I heard about the cure before now?” Alden asks.
I take a deep breath, but my body continues trembling. “She kept it a secret from me until recently. It isn’t widely known. But I’m not lying to you. Zeus is the liar. Tanith never wanted to leave you. That was the excuse he gave you to get you to comply with his invasion plans. Ravi told me the truth. He sees andhears more than he should as your prisoner. Zeus deserves your hatred, not your loyalty.”
Alden smiles a half-wolf grin that makes me catalog the exits. “Ravi told you?” I nod. “Then it must be true, since Ravi is so trustworthy.” I narrow my eyes, considering Ravi’s words. I believe him. He has no reason to lie, especially when he’s already Alden’s prisoner. If he were caught being dishonest, it could put Sama in danger. “You know, I like you, Leigh. You care about the well-being of your people, but you are a terrible judge of character.”
I wince, the blow landing exactly as Alden intended. Yeah, I know I have trust issues, and I am working on it. It’s not like I want to put my faith in Alden, but I empathize with him, knowing nothing about Zeus other than his father’s unreasonably high expectations for him to be a cunning, ruthless leader.
“Zeus will not back off easily,” Alden says, his voice low and resigned.
I slide to the edge of my seat. “But the Lua army answers to you.”
Alden strokes Tanith’s wiry fur. “True.”
“Do we have a deal?” I ask, ignoring my pounding heart. “I give you the cure, and in exchange, at dawn, you turn your army against Zeus.”
“Give me that cure.” He smiles. “And I’ll do whatever you want.”
I force myself to stay seated, though I want to jump and do a victory dance.
“For what it’s worth, I am glad you were smart enough not to agree to marry me.”
“Would you have done it if I had said yes?”
“I would have married you to secure your throne, regrettably consummated the relationship, made your boyfriend watch, andthen killed you in front of him before locking him in a cage to live the rest of his pathetic life as my pet,” he says, never losing his sadistic smile.
Yikes. I have no idea if he is serious, but a part of me believes he could be, at least about part of it. Hurt people often hurt people.
My gut churns, but I roll my eyes. “It sounds like you gave it a lot of thought.”
“I could go into detail, but this conversation is over.”
“Why?”
“Because your friends just entered our camp.”
With a wink, Alden snaps his fingers, and the dream shatters, jolting me back to reality. I sit up in bed, my heart in my throat. Wilder’s in trouble.
We reachthe wolf encampment in record time after leaving our car near the train station and going through the desert on foot. Navigating through the vast sea of tents, the new moon cloaks our movements. The soft white sand muffles our footsteps as we slip past the guards. Their vigilance is no match for our intimate knowledge of the terrain. The guards are focused on the distant horizon, failing to notice what’s right under their noses. We move like shadows, silent and stealthy, more akin to specters than soldiers.
Ahead, the bonfire Bennett mentioned flickers, illuminating the surrounding wolves. They sit in human form, their laughter ringing through the night air. Some indulge in drink, their eyes glassy, and movements sluggish after the long journey from Lua, while others remain alert, their sharp, pointed ears attuned to any signs of intrusion.
Catching Brigid’s eye, I nod, my lips in a grim line. Without a word, she understands my unspoken plan. With a silent signal, she retreats into the darkness. The night quickly swallows her as she sets off to create a distraction.
According to Bennett, the prisoner tent housing Stellan and Queen Jorina lies between the princes’ grand structures. When I spot it, my fists tighten. It’s small and unimposing, yet Leigh’s grandmother has been confined in it for days. While Corona’sleaders were distracted by internal grievances and distrust, they failed to realize the pawprints at the border belonged to an advancing army. I dread what condition we might find them in.
As we draw closer, a sense of unease prickles the back of my neck. I take a deep breath and signal Gianna and Marlowe to follow me.
