‘Yeah, see who is surprised and pissed off we’re back.’
‘This isn’t the time for anger, Rav. War is coming, and perhaps from the wyrmocs as well, we can’t rule it out, the witches haven’t. I’ll take down the king, then we’ll see how well his army holds then. Hopefully, the government will settle the kingdom. Royal families never have. This isn’t just for my mother, our elders, Ox.’ He placed a hand on the stone. ‘This is for all of us. The king is trying to own the kingdom, and he has proven he will commit murder to do so. Well, not anymore.’
A moment of heartache and pain passed between them, nearby birdsong the only sound.
‘Do you ever feel like you don’t know where you belong?’ asked Raven quietly.
‘To me, it feels as though my whole life has been taken from me and replaced with things I’m yet to understand.’
‘Wynter feels the same.’ Raven slowly sighed, the weight on his shoulders noticeable. ‘She’s lost right now. Couldn’t even face the graves today. So much has been taken. Is it any wonder we don’t know where we belong anymore.’
Paws scraping against leaves had them glance up to see two large grey-and-white wolves approaching. The animals quickly changed to humans, one male, one female, as young as them, and just as fierce in their gaze.
‘You belong here,’ said Trinn, her brown-and-gold-streaked eyes stern. ‘And nothing has been taken, only gained.’
Cary agreed, signing a greeting, as he often did when not wishing to speak. Some said it was witnessing his father drown many moons ago that faded his voice, so his mother had taught him and the other children in their village sign language to help keep the communication open. Now, along with those around him, he had no parents left, his mother hanged by the king when captured with Ranola.
‘Missed you, Trinn.’ Bear shifted his gaze to Cary’s citrine eyes smiling softly. ‘We missed you both.’
Cary held such strong, handsome features: pale, sharp, precise. With hair so blue and muscles bold, there was no hiding him in a crowd. ‘Ox?’ His breath steady, his focus on the grave.
‘He was stabbed during a fight is all we know,’ said Trinn.
Raven stood, wiping earth from his black bottoms. ‘There is a War Zone in the prison.’ He informed his friends of the horrors no one spoke of, then looked to Bear before letting them know about the general’s daughter.
Trinn’s brow rose the highest at Bear. The sparkle in her eyes gone.
‘She’s with us now,’ said Bear firmly, not wanting to explain more, not wishing to share his deepest emotions. ‘She’ll be no bother.’
‘I think we’ll decide that when we meet her.’ Trinn flicked her long, pale-green hair over her shoulder in a huff, clearly against having such an enemy among her family. Still, she stood to his side, a show of support and concern, her olive skin catching the sunlight rising as she gestured for them to leave, and Bear thought it was a good idea to head back to the house for breakfast. Scarlen would wake soon enough, then they could ask the questions that swirled. But first, he had to be the one to let her know they were aware of her secret.
Scarlen woke to an empty bed,but warmth still surrounded her, as a fire crackled in the hearth, and daylight streaked the window. Unsure of her new life, she clambered out of the only sanctuary she felt she had and slipped Bear’s dark sweatshirt over her shift. The memory of being punished for wearing his amber top flashed through her mind. If she ever returned to that place, she hoped it would be to burn it to the ground.
A shower was due, then someone else’s clothes, as she had nothing but herself now. And Bear. But they needed to talk, and that talk would change things once more.
With half a sigh and more of a sulk, Scarlen strolled to the window to peer at the sheets of snow upon each field where soft sunrays poured down through gaps in the clouds, and when she opened the window for a better view, a wash of crisp air tingled her cheeks, waking her fully, releasing a smile.
What a sight it was to see such whiteness, so soft yet harsh, and so foreign to her but welcome after a life of sunshine and sand, and mostly rain at Horstal.
Sitting on the wide ledge for a while, she wondered if Dionne was doing okay. She figured she would be, knowing her friend knew how to look after herself, but still it was a worry. The riot would have brought harsher punishments, but with Posla and Harnish on side, Dionne should have been left to serve her time in peace.
My father must know I’m missing by …
The figure of a girl walking in the grounds, thick black cloak, brown hair, perhaps seventeen, brought Scarlen’s heartbeat to a sudden halt. It couldn’t be who she thought. The trick of the light. Lack of sleep.
Scarlen moved quickly, all sense leaving her as she gripped the ledge, leaning further out, her focus unshifting. ‘Lanni?’ she called, but her voice cracked, her word weak, lost to the breeze. On a shaky exhale, she tried again. ‘Lancen.’
The girl stopped as though startled, then looked around to see no one.
‘What the fuck!’ whispered Scarlen, eyes locked with the apparition of her little sister. Was Ranola playing a wicked game? Could Bear’s home hold more torture than Horstal? ‘Lanni,’ she yelled with all her might, her mind quite lost, her adrenaline hitting her from all directions.
The girl looked up and her mouth fell open, but not as wide as Scarlen’s on seeing her dead sister.
‘Adoria?’ was all the girl said, her body unmoving.
Scarlen raced to the door, all words absent, as rage, fear, and hope entered her legs, pushing her on, along the landing, down the stairs, never before able to move at such a speed.
Bear was in the hallway with Raven as she flew by as though he didn’t exist, her silver hair draped around his top. ‘Scars?’
