If only that meant we were safe.
I’ve bought myself time, but not certainty.
We may be shielded from the humans for the immediate future, but they won’t remain idle indefinitely. I have no doubt they’ll be debating the merits of sending men down to hunt us. Or they could simply wait for when I’m forced to step beyond the safety of the wolf’s body.
Meanwhile, the Vandawolf is bleeding out with every passing second.
His armor is made of interlocking plates, and I had already pulled some of them away, leaving his injuries plain to see. The crossbow bolt would have killed him if it had impaled his left shoulder closer to his heart. The other gashes had been inflicted by the giant wolf before I turned it to stone, and on their own, those wounds were already life-threatening.
My left fist presses to my heart as I face the horror of his injuries. I try to stifle the rage and fear that’s rising within me, but the medallion only magnifies it. Again, I consider removing the black band from my hand, but again, I dismiss the thought. I can’t afford any delay in my ability to defend myself.
If I die, the Vandawolf dies.
My hand rests on his upper shoulder and I can’t stop myself from shaking.
My medallions allow me to see the flame of the wolf’s soul that burns within him. It’s a beautiful predator that appears to me like a silhouette within his body, taking the shape of the amber-eyed wolf that was merged with his body ten years ago.
The wolf’s energy usually writhes and burns, but now it’s far too faint. Too subdued. It exudes a terrible sense of acceptance that threatens to break me.
I want it to rage at me, to thrash like it usually does—even to hate me. I want to sense its snarling mouth and slashing claws. I would take its anger because it would mean that it’s alive. That the Vandawolf is fighting to live, but instead…
It appears ready for death.
Which means the Vandawolf is, too.
The energy around him is fading, so muted now that it’s almost imperceptible. Just as his breathing has become far too quiet.
I swallow my sob, trying to choke back my grief, trying to stop my hot, angry tears.
He told me to leave. He told me to go with my family and take my freedom.
I asked him why he would give us our freedom after all this time, and he told me what I’d already known in my heart to be true:
“Love is more powerful than hate and fear combined.”
Now, he needs help that I have no skill to give.
Even the human healers wouldn’t be able to save him from this.
My sister, Tamra, is his only chance, but she will be hours away by now, traveling east with our brother, her twin, Gallium, and the human man, Thaden Kane, who was transformed against his will by a Blacksmith, just as the Vandawolf was.
How can I keep the Vandawolf alive long enough to reach Tamra?
Even if I keep him alive, how can I get him across this wasteland without being killed by the men on the wall?
I have nothing with which to bind his wounds, other than the shirt beneath my armor, and that would barely make it around his broad chest.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, reaching for his face, my left hand coming close to brushing his cheek before I jolt backward, reminding myself how much I could hurt him.
With these medallions?—
My thoughts stop, my expression falling blank, as I focus on the metal wrapped around my left hand where it hovers so close to his pale cheek.
It’s metal that I can command into any shape I need.
A cold chill passes through me.
I’ve never dared to touch the Vandawolf while I was carrying my awakened medallions; I’ve always fought the impulses that tempted me to breach the gap between us and explore what could happen.
