It’s covered in some sort of abrasive material.
“All it takes is a scratch,” Petra says, her voice low and soft and completely in control. “Andboom. Up you go.”
She steps toward Catalina, who—wisely—takes a step back.
“My father didn’t believe I’d do it either, but trust me,” Petra says, “I’ve burned down whole buildings filled with assholes, and I will not hesitate to set fire to anyone who thinks he—orshe—can take away my choices.”
Her eyes brim with angry tears. The crossbow wavers in her hands, but it only serves to make the situation more volatile.
Once again, I nearly step forward.
It isn’t worth her life to try to defend me, but then, with sudden clarity, it dawns on me that it might not be me she’s doing this for.
She was there when my brother died. She formed a bond with him. She and I were never friends, never even allies, but she stayed close to me over the years.
I suspected it was because she was feeding information back to her father, but now…
My chest hurts again. Not the sharp pain I experienced before, but it smarts all the same.
“You will release the Vandawolf to us,” Petra says. “Right fucking now. He may be a beast, but he was never a tyrant.”
Her expression softens when she glances my way, her gaze passing rapidly across my face but pausing on the left side. That’s where my eye was once amber, and a single tooth used to protrude between my lips.
“Actually,” she says, “he may not be a beast anymore.”
Catalina gives a snarl, but Graviter Rex finally speaks up, his voice muffled from behind his paw. “Let him go.”
“But—”
Graviter raises his head so suddenly that Catalina jumps.
“Let the Vandawolf go!” Graviter roars, startling every rider. But not the city’s women. They don’t budge or flinch and again, I wonder what could have happened that they are acting as if they have nothing left to lose.
“You cannot make him fight for you, Catalina Shield,” Graviter continues to snarl. “He answers only to his own conscience.”
Catalina’s jaw clenches and she replies through gritted teeth. “We need the Einherjar. He can get them for us.”
I’m surprised by her admission.
Moments ago, she whispered with her comrades that they needed more fighters, but they must be in a dire situation if they want help from the northern clans.
Graviter raises himself further upward. “You’ve spent too long holding back the darkness, Catalina Shield, trying to counter the manipulations of the Fae Queen. You would try to coerce the Vandawolf to join your cause because you have forgotten how to ask for help.”
“Nobody helps!” Catalina shouts back at Graviter. “Not unless they’re forced to. Not until their homes are threatened. Or their children die. Or they have nowhere else to turn.”
She may have jumped back from Graviter before, but now she storms toward him, even though her dragon lurches after her.
“No, Catalina,” he says, but she doesn’t stop.
“We are holding back the horde!” she screams at Graviter. “The fae want us dead. Andnobody.Fucking.Helps!”
Graviter stares her down, a hint of gold returning to his scales. His response to her anger is a stern silence that extends for a long minute, stretching into the silence, and seems to subdue her more effectively than a verbal rebuke.
Her shoulders gradually slump, and the anger fades from her face. “Nobody helps unless we make them.”
Behind her, the other riders are nodding, and their dragons appear grim. Catalina’s dragon has hunched to the ground.
Graviter’s hard expression softens.
