“No.” Walsh reached out and stopped me. “I had you keep her out for a reason. If you were to get angry or need to fight, and they saw her come out of you, they would know what you are.”
Truth.
“But if we walk in with a wolf, they will definitely know we are from Wolf City,” I said.
Walsh nodded. “They’ll be able to smell it either way. Better we look like four wolf shifters than two werewolves and one…” He looked at me. “Split shifter?”
I shrugged. “Better thandemon.”
Sage nodded. “You’re right. Own what we are and say we’re on the run? We were banished?”
Walsh shook his head. “Youwill say nothing. I will do the talking. I’m hoping to flash enough gold at this guy that he doesn’t even blink at my request for transport animals.”
Sage crossed her arms and glared at him, but nodded. It was clear he outranked her or whatever.
He handed Sage the map. “In case we get separated.” And then he pulled his sword and lay it on the ground, covering it with leaves. “Hide the weapons. Eugene said they take them and don’t give them back.”
Great. I reached down, scraped some of the fallen leaves and dirt away, and then deposited the shotgun Marmal had given me and the fey blade, covering it. I’d grown fond of the weapon and hoped it wouldn’t be stolen while we were in this place.
Walsh looked at me. “Your name is Jessica. Understood?”
Okay, wow, so we were really paranoid. I nodded.
After that, we stepped out into the clearing and my eyes immediately were drawn to a giant pole barn. It was huge, must have been two hundred feet long by a hundred feet wide. Maybe for racing animals or keeping them in there or something. There was a chimney at the top that spewed dark smoke, and the scent that hit my nose was so confusing I actually scrunched up my face.
Fox, beaver, bear, tiger, rat, and magic.Somuch magic…
This place was crawling with magic and smelled like a zoo. A crazy combination for sure. As we approached, my eyes ran over a large dude about Eugene’s size. He stood like a sentinel at the front of two large double doors; his forehead and nose were troll-like, as were the tiny delicate tusks that protruded from his cheeks, but he had slightly pointy ears and black eyes. He didn’t look a full-blown fey; they were tall and willowy and hadreallypointy ears. He was somewhere between a troll and a fey.
“Ithaki,” Sage whispered to me and my eyes widened.
Shit. I hoped he didn’t know who I was from the day Sawyer killed their leader.
What was an Ithaki doing in Dark Fey Territory? A troll fey one no less? Did he live here? I was slightly horrified and intrigued by this.
The man inhaled through his nose and growled. “Wolf.”
Walsh produced a small gold coin from his pocket, legit gold, and handed it to the man. “I need to speak with Trip.”
The man looked at us like we were the scum of the earth, his eyes even roaming over my wolf before he looked back at Walsh and tapped his palm.
Walsh produced another gold coin and it clinked with the first one. The giant put them in his pocket and stepped aside, allowing us entry into the building. We walked past him quickly and into a barrage of sounds and smells.
A stone sank in my gut as my eyes ran across the hundreds of cages that lined the far walls of the large barn. Racoons, foxes, dogs, cats, every kind of animal you could think of. I tucked into Walsh’s side as my wolf pressed against my other side and Sage brought up the rear. Seeing so many caged and mistreated animals had us all shrinking together in our own little pack. I skidded to a stop, causing Sage to run into my back as my eyes stopped on a stall that was barred like a jail cell. Thick iron bars went from the floor to the ceiling, encasing the most magnificent creature I’d ever seen.
“Is that…?” My mouth dropped open. The most beautiful pearl colored dragon stood in the center of the cell, her turquoise eyes tracking me as I tried to walk closer to her. Walsh’s hand snaked out and grasped my upper arm as he yanked me back. I could tell by Sage’s wide eyes that she also didn’t think dragons existed before this very moment.
I started to look at the other cages and stalls more closely now. Horses, buffalo, every animal looked “normal” but they all smelled of magic.
“Holy drago—”
Walsh shushed me, forcing us to all start moving again and I had to bite my tongue from freaking out.
“Mods,” Sage whispered to me as we followed Walsh deeper into the center of the room, where some crowd was shouting and chanting.
“Mods?” I looked confused.
She gestured to the animals in the other cages. “Modified animals. They’re given magic powers before they’re bound to the fey. They probably use the dragon to do it.”
