“Spirit Moon!” the crowd yelled, “Spirit Moon!”
Astra clapped her hands together and blue sparkly mist burst from her palms. The crowd fell into a hushed silence. The priestess crossed the lawn quickly and held her hands out, placing them on the top of my head.
“May the Father bless you and guide you, and may you return home to us quickly. I pray that your body is strong enough to be a vessel for our people’s magic and that you will only get stronger with each day that you are away.”
Leaning forward, she kissed my forehead and I had to swallow down my emotions.
I might not be religious or whatever, but she had clearly put a lot of effort into that prayer, which was super sweet, and I was grateful.
“Thank you, Astra.”
Reaching behind her back, she brandished a small dagger. The handle was made of curved bone, and light glinted off of the blade’s razor-sharp, steel edge. “This was Red Moon’s. He would want you to have it, and you can take one family heirloom into the trial.”
My gaze glanced to Rab and he nodded. With that, I took the blade, grateful to have it, and stuck it into the belt at my waist.
Willow was among the drumming women, pregnant belly hanging over the rim of the drum. When I met her gaze, she gave me a nod.
“I won’t let you down!” I yelled loudly for all to hear me. “I’ll be back in three days with enough magic to light this place up like Christmas.”
One by one, they put a fist over their chest in a sign of respect, and then Astra, Rab and Sage led me away.
It was time.
We walked in companionable silence for a good thirty minutes, the whole time the drumming behind us getting softer and softer in the distance. The woods became thicker, darker, and a stench bled into the air as we neared what I assumed was the Dark Woods. The trees were gnarled, drier, and creepier here than in the Paladin Village. It was also colder. I was going to freeze here at night!
Rab came to an abrupt stop, facing me. “This is as far as we can go.” He pointed to a flat stone that was inset into the dirt.“Dark Woods. Alphas only. Enter at your own risk.”
Great.
I could still hear the drumming faintly.
“Someone will play the drums every hour on the hour for five minutes every day that you are gone to help you find your way home,” Astra told me.
Wow, that was … a commitment. I nodded to her in thanks as Sage stepped forward.
“And I’ll wait a week before I come in after your ass,” Sage announced.
Rab’s eyes widened. “Don’tdo that. These woods are cursed. Only a Paladin alpha can survive them. You wouldn’t last a day.”
Sage crossed her arms, glaring him down. “Cursed how? Some trees are going to know that I’ve stepped foot inside and kill me?”
Astra shared a nervous look with Rab, her eyes tracing the scar along his cheek.
“I was dared to go into the Dark Woods when I was younger.” Rab swallowed hard and then reached up with one finger, tracing the line of his scar. “Let’s just say the trees didn’t appreciate that. They attacked me.”
Sage stifled a laugh. “Atreeattacked you? Sounds like you fell.”
Rab shook his head, casting an irritated glance at her. “It moved, whacked me across the face the second I entered. Right over there.” He pointed to a pile of rocks just behind the warning sign.
“Okay, no need for this talk,” I assured everyone as Sage stared at the stack of rocks with a frown. “I’m coming right back.”
“Of course you will,” Sage agreed, and I loved her for her positivity in that moment.
I cleared my throat. “But first, Rab, I wanted to talk to you about something…”
He gave me a side-glance. “What is it?”
I could feel Sage and Astra’s attention shift to us. There was no way of hiding this conversation, so I decided to just come out with it: “It looks like Sawyer is going to have to surrender in order to save everyone. He’s going to take the rest of the city wolves into a large underground bunker that’s hidden from all eyes that aren’t wolf.”
