‘Brynn, my story is similar to yours, but what I tell you next is something you must never try. You would die. Do you promise?’
Cold prickles ran down my spine.
‘Yes, I promise. What happened?’
Godric slipped into the trees, shifting back to human form as we approached the small village. I stayed on my horse, waiting as Val continued.
‘Around my twenty-second birthday, I was walking alone. I was furious after an argument with Drake. We disagreed over how to handle a skirmish on the northern border. He was trying to keep me safe. The moon was full, most of the wolfkin were out running…’
I nodded. I’d seen it too many times now. On a full moon, none of them could keep to their human skin. They ran for hours, covering impossible distances. We stayed in the house on those nights. No matter how comfortable we were with the wolfkin, hearing those howls late at night always made my arm hair stand up.
‘Well,’Val said,‘a rabid wolf, an aged one who could no longer control himself, attacked me.’
I gasped aloud, and Godric burst from the bushes where he’d been probably relieving himself, fists up.
“Sorry, Val is telling me a story,” I explained, tapping my temple.
He relaxed slowly, though his eyes stayed locked on Valkaryn.
A rabid wolf attacked her. Why would she think I would ever try something like that?
‘I was a trained warrior, but during a full moon, a rabid wolf was too much. I was emotional, unarmed, and unprepared. He bit me forty-six times, but I fought back just enough that none of the bites went deep enough to kill me.’
Forty-six times!
‘Val, that must have been terrifying. I am sorry. How did you survive?’
She grew quiet. Godric led Star into town, guiding her reins and pulling his sword from the saddlebags to rest at his waist. Lanterns flickered awake along the street as the sun set.
‘Brynn, on the full moon, wolfkin have venom in their teeth. It is contagious. Surely you know this?’
I frowned.‘Contagious? What does that even mean?’
I didnotknow this.
A cold feeling crept down my arms.
‘I received forty-six injections of wolfkin venom. It turned me into a wolfkin.’
I nearly fell off my horse. My mind emptied, and my lips parted with no sound.
‘A little bite is nothing,’she said.‘A big bite can seal a bond, as you saw at your binding ceremony with Kaelric. Too much will kill you. But just enough, on a full moon, will change you.’
This sounded impossible. Dizziness washed over me.
‘You… changed into a wolfkin?’
‘Yes. I nearly died. But by morning, my wounds closed, and I felt her. My wolf. That was how I could marry the king and bear his children.’
My thoughts spun wildly. If Val could be changed, then maybe?—?
‘Brynn. You promised.’
I pressed the thought away. It was pointless anyway. Kaelric did not want me.
Val changed the subject:‘Tell my big brother I miss him and that he is old and wrinkly.’
I snorted. “Val says she misses you, and you look old.”
