Arana leaned forward to speak with me. “Tell me about your research. Bastian’s explanation was typically vague.”
I gave her the condensed version, touching on the duskburst correlation and the seal site patterns without diving into the technical details unless she asked. She did. Multiple times. Good questions that showed she’d been thinking about this problem from angles Bastian hadn’t considered.
Feral’s hand remained on my knee, his fingertips tracing small circles across the fabric of my dress. When I glanced at him, he was watching me with warmth and pride.
I covered his hand with mine under the table.
Dinner wound down as the bonfire was stoked higher, flames climbing into the darkening sky. Someone produced drums, and the clearing’s energy shifted from meal to an early celebration.
A wolf shifter stood. “How about a race through the forest and back? Any pairs willing?”
Several people whooped.
His gaze found me. “Does the queen ride?”
Before I could answer, Feral said, “She does indeed.”
Acorn’s eyebrows rose.The wolf declares before she speaks. The witch decides if pride or logic seeks.
I raised my own eyebrow at Feral. He raised one back, his expression daring me to object. Issuing a challenge, was he? I decided I didn’t mind.
“What are the rules?” I called out.
The wolf shifter grinned. “Pairs. One rider, one wolf. A fixed route through the forest, marked with blue spelled torches. Wolves can’t shift back until the end of the race. The first pair back to the bonfire wins.”
“And the stakes?”
“Losing pairs serve the winning pair for a day.”
I glanced Feral’s way. “Are you confident in your speed?”
“I’m confident in us.”
I nodded.
Pairs sorted themselves out quickly. Bastian partnered with one of his enforcers. Arana shifted into her wolf form, sleek and gray, taking a younger rider from her pack. Others arranged themselves easily, telling me they’d done this before.
After Feral shifted, I mounted his back, settling into position with Acorn in my lap.
The wolf shifter who’d issued the challenge raised his hand. “On three. Two. One!”
Feral launched forward.
The world blurred as he raced across the open compound. We hit the tree line and I tucked low, adjusting to the move from open ground to forest.
The spelled torches appeared ahead, blue flames marking the path. Feral didn’t slow for them, just adjusted his pace with the confidence of someone who knew exactly how much space he needed.
A branch swung toward my shoulder. I redirected it with a small guiding spell.
We were fast. I could feel it in the way the other pairs fell behind, their sounds growing more distant.
Acorn’s fur flattened against his body from the wind. His eyes were wide, but he wasn’t chittering in panic. He was actually grinning, his small paws gripping Feral’s fur.
I was grinning too.
We cleared the halfway marker, a large blue torch set at the base of an ancient tree. I leaned forward, expecting Feral to push hard toward the bonfire.
He slowed instead and turned.
