I haven’t felt like a princess in centuries, but the reason I don’t want to becalleda princess is that Karl used to call me that. It was an endearment in the beginning, and it later turned into something meant to hurt.
“Call me Manu.”
“As you wish, Manu. I doubt you want to continue suffering Telar’s company. I’ll walk the wind with you.”
I glance at Castiel’s arm, then at Telar, who’s standing ahead of us with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. “He needs to unbind me first.”
Castiel looks at the soldier. “You heard her.”
Telar’s jaw drops, and he shakes his head. “You’re insane, but go ahead.” He waves his hand, and the vines around my wrists disappear. I massage them, though they don’t feel tender.
“Ready?” Castiel offers me his arm again.
“Sure.”
Like I have a choice.
KARL
I didn’t want to waste time updating Selor on all the events that led to my current situation. I summarized it, skipping the parts that might make him not want to help me. Then I shifted to my wolf form, not worried that Selor would simply abandon me. One thing I learned from Rikkon is that words spoken out loud in Ellnesari create a magical binding contract. Selor will have to fulfill his end of the bargain.
He doesn’t seem inclined to betray me, though. He appears as confused as ever, and from time to time, I catch him massaging his temple. He really doesn’t remember anything that happened in the past few weeks, which works in my favor. He was Queen Maewe’s lackey, after all.
I keep following Manu’s trail, running as fast as I can. Selor has no trouble keeping pace with me. Nightingales can move pretty fast. But just as the sky starts to turn orange, indicatingsunset isn’t far away, Manu’s scent and the scent of her companion vanish.
Fuck.
I stop in my tracks and sniff the area, identifying a new scent.
“What’s the matter, wolf boy?” Selor asks.
To answer him, I need to shift back, and it takes a moment. “I lost her trail.”
Selor nods. “Yes, she walked the wind with…” He looks up and takes a big whiff of the air. “I’ll be damned.”
“What? Who took her?”
He looks at me, sporting a smirk. “A sneaky lynx.”
“What? Are you saying a lynx shifter took her?”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be daft, wolf boy. There aren’t shifters in Ellnesari. I’m saying she went on a trip with Castiel of Lynx.”
The name sounds familiar. It takes me a moment to remember the male. Tall, dark, and ridiculously attractive. Jealousy pierces my chest at once, making the wolf inside me snarl. I haven’t felt this side of the bond in so long, it takes me by surprise.
“Oh, settle down, Fluffy.”
I take a step toward him. “Can you track them if they walked the wind?”
He rubs his chin. “It depends.”
“On what?” My voice rises. Desperation is making me lose my patience.
“On whether they wanted to be followed. You see, when you walk the wind, you leave a trace in the air.” He raises his hand and flicks his fingers as if to demonstrate the trace. “But if Castiel didn’t wish to be followed, he would mask his trace.”
Fuck. I’m going out on a limb here and guessing he took the extra precaution.
“This can’t be the end of the road. There’s gotta be a way to track them.”
