She vanished.
Rust immediately treated my wound, applying a salve that Sereana had sent with the alpha for this very occasion, confirming that Dad had known that creepy little creature would chomp on my arm.
He’d come prepared.
He’d also stepped in and made damn sure I didn’t have to do it alone, which should soften the sting of betrayal.
It didn’t.
Not that I expected my dad to protect me—if surrendering my life would save the pack, I would do my goddamn duty—but my father couldn’t find it in his heart to freaking warn me? Yes, the alpha was leading a mission, and I didn’t rank high enough for the details, but hadn’t I proven myself at least a little by stealing the bloodstone? Or by saving us from slavery at the hands of the fishmen?
Of course, the enemy had invaded my dreams and forced me to reveal our location, so maybe the less I knew, the better.
“There ya go,” Rust said, tying off my bandage before handing the jar of salve back to the alpha. “Fixed ya right up.”
I smiled and thanked him because that’s what obedient soldiers did.
But he was wrong. Nothing was better.
The truth had finally sunk its teeth in. Literally. I wasn’t here for my skills. Not for the heist I’d pulled off, the escape I’d engineered, or the years I’d spent training harder than wolves twice my size to prove I was more than my mother’s curse.
Dad hadn’t brought me for any of that.
I was on this mission for my blood. And the worst part wasn’t the betrayal.
It was that I should have known.
THE ISLAND WITHIN THE TREE
Ziara
The canyon was a fever dream.
Or maybe Rehabhen’s bite was making me hallucinate, because this place was hella trippy.
Unlike the dragon blood trees outside, the ones inside the gorge were speckled in vibrant shades of violet, teal, gold, and pink, making the canopies look less like umbrellas and more akin to enormous magic mushrooms. Multicolored butterflies and moths flitted around a collection of teal rocks at the base of the nearest tree. A strange, elongated lizard perched on a branch. Its tongue flicked out to track a moth that fluttered out of range at the last instant, and the lizard’s jaws snapped shut on empty air.
I looked back at Mack for reassurance that I wasn’t losing my mind, but his attention wasn’t on the scenery. It was on me. More specifically, on my bandaged arm.
The worry pinching his features dug deeper under my skin than Rehabhen’s bite. I whipped my head forward before Mack could catch the reaction that had to be written all over my face.
His concern shouldn’t bother me. Mack loved me. He’d always been protective, and he would have torn Rehabhen apart ifthe alpha hadn’t held him back. Like me, Mack would sacrifice anything for the pack.
But the look in his eyes had changed. It wasn’t just worry anymore. It was the slow, awful recognition of someone watching a countdown they couldn’t stop.
I wasn’t walking away from this mission.
Coming to terms with that was hard enough without watching Mack accept it, too. I swallowed, shoved the grief somewhere it couldn’t reach me, and locked my attention onto the canyon. Falling apart would only get me killed faster. If these were my last moments with my loved ones, I’d rather spend them being useful than afraid.
The soft, earthy smell of the canyon carried a hint of natural sweetness, like tea made with milk and honey.
Like Jillian used to drink.
Mack squeezed my arm, instinctively stopping my slide down that dark path. He was the best. Best friend. Best sparring partner. Best protector. Best lover. Half the unmated females in the pack would have clawed my eyes out for a shot at him, and a few of the mated ones probably fantasized about it. He could have had any of them, could easily be with a wolf who could shift, who smelled right, and whose blood didn’t double as a skeleton key for dark magic.
He’d never even looked twice at any of them.
And here I was, repaying his loyalty by hoarding secrets that would shatter us. Every cell in my body knew the dragon was closing in. I could feel it in my bones, like a storm building on the horizon. When he arrived and I surrendered, Mack would likely never forgive me.
