Maren's POV
Lira's hand is around my throat before I can scream.
Quiet, she hisses. Her black eyes gleam in the darkness. Or I'll snap your neck right here.
The bond explodes with alarm but it's too far away. Kael is already gone, walking toward the sanctuary ruins with Ronan. He can't feel this. Can't sense the danger.
Can't save me.
Lira drags me deeper into the forest, away from the path. Her fingers are ice-cold. Stronger than they should be.
You figured it out, she says. Faster than I expected. Clever girl.
I claw at her hand. Can't breathe. Can't speak.
The Council didn't know your name because of your father, Lira continues, almost conversational. They knew because I told them. Two weeks ago. Before you were even sold. She leans closer. I told them everything. The auction. The Ember carrier. The perfect bait to trap the Rogue King.
My vision starts to blur.
You want to know the best part? Lira's smile widens. Kael trusted me. For seven years. Never questioned me once. And now he thinks you're the traitor. She laughs soft and cruel. By the time he figures out the truth, I'll be long gone. And you'll be dead.
She squeezes harder.
The world goes gray at the edges.
The Ember Gift surges in my blood desperate, wild, trying to heal me. But there's nothing to heal. I'm not wounded.
I'm being murdered.
And then I remember something.
The fire. How I bent it. How the Ember didn't just heal it protected.
I don't think. I just push.
Gold light explodes from my skin.
Lira screams and jerks backward, her hand burning. Smoke rises from her palm. She stares at it, then at me, and her face twists with rage.
You little
I run.
Branches claw at my face. Roots try to trip me. The forest is alive with shadows and teeth and things that hunger.
Behind me, Lira is laughing.
Run all you want! she calls. You're in the Wilds now! Nothing survives here alone!
She's right.
I can hear them things moving through the trees. Growls that aren't quite animal. Eyes that glow in the dark.
But I keep running.
Because if I stop, I die.
The bond pulls at my chest, screaming for Kael. But he's too far. He won't hear. Won't feel this until it's too late.
I burst through a wall of thorns and stumble into a clearing.
And stop cold.
Because I'm not alone.
A wolf stands in the center of the clearing. Massive. Scarred. Gray fur streaked with white. Eyes that burn like embers.
Not Lira.
Something worse.
It growls low and ancient and hungry.
Please, I whisper. Please don't
The wolf lunges.
I throw my hands up the Ember flares gold
And the wolf passes through the light like smoke.
No.
Not through it.
The light bends around him. Protecting him instead of stopping him.
He skids to a halt inches from my face. Sniffs once. Then shifts.
Human form. Tall. Older. Scarred face with eyes that look like they've seen too many wars.
You're the Ember carrier, he says. Not a question.
I can't speak.
And you just used the Gift to shield yourself from attack. He tilts his head. Interesting. That's not supposed to be possible.
Who are you?
Someone who's been watching the Rogue King for a very long time. He circles me slowly. And someone who knows a traitor when he smells one.
My stomach drops. I'm not
Not you. He stops. Looks back the way I came. Her.
Lira steps into the clearing.
Her smile is gone. Her face is cold.
Darius, she says flatly. This isn't your concern.
Isn't it? The man Darius crosses his arms. You're about to murder an innocent girl. That seems like my concern.
She's not innocent. She led the Council
You led the Council, Darius interrupts. I watched you do it. I heard you sell the sanctuary's location for fifty thousand marks and a promise of amnesty.
Lira's face goes very still. You're lying.
Am I? Darius takes one step forward. Then why are you out here trying to kill the one witness who could prove you're the traitor?
She figured it out! Lira snarls. She knows
That you've been working for Elder Councillor Serath for two years? Darius's voice is like iron. That you've been feeding him information about the sanctuary? That you're the reason sixteen wolves died tonight?
Lira's hand moves to something at her belt a knife, small and sharp.
I did what I had to do, she says quietly. The sanctuary was never going to survive. The Council would have found it eventually. I just... made a deal. Saved myself.
And betrayed everyone who trusted you.
Trust is for fools. Lira's black eyes fix on me. She'll tell Kael. The moment she gets back, she'll tell him everything. And then my deal is worthless.
Then you shouldn't have let her figure it out, Darius says.
Lira moves.
Fast. Too fast.
The knife flashes toward my throat
And Darius catches her wrist mid-strike.
No, he says softly.
They struggle. Wolf against wolf. Lira is fast, but Darius is stronger. Older. He twists her arm the knife falls and then he does something I don't expect.
He looks at me. Run.
What?
Back to the sanctuary. Find the Rogue King. Tell him what you know. His grip tightens on Lira. I'll hold her here.
She'll kill you!
Maybe. He smiles. It's not a happy smile. But I'm old. Tired. And I owe Kael a debt I can never repay. His eyes burn. So run. Now. Before she breaks free.
I hesitate.
Because leaving him here feels like murder.
But staying feels like suicide.
Go! Darius roars.
I go.
I run through the forest like death itself is chasing me. Maybe it is. The bond pulls me forward toward Kael, toward the sanctuary, toward the only person who might believe me.
If he's not too angry to listen.
If I'm not too late.
The trees thin. Smoke fills the air. And then I see it.
The sanctuary.
Or what's left of it.
Burned cabins. Collapsed walls. Bodies covered with blankets. Wolves moving through the ruins, salvaging what they can. Children crying. Adults trying to comfort them.
And in the center of it all, standing alone, is Kael.
He's staring at the destruction. His face is carved from stone.
I run toward him.
Kael!
He turns. Sees me. His eyes go wide.
What are you where's Lira?
She's the traitor! The words tumble out. She told the Council! She sold the sanctuary! She tried to kill me!
Kael goes very still. What?
Lira! She's working for Councillor Serath! She's been feeding him information for years! She's the one who
Stop. Kael's voice is flat. Just stop.
But
Lira has been with me for seven years, he says slowly. She helped me build this place. She saved my life twice. She would never
She told me herself! I grab his arm. The bond flares. She admitted it! She tried to kill me to keep me quiet!
Kael pulls away. You're lying.
The words hit like a slap.
I'm not
You led the Council here. Your father sold us out. And now you're trying to blame Lira? His face hardens. I don't know what game you're playing, but
It's not a game! I'm shouting now. Desperate. Please! You have to believe me!
Why should I?
Because I'm your mate! The words rip out of me. Because the bond doesn't lie! Feel it! Feel what I'm feeling right now!
Kael freezes.
For a moment I see doubt flicker across his face.
Then a voice cuts through the tension.
Kael.
We both turn.
Lira walks into the clearing.
Her clothes are torn. Blood on her hands. But she's smiling.
Thank the Goddess you're safe, she says breathlessly. I was bringing the prisoner to camp when she attacked me. Tried to run. I barely escaped.
She looks at me. Her black eyes glitter.
She's more dangerous than we thought, Lira continues. We should lock her up. Before she hurts someone else.
Kael looks between us. Me. Lira. Me again.
The bond hums with his confusion. His exhaustion. His desperate need to trust someone.
And I realize with absolute certainty that he's about to choose wrong.
Kael, I whisper. Please.
He closes his eyes.
When he opens them, they're empty.
Lock her up, he tells Lira.
The world stops.
What? I breathe.
You heard me. He turns away. Lock her up. Keep her under guard. Don't let her near anyone.
No! I lunge forward
Lira grabs me. Her grip is iron.
Of course, she says sweetly. Right away.
She drags me toward one of the still-standing buildings. I fight. I scream. I beg.
But Kael doesn't turn around.
The bond screams between us my terror, his guilt, both of us breaking.
And as Lira shoves me into a small stone room and slams the door, I hear her whisper:
Scream all you want. No one's coming to save you.
The lock clicks.
Darkness closes in.
And through the bond, I feel the exact moment Kael walks away.
Leaving me alone.
With the woman who wants me dead.