ISKERA
He came.
When he said he would be watching, he meant he would be here.
I swivel with insane speed, nudging my way past the guards who try to apprehend me. And there he is. The sea of wolves part for him as he moves forward, courtesy of that aura he wears like a second skin.
He isn't wearing pack colors—instead, he is dressed in a tailored black suit that looks as if it were woven from midnight—so, of course, my people know instantly he is not one of us, and the realization heightens their curiosity to a fever pitch.
Who is this male that wears power? they must be thinking. Who moves with a lethal, predatory grace that makes the Alpha's warriors look like puppies?
It is then I notice that apart from curiosity, there is no familiarity in their eyes—none I was banking on, at least. They don't know Vane. Or rather, they have never seen him before.
I recall a bit of gossip from Seren when she had gushed about this fellow—this man who has now stopped just a few feet away from me, his scent already teasing my nostrils even from such a distance.
He is a scarce commodity, rarely seen by the people out of choice or necessity; I'm not sure which. But he is never seen except by those in his inner circle.
Seren, however, hadn't stopped pining for him because her friend had seen the Prince and marked him as mouthwatering.
The friend hadn't been far from the truth.
"And who are you?" my father bellows. His eyes flash a dangerous amber, shattering the silence of the grounds. I think part of his anger stems from the fact that another male is taking his shine, his glory, his space. Male egos are that stupid.
"A witness," the Prince says. His silver eyes catch mine, devoid of pity, holding only a glimmer of… amusement? "And I don't think it wise to throw a princess into a pit."
Yes, amusement, surely. I note the slight tug at his lips. He, too, is waiting for the explosion. But he isn't the one who will light the fuse. No, he's giving me the opportunity to spark it.
I smile. "Welcome, witness…"
The people jerk as if surprised I can even speak—that I am speaking to someone who looks like a visiting dignitary.
"Thank you, princess…" the Prince says, tilting his head in my direction. I giggle before I can help myself, enjoying this a little too much.
But Seren chooses that moment to step forward. "Princess? She is the cursed thing of our pack…"
I watch Vane's teasing smile dry up as he stares at Seren, who walks past me toward him.
She stops and stretches out her hand for a handshake. "I am Seren Galehart, princess of the Blood-Claw pack, and next in line to the throne…"
She points to Rian, who is watching with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "And that's my fiancé. What's your name?"
"Not important at the moment, Galehart."
Sharp inhales ripple through the crowd; we all realize he didn't refer to her as a princess. I see Seren clench her fist by her side, and I chuckle.
She instantly turns her head and glares at me. "What's funny? Did you forget you would be dead in a few hours?"
Vane sighs long and slow, slipping his hands into his pockets without shaking Seren's hand. "Can we get on with the ritual? I have other places to be on a message for the Alpha King…"
That's when my father's high shoulders deflect. He likely believes that the fellow has come to confirm my death himself, for the Alpha King. I hold back a boisterous laugh cooking in my chest.
Enjoying this, aren't you? I hear Nox's smug voice in my head. I give a small nod, even as I watch my father gesture to the High Priest.
"Get on with it! The King is watching!"
To me, he sneers. "Your death is set in stone, princess."
He says princess like it's a cuss word, but then, I've never truly been his daughter.
The High Priest, sensing the shift in energy, hurriedly begins the ritual. He beckons to Seren, who drops her hands limply to her side. She doesn't seem to care for the messenger anymore, though I'm sure she would have loved to bed him, if the last glance she threw at him is any indication.
Poor Rian. Well, they do fit each other.
Seren smiles at me as she walks past me again, standing at the center of the altar with smug confidence. I watch the priest take a basin from his attendant's hands and place it on the stone slab, then hand her a knife.
"Just slice your palm… it will only hurt a little, princess… and then your palm will heal. You have a strong wolf, after all. And once the Goddess gives her approval—evident in the basin glowing—we can get on to the next stage of the rituals."
Seren hesitates, her face taking on a pale pallor as she makes an innocent noise in her throat, playing the damsel in distress.
I scoff, watching her mother tap her shoulder reassuringly as Rian moves closer to her. He kisses the side of her hair and murmurs rubbish into her ear. Seren nods like the goat she is, but still hesitates.
I scoff again, this time loud enough to be heard. Does she want reassurance from the entire pack? From Vane?
"Get on with it, Seren… you don't have to pretend over everything."
"Shut up, curse! You aren't worthy to speak here!" Rian shouts. His glare is hot enough that I feel chills on my skin.
But I smile at him, too, pushing past the pain of that first betrayal. After all, he had been mine first.
"Apologies, Rian. But she is wasting the time of the King's delegate. Surely you don't want the King's man to consider us petty and foolish?"
His mouth works, anger reverberating all over him, but he says nothing other than to reassure Seren. "Come on, love, just a slash…"
Seren bites her lower lip, looking younger, easing into him, sneaking me another smug glance.
I laugh, and she falters for a second, probably wondering why I'm so carefree.
Girl, you can have him!
She finally slices her palm, letting her "pure" blood drip into the silver basin. We wait for the glow—the sign that the Goddess has accepted the cure.
Nothing happens. The basin remains cold.
The sun suddenly dips in the sky, vanishing behind a thick, unnatural bank of clouds. I furrow my brow. What is happening, Nox? Why is her blood not working?
But Nox keeps silent, though I feel excitement brimming underneath my pulse, one that doesn't belong to me.
I'm suddenly not liking the feel of things, especially since I'm in the dark. I don't want to overstay my welcome here either; I just want to show my ring and leave with Vane.
But it seems… that won't be easy too.
"Again!" my father commands.
Disbelief shrouds his face, and his wife's, and Rian's. Everyone, as a matter of fact, including Seren, whose mouth has dropped open in shock.
And for that sight, I forgo my ignorance of what is happening and smile. It is beautiful to see her turned down by the Goddess she so often claimed was her favorite.
But my smile freezes in the same vein as I remember the sick people locked up in their homes so they won't contaminate the rest—the dead ones not even yet cold in the ground. And even though they have been nothing but cruel to me, I ask Nox what is happening again, if the Goddess really plans to wipe my pack from the surface of the earth.
She remains silent. I inhale deeply and settle on watching.
With trembling hands, Seren cuts deeper with the mystical short knife. And again, there is no glow in the basin. Still, the Goddess is silent.
The pack members in the front row begin to cough—the black-lung sickness claiming them in real-time. Panic immediately fills the air as people move away from those who are coughing, who are crying in shock.
Well, it seems the disease doesn't need contact to spread. It just… spreads.
Nox?
Silence still. But I feel her watching.
Murmurs kick up everywhere, but there's only a few I can pick up.
"What is going on?"
"Why is the Goddess not answering us?"
"Does it mean Seren isn't the Alpha's daughter?"
Seren jerks, and I know she heard that particular one.
But then I hear:
"Maybe we should have killed the curse first. This sickness always happens in her presence!"
And it's my turn to jerk as everyone looks at me, menacingly.