By Order of the Queen Mother

Lyra

Cally’s eyes keep flashing in my mind, exhausted, deflated… sick. The sound of her cough keeps echoing through my head. I’ve heard her erupt in fits of coughs so many times.

But I trudge forward, the hands of the guards burning against me as they shove me every time I try to stop. In my weakened state, there’s nothing I can do to stop them.

There may be nothing I can do even when and if I regain my full strength. These are wolves who can tear my head off in an instant.

But I don’t believe they will do that as long as the king wants me. And since he has sent for me, that must be the case. My only hope is to beg for Cally’s release once I meet him face-to-face.

Though the very idea of that terrifies me.

The ache in my stomach grinds as we reach the top of the long, slanted hallway leading up to the castle, the one they forced me down when I arrived. How long ago was that? There’s no way to tell.

Henry opens the top door, and powerful rays of sunlight strike me like a bullet, blinding me so harshly that I yelp, bringing my hands to my eyes to cover them.

“What the hell’s the matter with you now?” Henry snorts, shoving me forward so hard I nearly fall forward.

Instinctively, I reach my arms up to stop myself, but I have to close my eyes. At least I won’t have to see the floor barreling toward me before my face hits it. But again, the men’s arms stop me midair, holding me up long enough to gain my footing so they can keep pushing me through the castle.

I’ve never had so many men grabbing at me. I’ve never had any man grab me. As daughter of the king, I’ve been completely off-limits while Father decided the most strategic use of me, which apparently, is selling me off to a cruel wolf king who enjoys watching me suffer.

Slowly, I’m able to blink my eyes open, and my fuzzy surroundings come into focus. I’m now acutely aware of eyes all over me. I don’t understand why the king would want me paraded around in public as soon as I came out of the dungeon. And I don’t understand why he wanted me in the dungeon in the first place.

Thankfully, we pass into a hallway and leave most of the curious onlookers behind. Grand archways tower above me, simplistic and functional but somehow… elegant. I’m unable to distinguish a seam, soon realizing they are carved out of a single massive stone. My breath hitches as I now understand why the entire castle seems to fit so well in the landscape.

It is the landscape.

It wasn’t made from the materials in the cliffs. It is the cliffs.

Somehow, these people—wolf shifters—had tamed the highest cliff face, turning it into a massive piece of architecture fitting for those so in touch with nature.

Impressed as I am with the surroundings, I can’t get Cally out of my mind. Whatever happens in this place, I have to stay alive so I can save her.

My stomach churns as we approach a set of massive double doors carved from what looks to be mahogany wood. Each panel shows a scene—stories perhaps—of wolves and ships and all the creatures of the sea.

Surely, the Sea-King Alpha is behind these doors, and I’m about to see him… again, I realize. That must have been him who met my eyes on the balcony that day when they led me inside.

No other man besides the Alpha King could have such a commanding presence, could be so handsome and strong.

Butterflies flutter in my chest as the guards open the door.

But all it is… is another hallway, some sort of entry into a larger suite. I brace myself as Henry knocks on the interior door.

Maybe these are his chambers.

I hitch a breath as the door opens, but it’s just a woman who appears. Specks of gray hair pepper her temples, her eyes the color of cold steel.

“I’ve got her,” she snaps. “Leave.”

Without another word, Henry and the others spin around and leave me there, clicking the huge mahogany doors closed behind them.

I feel the woman staring at me, but I keep my eyes on the floor, mindlessly tracing the intricate patterns of the hardwood as it winds down the hallway.

“Look at me, girl,” the woman orders.

It’s a struggle to raise my gaze against the weight of her presence. When I finally do, hers narrow, flitting down and back up, assessing me. I fight to swallow against a dry throat.

A judgmental grunt escapes her lips. “Hmm. I thought you were a princess. Well, you hardly seem regal to me. But you’re human, after all.” She sighs, exaggeratedly. “Can’t expect anything more from that sorry lot. Anyway, I won’t permit you to see the Queen Mother in this state. Get inside, and we’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Queen Mother?” I ask.

She snorts. “Oh, so you do talk. Of course, the Queen Mother. She’s responsible for the household affairs until the Alpha King finds a suitable Luna. Of course, that won’t be you.” She lets out a snide chuckle. “Well? Get inside. The bathing suite is that way.”

Her tone has me hurrying past her, trying to reach the bathing suite before she shoves me like the guards did. Something tells me that would be even more unpleasant than the male guards.

The massive soaking tub is already prepared, steam rising from the water, scented of lavender and rose. It’s been so long since I smelled something pleasant, I’m surprised I even recognize the fragrances.

“Strip down,” the woman orders behind me, her harsh voice so contrary to the warm welcome of the bath in front of me. “We’ll throw that… garment out in the trash.”

I run my fingers along the lace of my purple dress as I obediently remove it. It’s been my favorite for such a long time, but now, it’s nothing but tatters, worn so thin it’s hard to remember it ever being the luxurious gown I wore to my father’s events.

It’s the last thing I have from my past, but I suppose it is better left forgotten in a pile of rubbish.

“Get in,” she says harshly.

“I-I have a lady’s maiden who can assist me,” I explain. “But the men wouldn’t bring her up with me from the dungeon.”

“I know nothing of a maiden,” she insists. “Get in.”

I’m accustomed to ladies assisting me in my bath, so I do as she asks, though she scrubs my back harshly, erasing any pleasure that should have come with the first moment of cleanliness since I’d been forced into the darkness below the castle. I remain still as I do for Cally, or any of the maidens from my castle back home, all of whom would have assisted me with a much gentler touch, though I’m sure the thickness of the dungeon grime may have required more effort.

After three drainings of the tub and several forceful dips to wash my hair, I’m finally soaking in clean, floral-scented water, but the experience is cut short.

“Get out and dry off,” the woman orders me. “Your gown is on the bed in the bedchambers. I’ll return to fasten it for you.”

With that, she disappears, and finally, I can breathe. I close my eyes, spending a few moments in the still-warm bathwater, inhaling nothing but beautiful fragrances for the first time in… I don’t know how long.

But guilt eats at me soon, remembering Cally, still trapped below, still filthy, still starving, still sick.

I exit the tub, drying myself off and wandering naked into the bed chambers, where a simple but lovely blue gown is draped across the dark purple bedclothes.

The woman never told me her name, and I don’t really want to know. But she mentioned the Queen Mother, not the king. Maybe the Queen Mother is the one who ordered my release from the dungeon.

I suppose the Alpha King still wants nothing to do with me.

And maybe that’s for the best.