Patalsikin si Ms. Dayo!

*Fiona*

The howling grows closer as I enter the castle. My father, King Alden, summoned me from the battlefield where Solara, our kingdom, is fighting desperately to stop the onslaught from our enemies, Caldara, the kingdom to the north. I am not pleased to have been called away from battle when we were just about to launch a counterstrike, and my entourage of guards knows it.

Irritated, I stomp into the castle, the sound of my boots echoing off the marble floor. My father leaves it to me and his other commanders to make decisions on the battlefield while he remains safely at the castle, overseeing troop movements through messages that come and go in the mind-link. If he had seen what I was looking at, perhaps he wouldn’t have called me back, but I had no choice but to obey.

I make my way into the war room, throwing the door open so hard it slams into the wall. Every eye turns toward me. A group of older advisors gathers around the table, their hunched shoulders barely straightening as I walk into the room. My father stands amongst them, his wrinkled face blending in with the other gray-haired councilors.

“Father,” I say, “we were in the middle of launching a counterattack. Why did you call me away?”

The Alpha King of Solara does not like to be questioned or called out in front of anyone. I have known this my whole life. Yet, I cannot help but question him. Irritation boils in my veins.

He clears his throat before he says, “Leave us,” in his most authoritative voice.

Immediately, everyone shuffles toward the door, including the guards who followed me in. Not a word is murmured by any of them. They close the door behind them, and I rest a hand on my hip, still clad in the warrior attire I didn’t have a chance to shed so I could shift into my wolf form and join the battle.

“Fiona,” he begins, his voice a bit softer than before, but not by much. “I had no choice but to call you back here. It’s not safe for you out there.”

I snicker. “Of course it’s not, Father. It’s a war.”

“Yes, but there are aspects of this invasion you’re not privy to yet. Some new information has come to my attention, and I need you here.” 

I glance down at the table and look at the placement of the troops. While most of it looks exactly as I knew it would based on the information I gathered from the battlefield, a large mass of troops appears to be coming in from our northeastern border. My forehead crinkles as I try to decipher what I’m looking at. Our northeast border is shared with the neutral kingdom of Malantra. They have no bone to pick with us and no loyalty to Caldara. “What troops are those?” I ask, stepping forward and gesturing to the warriors in question.

“Malantra was invaded a few days ago. They just sent word,” he explains. “While Alpha Varek promises them no harm will come to their people if they cooperate, he is using their lands to move an enormous army in our direction.”

I can hardly believe what he’s saying. My eyes must deceive me. “That looks to be… ten thousand warriors or more.”

Father nods. “Fifteen, perhaps,” he says. “The Malantran messenger wasn’t certain. Alpha Torrin sends his most sincere apologies, but he says there’s nothing he can do.”

Another ripple of anger washes over me. “He could join us. Alpha Varek is a demon,” I remind him, as if my father doesn’t know. “His cruelty is well known throughout all the kingdoms. What makes them think he won’t attack them next?”

“I do not know.” My father suddenly looks ten years older. He wearily rubs his forehead. “What I do know is that we’ve heard rumors that Varek seeks more than just the lands north of the Terian River. There’s another price he’s after, and that’s why I needed to bring you here, to the castle, where you and your sister will be safest.”

“My sister?” I question. “What does Elara have to do with anything?” My sister is quite the opposite of me. While she took after our mother, learning how to play piano and embroider, I trained as a warrior. I’ve spent my entire life, all twenty-two years, trying to show my father that I am worthy of commanding his army while my younger sister wanted to prove herself to be a fine and capable lady. My mother was so proud of her, Goddess rest her soul. When she died, five years ago, she told Elara she would make a fine Luna one day.

She had no such words for me, but that’s all right. I’d rather be an Alpha.

“Elara and you are both in danger, my dear,” Father says. “The messenger said he overheard a conversation between some of the leaders of the Caldaron Army stating that their first and foremost orders from the Alpha were to kidnap the princess.”

“What?” Once again, I am dumbfounded. “Why would Alpha Varek want one of us?”

He shakes his head. “I do not know, my daughter. But you can understand how I cannot have you out there on the battlefield where you are vulnerable to being taken, not when I can keep you safer here at the castle.”

I want to argue with him, but he’s not wrong. It would be much easier for Alpha Varek to snatch me from the battlefield than from my own home, though I think I’d make them kill me before they took me alive.

“They must mean Elara,” I blurt without even thinking. “Alpha Varek has probably heard of her beauty and how she’s been training to be a fine Luna Queen one day.”

Father’s shoulders lift in a soft shrug. “I don’t know. You are also beautiful, my dear.  He could want either one of you.”

I grimace. No one has called me beautiful in years. Granted, Elara and I look similar. My hair is auburn where hers is golden brown. We both have mother’s jade green eyes. But I’m taller than her, more muscular. And she has a dainty, feminine face where mine has a few scars and is battle hardened.

He has to be after my sister.

That knowledge makes me happy that Father called me home. “He will not take her,” I tell him, stepping forward and placing my hand on his shoulder. “I will not let him.”

Father smiles, but it’s weary and does not reach his eyes. “I know you will fight to protect her and your home, Fiona. Just as you always do. But promise me, daughter, you will also take care of yourself. You and Elara are all I have left of your mother.

If either of us falls into Varek’s hands, it would be devastating for our kingdom. Our proud people are quite fond of all of us, and while I know more about our military than my sister, we both have information Varek could try to use against us.

“I’ll be cautious, Father. I promise.” 

He sighs and squeezes my hand. “That’s all I can ask.”