I looked at the position of the stars in the sky and sighed a little dramatically. I had been following Lynn and Lucas for the better half of the evening, and I was beginning to think they would never return home. I had given my word I would look after them while on their night stroll, and that was precisely what I intended to do until Lynn returned home. I cradled my hand I had busted when I punched the ground, trying to hit the thief’s face. It had gotten much better thanks to Xander’s ability to heal faster, but it had only been a day, and I would need at least another one until it stopped throbbing whenever I bumped it into something. I walked farther behind the two lovers, leaving them to discuss whatever their hearts desired. I had no intentions of being a third wheel. While I walked, I thought about what I would find if I went to the Wanderer tavern Lynn had mentioned. There were no guarantees I would find the person I was looking for, and I didn't know what type of situation
Gemma and Peet were in the parlour. Gemma was knitting something while Peet was quietly reading the day’s newspaper. They lifted their eyes when they heard me come in, and Gemma quickly placed her knitting down on the table beside her and hurried to greet me. “Essa! We were worried. Why are you dressed like this?” She cooed all over me. I was a bit surprised they had waited for my return. Was this what it was like to have concerned parents? I never really had that. My parents had been strict, but my Princess schedule never permitted me to do things like this. Not to mention I was almost always accompanied wherever I went. My parents never had to worry. “I’m fine,” I said while trying to get out of Gemma’s hug. “I went to see about my business here in the city. I didn’t want to look too conspicuous, so I removed the dress.” Her eyes became sad, but she quickly recovered and shook her head. Peet was also looking at me with a concerned look. He had placed the paper beside him and had
Xander POV I had a restful night for the first time in a long while. Ida’s emotions had been all over the place for the past few days. I had felt her energy and stress spike, but it had been serenely quiet after that. She must have been able to run away from Osprey and find somewhere to lie low, which made me feel calmer. Our mate bond acted like some sort of beacon. I held on to the hope of finding her soon. If I followed my heart and the pull, I would eventually get back to her. I lifted my head off the ground and looked at everyone asleep on their makeshift cot. Nimu and Denis were closest to the fire, whereas Gideon, Leo, and I were sprawled further away, not needing its warmth from the chilling night breeze. We were heading southeast, following the mountain range. The sun hadn’t come up yet, so I decided to take some time and go up the small, steep mountainside to see our exact location. We had acquired horses with the bit of money I had left, but we couldn’t use the main roads
Xander POV Did Duke Kestrel know I wasn’t human? That I wasn’t his son? I closed my mouth and continued the letter. “I was the one who informed the Duke of your Lycan lineage. He confronted me about your implication with the rebellion. I thought he already knew! He seemed so sure of himself, so I wanted to make a bargain to save your life. I should have known it was a ploy. Be careful from now on. The Duke will come for restitution. I am taking my last moments to write this to you, to be with you, and I want you to know my final thoughts will be of you. I would have liked to say much more, but time is short, and I am hard-pressed to finish this letter before they come to find me. Markus wasn’t just a simple Lycan. Although the Lycans do not have the same politics as humans or shifters, their hierarchy is similar. You are the only child Markus had. He, therefore, passed his status down to you. You would find your father’s pack in the forest near Pine Lake if they endured the upri
I sat in the bumping wagon, silently looking over at my old magic teacher. Otis still seemed the same. The crinkles in the corners of his eyes and mouth were still there. But those around his mouth were hidden underneath a thick layer of whiskers and a short beard. His deep brown irises had paled a bit, but they hadn’t lost the molten gold ring on their exterior. Otis also examined me and tried to find the young lady he had seen grow before his eyes, although I doubted I looked very much the same. I wondered if he was proud of who I had become. Lynn sat quietly, frequently shooting me glances and questioning if I was okay. Was I, though? I had accepted Otis died during the uprising. He had died back in the library just as the secret passage closed on me, leaving me alone to run and hide. How was it possible that he was sitting right in front of me? “All this time… you were alive?” I choked, reeling in a sob. I had no intention of letting it out. I didn’t want to look weak in front
We had been walking for two days, but it felt like a week. I doubted we could ever reach the rebellion within a month, not unless we could get horses. Walking over mountains and through forests by foot was a tedious affair, and my feet had blisters from the sweat that made them slippery in my boots. Otis had thought it wiser not to stop and rest for too long since the hunter we met back at Mirra would have gone over the rip. He had an army at his side and horses, making them fast and dangerous. I took one more step and bit my bottom lip. One blister had popped, and I felt the raw skin rubbing on the inside leather. “Otis? Do you think we can stop for a while? I don’t think I can go much farther.” He looked at the sky, pinpointing where the sun was, and nodded. “I think we’ll be safe here for a short while. Your pursuers will have difficulty finding us since we didn’t use the main roads. They won’t know in which direction we went. It could take them days, if not weeks before they fi
Xander POV I ran until my legs tired out, and my body fell to the ground. To my surprise, it took three days to tire my Lycan. He hadn’t stopped at night and kept a steady but fast speed. We had probably made a week’s worth of road by horse in that short time. I preferred staying in Lycan form, considering it was safer. Moreover, I had left in a hurry and hadn’t brought a spare change of clothes. I would need to borrow some once I returned to my human form. I didn’t know where I would find some; my chief concern upon departing was to find Ida. Clothes were a trivial matter entirely. I had to sprint deeper into the woods when I encountered a band of soldiers with hounds. I had been lucky to have been downwind and caught their scent instead of the reverse. There were no doubts in my mind the man leading the party had been the hunter who had taken Ida in Osprey city. I would have recognized his face anywhere. If they were near, that meant Ida wasn’t far away. This bothered me. If she h
“Where am I?” I asked myself. I looked right and left; I couldn’t see anything but whiteness everywhere. I didn’t know if there was ground beneath my feet, so I lifted a leg and tentatively took a step forward, feeling my way. My foot hit a hard surface, so I repeated the process until I was confident I wouldn’t fall into nothingness. I was confused by what I was doing. The last thing I remembered was the forest, the eclipse, and Otis starting the spell to unbind me. Soon after, it plunged me into this whiteness with no visible exits or paths. Although I was walking, I had the distinct feeling of gliding, almost flying. The sensation made me dizzy, so I stopped and sat down, looking up at what should have been the sky. More white… Why was there so much white? I called out, asking if anyone was here with me, but no one answered. I sighed and then resumed walking in the white void, going seemingly nowhere. I had no notion of time or direction. I simply walked until my feet got tired,