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Chapter 17
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Rise of the cardinal Chapter 18
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
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 19
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
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 20
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
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 21
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
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 22
“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,
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 23
Many soldiers had already perished under Xander’s dreadful Lycan jaw and claws. They soaked the forest clearing in their blood, making it harder to move without slipping on the wet grass. Only a few were left to fight, including the hunter still standing proudly on his horse, shooting arrows to subdue us. When the hunter reached the last arrows, he charged with his horse, slashing his sword close to Xander while another soldier distracted him. When the hunter’s sword came down on Xander, I blasted it away before it came too close and ran towards the man. Ever since I had woken up from the unbinding, I felt a surge of energy I hadn’t known I had. Each parry, barrier shield, and attack I did seemed effortless. Before, I would have been low on magical energy, just as Otis - his attacks were becoming sloppier. Wielders didn’t have an endless supply of power. At one point, just like their bodies, their magic would become weak, and they would need to rest. Xander saw me charging the hunt
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 24
After we left the battle, we walked in the forest for half a day before stopping to make camp for the night. Xander’s wounds had healed perfectly, so we made good time with him scouting the area in Lycan form and reporting back once he found a hidden spot to sleep. Xander mentioned he had encountered the hunter’s party while looking for us. We couldn’t be too careful. If the hunter had told others he was on my trail, there could be more not too far behind with the same intentions. I helped Otis prepare a small fire. We chose specific wood branches that would not create a thick smoke and made sure the fire was hot enough not to produce any. Later in the evening, Xander returned with a rabbit in his jaw. He quickly came to my side and dropped it at my feet, his tail wagging. I passed my fingers into his fur and scratched the back of his huge wolf-like head before giving him a smile. I skinned the rabbit and prepared to cook it with Otis’s spice pouch he had thrown my way to add some
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 25
I woke up just as the sun started peering over the trees and its rays hit my face. I extended an arm to where Xander had slept, but I touched dirt and rocks. I hastily turned around; a small panicking feeling swelled inside of me. Had I dreamed Xander had returned? When Otis saw my head scanning the area anxiously, he came closer and reassuringly placed a hand on my shoulder. “He just stepped out to scout the way ahead. He’ll be back before you know it. Come on, I’ve made breakfast. It’s not much, but it will keep us full for the day.” I still turned my head to look deeper into the forest. When I saw and heard nothing except birds and small critters, I pulled myself up, followed Otis to the other side of the fire, and sat down on a fallen log. It was humid, so my perpetually wind-blown-looking hair stuck out from every side of my face. I took my water flask and poured water over my face to clean it, then put some on my hair to smooth out the frizz. I twirled the strand the hunter h
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