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Chapter 25
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Rise of the cardinal Chapter 26
Otis POV I found the travelling road we were on to be quite refreshing and a stark contrast to the life I had lived for nearly ten years. I had been reclusive during my exile, and I found the company of Cressida and her mate to be a breath of fresh air. I still had a tricky habit of using formalities whenever I was with her. I watched her grow up, so it was difficult for me to let go of the fact she had a life without me and no longer went by ‘Princess,’ ‘Highness,’ or just plain ‘Cressida.’ Her new name suited her. A new name for a new life. One I, unfortunately, would not have wished upon her, I thought sadly. As for the Lycan, I had no opinions of him for now, other than he seemed affectionate and extremely enthralled by the Princess. Cressida had lost both her parents, so I took it upon myself, moving forward, to protect her from those that would want her harm. The Lycan—Alexander, I chastised myself for not saying his name, seemed charming, with good etiquette, but what comfort
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 27
Every day in the morning, I would practice drowning out the whispers. I had to find the middle where they came and focus on placing them in an empty chamber in my mind, then lock them in and ignore them. I had been at it for days now. When we were walking, I tried to do it. I thought if I could drown them out while doing something else simultaneously, it would help me get better. It did, but it had been a hard task at first. In the beginning, when the whispers would fill my head, I would stumble and fall, unable to concentrate clearly on what I was doing. Eventually, I could do it, becoming more confident with each passing day. I was so absorbed with my training that I didn’t hear Otis say my name until he grabbed my arm and pulled me off the road under a bush. “What’s the matter?” I asked him, a little staggered. “Shh, there’s a patrol coming our way.” I ducked my head close to the ground and altogether stopped breathing. This was the first patrol we encountered since we were amb
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 28
Xander POV Since Otis and Ida had horses, we made good time reaching Pine Lake. I gave them directions to the cabin while I went ahead to meet up with Gideon. He must have been worried because he barged outside when he heard my howl and scanned the entire area until his eyes settled on my fast-approaching form. He returned inside and came out holding a pair of pants, a sly smile spreading rapidly on his face. “You forgot to bring clothes for your travel. I’m guessing you stayed in this form, so you wouldn’t need any. Did you find Ida?” I lifted myself on my hind legs and painfully moved toward Gideon while my body twisted and snapped into human form. When I arrived in front of him, I clasped his arms, gratefully took the pants from him, and slipped them on. “I did. Ida’s not too far. She should be here within the hour. How has everyone held up?” Gideon closed the front door and walked with me a little way from the cabin. “We’ve been doing well, but there are definitely shifters
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 29
“Are you sure we need to look for a marked tree? What exactly does that even mean?” I called to Xander, who was a few yards away, inspecting his side of the woods. We had been at it for the better part of the day. I had hoped we would immediately find what we were looking for, but the task seemed more daunting than I had initially thought. And by the look on Xander’s face, I figured my sentiment was shared. He looked discouraged. The sun was beating on our heads, and sweat was pouring from every inch of our skin. I thought the only reason Denis, Nimu, Gideon and Leo didn’t mind it was because they had been stuck in the cabin for a month and were finally happy to be out and about. “We just need to look for a mark, something that stands out but is still inconspicuous. Something humans would not think twice about. Maybe look for claw marks or a bark that has been removed?” He answered a little curtly. “That could be anything.” I let out, feeling my shoulders sag. This was going to be i
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 30
Otis and I readied ourselves, walking protectively in a circle around Nimu, Denis and Leo, who all stood in between both of us. We were surrounded by at least fifty beasts, each bigger than the other. I saw Otis shoot me a look, and I nodded, wiggling my fingers when I felt the tingle of magical energy flow through them. He was letting me know to prepare for an imminent attack. Xander and Gideon were nowhere in sight, but I could still hear jaws snapping and furious growls and whelps coming from inside the forest. Whoever attacked me was probably still fighting off Xander. One of the smaller Lycans lunged at me, and I moved just in time to dodge it, swirling my wrists and sending it flying through the air with an energy blast. It landed on its side, close to the edge of the forest. Otis did the same with another attacker. One by one, they tried to breach our perimeter, snapping their giant maws at our limbs in an attempt to make us fall or fatally wound us. We had been able to parry
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 31
Xander POV I followed the old lady to the Lycans’ den. The den was a small village. They made houses of tree logs with roofs that had wooden shingles. They seemed well constructed and comfortable to house multiple people in them. Looking around the village, I must have counted at least a hundred, if not more, Lycans. They must not all have been Lycans; I was reasonably confident that some were human mates who had moved there when they found their partners. However, as Ida had pointed out to me earlier when we arrived, a few of them had spousal marks, which explained the lack of pups running around. I made sure Ida stayed close. I held her near, often inhaling her scent, ensuring she smelled of me. I still didn’t know if they would become hostile, and I noticed that most of the pack was comprised of males. I didn’t want any of them trying something on my mate. The rest of our group followed closely behind, and Gideon was the last one, protecting our rear and surveying the area. We c
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 32
I took to the woods and ran. I needed to think, to get away for a bit. I thought it rather pointless to run away from Xander. He could smell and find me wherever I went. I just wanted to breathe, and the night air that filled my lungs awoke in me something that I hadn't felt in a long while: freedom. Hot tears streamed down my face. I swiped my shirt sleeve over it and kept running. I was in flight mode—screw the fight approach. Panic swelled inside my chest when I heard Xander calling out my name not too far behind. It would be a matter of seconds before he would reach me. I didn’t want to see him just yet. Not with what I had just heard. I needed to find somewhere to think about all of this, calm myself down and quell all this building anxiety, but I knew my legs would never allow me to outrun a Lycan, even if Xander was in human form. I felt something cool and tingling on my back. When I jumped over a fallen log, I was projected into the air. I let out a surprised scream as I took
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 33
I had tried for hours to bring back my wings but to no avail. I had no idea what I did the day before to bring them forward; it just happened. Xander brought me back to the Lycans’ den on his back. That, too, had been a strange feeling, riding on a Lycan. I thought it was like riding a horse, except this one was the size of a giant bear. He was quick and agile and didn’t seem to mind the extra weight. He never lost speed. When we arrived in the village, the community shot us queer looks, enough to make me uneasy. “Why are they staring at us like that?” I asked in a hushed tone close to Xander’s gigantic wolf's head. He shook his shaggy mane and growled at whoever dared to look in our direction until we reached Una’s log house. When we arrived, Gideon strolled out to meet with us, and he scrunched his nose, giving us the same look everyone else had. “What! Why are you looking at me like that? Everyone we’ve encountered has done the same.” I said exasperatingly. I furrowed my brows an
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