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Chapter 32
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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
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 34
We had to wait until the moon ceremony before Xander could challenge Jordan for the right to become Alpha and King of the last Lycan pack. We didn’t have to wait long because the ceremony came the next day when the moon was at its apogee in the night sky. It also coincided with Jordan’s wedding with the girl from the Birchwood wolf pack. I was a little nervous about the full moon. Young shifters had issues controlling their shifts, which made them extremely dangerous. Leo kept resurfacing in the back of my mind, remembering all too well when he tried to attack me when I had opened the forbidden room in Xander’s quarters back in High Hill Estate. He had started to get better at controlling it, but Xander and Gideon always took him away when it was the full moon, returning only when the sun started rising again. “Are you ready for what is about to come?” Asked Una to Xander. “Once you challenge, there is no going back.” “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s just hope everything will go smooth
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 35
I took to the sky as another detonation happened. I needed to find the catapult or cannon responsible for inflicting so much damage. If we wanted a chance to survive, I would need to destroy it. I didn’t hear two sets of explosions, which meant that there was most likely only one. Before leaving, I turned around and shouted to Xander. I didn’t want to leave him behind while I went on my quest. To reply, he simply brandished his hand and shooed me away while he morphed into his Lycan form and crashed into the swarm of knights. From above, I could see that many Lycans had also transformed to assist their Alpha. Jordan was heading toward Kestrel with big angry snarls and barrelled like a crazed animal through the crowd. I caught sight of Gideon and hailed to him. He seemed to have stayed behind to help Xander and me. “We need to find the contraption that’s making explosions. I’ll try to find its position, but I’ll need help from the ground. It’s too dark for me to see clearly.” Gideo
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 36
Xander POV The chaos which had been raining all around us halted. I assumed Ida had found whatever was causing the explosions that killed Lycans and soldiers alike. I had lost track of Jordan when he pushed through the mob, trying to get to my father. I suspected he was most likely dead. This had been a fool’s deal, I thought as I tried to claw at one soldier’s jugular. The Alpha had given a golden opportunity to one of this country’s most dangerous men. How did he not think that Duke Kestrel would not waste this chance? I howled in rage and jumped on the next available victim. The ground was starting to be slippery, and I had to work extra hard not to land on my haunches. One wrong move to the ground, and I could get slashed by a sword. The weapons they had brought had been dipped in silver. One jab and the Lycans would go down, writhing and transforming back into a human where they did not stand a chance against the well-trained Kestrel troops. The screams and sound of sliced f
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 37
A soft hand brushed against my forehead and had a calming effect on me. The person hummed, and I heard them sit down on the chair beside my bed and start crushing what sounded like herbs in a mortar with the pestle. I turned my head and smiled when I saw Diana staring back at me with warm eyes. “About time you woke up. I’m making some tea. Would you like some?” I knew this was a dream, but it was one I did not care to wake from. I missed Diana so much. Seeing her like this, full of life and happy, made my heart soar and made me want to cry. “How much time do we have?” I asked my friend. I backed myself on the bed, repositioned the pillow underneath my back, and leaned my head on the headboard. I tried not to blink, fearing Diana would disappear forever. “Not much. Something’s looming on the other side. I can feel it.” “I’ve missed this. Those days where it was just us and nothing else. I’ve never really had a friend. You were my first in a very long time. There isn’t a day that p
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 38
After a few moments of silence, Jordan banged his fist to his chest and bowed his head, accepting Xander’s offer. Many followed suit until every member of the pack present stood and made the same gesture. The old council members were the only ones unhappy with this turn of events. “Very well. I thank you all for your confidence in my mate and me. I understand the pack has chosen all of you to represent its best interest in these meetings. While we prepare for our departure, please vote for new council representatives. I will expect a list of names by the end of this day to discuss logistics for this pack. You may voice any concerns or quarrels with Beta Jordan, who will bring them forward to me.” Seeing Jordan there surprised me. I didn’t think Xander would have kept him in the pack with the stunt he tried to pull. But I supposed Xander saw something in the defeated Alpha that made him choose to keep him. “I will also need representatives of this pack to visit every wolf shifter pa
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 39
Xander had left in the early morning light with approximately two hundred Lycans in beast form. They were heading to the rebellion headquarters first while I was in charge of those who could not follow. Nimu and I had healed many Lycans after the battle, but some were still too frail to make the journey. Healing magic required extreme concentration, depleting our magical energy in the blink of an eye. Even I had to take a break as my energy became dangerously low. I found that those who had ingested silver during the battle were in the worst shape. The silver burned their organs and made them suffer immensely, counteracting their healing ability. Some we had pinpointed the location of the silver and remove it, while others were harder to find. I just hoped that their bodies would expel it naturally. We carried those still in agony in makeshift wagons, along with our food and water supplies. Once we would find a place to settle down during the night, Nimu and I would resume the heali
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 40
“What do you mean, he died? He was fine last night! When did this happen?” “Sometime during the night. Leo came to get him, and the next thing I knew, the boy was at my side, white as a sheet, telling me that Nimu was unmoving. Once I got there, I confirmed his death. He must have used too much magic for his old age and slipped quietly in his sleep.” My heart sank. I had let this happen; I thought miserably. I should have been more alert when I noticed Nimu getting paler. I felt utterly devastated that I had pushed him to his limits. Otis saw the look on my face and grumbled, placing his hands on my cheeks and forcing my head to meet his gaze. “It is not your fault, Cressida. He knew what he was doing. There’s nothing more you could have done to prevent this from happening. Let it go.” Tears spilled down my face, and Otis flicked his thumbs over the rolling beads. I grabbed his wrists and stepped forward, burying my head in his robes. “He did so much for me, for all of us. He hel
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