ログインAfter that, Kael disappeared from my sight.But not from my life.At every trade run, whenever trouble broke, a black-fletched arrow would appear from nowhere and bury itself in an enemy’s eye or throat.No one in the northern packs shot like that except Kael.Once, I was struck from behind and dropped into darkness.When I woke, I was in my own bedroll. Beside me lay a folded scrap of paper.A single number was written on it.Eight.I stared at it for a long moment, then crushed it and tossed it into the fire.So he had started counting.Fine.Let him.It changed nothing.Even so, he became impossible to escape.Invisible help at the edge of every danger.A shadow on the rooftops.A scent in the wind that vanished before I could find him.At last, I had enough.I tracked him down myself.When I found him, he looked half-dead.His wounds had not closed. His lips had gone pale from blood loss.Still, when he saw me, his whole face changed.“Stay away from me,” I said.“I’m sick of the s
A blade touched my temple.“Guwen,” I said without moving. “If you’re going to kill me, do it cleanly.”The edge slid down, slow and cold, until it rested at my mouth.Then the man laughed.“Mira. A few months away and you’re still this sharp.”He stepped back at last and dropped into the chair opposite me, looking me over with open interest.His gaze moved from my throat to my waist, then lower, lingering on the scars.His expression darkened.“I should never have let you leave.”“How did you come back looking like this?”I lowered my eyes to the wound at my side, one of many Kael had left behind.Then I said quietly, “Guwen, I’m not running this time.”“Give me a place here.”He went still for a moment.Then he laughed again, easier this time.Back when Redflame and Kael’s pack were still at each other’s throats, I had put enough arrows into his people that most of them still stepped back when they saw me.It did not take long before I became second only to him in Redflame.The men g
Liora dropped to her knees the moment she saw his face.Tears spilled so fast they darkened the front of her gown.“Kael, what are you doing? You know I’m afraid of the bow.”He did not answer.With one hand, he caught her by the throat and hauled her halfway off the ground.“You’re afraid of the bow?”His voice was quiet, which only made it worse.“When I warned you not to go too far with Nia, you smiled and told me you understood.”“Then I came back, and that child was lying there with barely a breath left in her.”He flung her down and strode to the weapons rack.A war bow came off the wall.Then a fistful of arrows.He turned and looked at her as though he were seeing a stranger for the first time.“I think you enjoy the hunt far more than you pretend.”“So let’s see how much you enjoy being the one under the string.”Liora’s whole body shook.Kael dragged her out into the target yard, where snow had already gathered against the posts, and forced her back against the tall wooden ta
For a moment, Kael heard nothing at all.Then the world returned in a rush.By the time he realized what he was doing, he was already outside, half-dressed, running into the snow.He drove like a madman.More than once the transport nearly slid into the ravine.Impossible.He kept repeating it under his breath as though saying it often enough could make it true.Mira had survived too much.Fire. Ambushes. Silver. Broken bones. Betrayal.She would not die like this.She would not.But the moment he reached the dock, his legs gave out beneath him.The whole place had turned black.Steel was warped and half-melted. Timber had collapsed into smoking heaps. Here and there, among the ash and twisted debris, lay pieces of what had once been men.Kael went at the wreckage with his bare hands.He tore aside ruined drums, split planks, and slabs of blackened metal one after another, ignoring the blood running from his fingers.Until at last, under the rim of a collapsed barrel, he saw something
Kael walked toward Liora with a bouquet in his hands, but the closer he got, the more unsettled he felt.She was smiling at him, radiant and pleased with herself.And all he could see was Mira.Mira with blood on her face and defiance in her eyes.Mira with that battered, stubborn expression she wore whenever she refused to break.If she had been the one standing here instead, would she have smiled like this?He could not remember the last time she had smiled at all.His steps slowed.Then, right there in front of everyone, he tossed the bouquet aside.Liora’s face fell instantly.“Kael, where are you going? This is our vow rite!”He stopped, his voice flat.“There’s an important run to handle. We’ll do this another day.”Liora hurried after him and caught his arm.“But you already sent Mira in your place. She’s so capable. Nothing will happen to her.”A few of his men quickly echoed the same thing, and Kael hesitated before stepping back onto the aisle.Still, the heaviness in his che
Kael did not ask to see the page again.He only glanced at the closed notebook in my hands and said, almost lazily, “Ninety-nine already. You really do remember everything.”Then he picked up the moonstone bracelet Liora had dropped earlier and slipped it into his pocket.“Tomorrow you’re coming with us to choose Liora’s ceremony gown.”“You’ve done it before. You’ll know what suits her.”I almost laughed.Months ago, when I asked him to come choose mine, he found excuse after excuse not to.Now he wanted me there for hers.I only nodded.The gown house was full of warmth, silk, and perfume.The attendants began whispering the moment we entered.“I thought Mira was going to be Luna.”“Look at Alpha Kael now. Clearly Liora is the one he wants.”“Then why is Mira still here? If I were her, I’d be too ashamed to follow them around.”Kael’s face went cold.“Enough.”“You’re all dismissed. Leave before I decide your families should leave this territory with you.”They went pale and hurried







