Chapter Four: Enemy At My Back

"Hold my hand or stay in the dirt," Valen said. He sounded completely calm, even with all the shouting going on outside.

I didn't argue. I just grabbed his hand. The moment our fingers touched, a weird spark of electricity shot up my arm, making my heart thump against my ribs.

Valen kicked the carriage door right off its hinges. The heavy piece of wood flew into the dark woods, slamming into one of Marcus’s men so hard the guy dropped like a sack of rocks.

We scrambled out of the broken carriage and stepped onto the damp grass.

Five of Marcus’s heavy guards were standing over Valen’s injured men. A few feet away, Marcus was holding a loaded crossbow, looking at us with a nasty grin.

"Well, look at that," Marcus sneered, taking a step closer. "The big, bad Lycan King, crawling out of the mud for a useless Null."

"She isn't a Null, Marcus," Valen said quietly. He stepped right in front of me and pulled out his sword. "And you should have brought more men."

"I brought enough to collect two rewards," Marcus barked. "Kill the King! Bring me the girl!"

Three guards charged at us at the same time.

Valen moved so fast it barely made sense. He ducked under the first guy's sword, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him right into the second guard. Metal crashed against metal as they tumbled into the dirt.

Even while fighting off two men, Valen kept one arm back, shielding me. But I wasn't going to just stand there and watch.

A third guard, a huge guy with a deep scar on his cheek, bypassed Valen entirely and ran straight at me with a knife.

"Got you, little stray," he growled.

Usually, I would have panicked and run. But the strange heat burning under my skin made everything feel like it was moving in slow motion. My purple eyes locked onto his hands.

When he lunged forward, I didn't back up. I stepped right into his space.

I dodged his blade, grabbed his thick wrist, and pushed that hot, weird energy in my chest right down into my arm. A tiny spark of purple light flashed over my knuckles.

The guard let out a choked yell as a wave of force blasted him backward, slamming his back against a massive tree. He slid down into the grass, totally knocked out.

I stared down at my shaking hands. Did I just do that? Without even shifting?

Valen glanced back over his shoulder, his gold eyes wide. "Not bad for a stray."

"I told you," I gasped, wiping sweat from my forehead. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Good, because we aren't done yet," he said, turning back to Marcus.

Marcus’s face had gone completely pale. He looked at his knocked-out guards, then at my glowing eyes, and finally at Valen, who was walking toward him step by step.

"Stay back!" Marcus yelled, his hands shaking as he tried to reload his crossbow. "I'll shoot her!"

"You won't get the chance," Valen said.

Before Valen could take another step, a loud horn blasted through the woods.

HOOOOWWWWL.

It wasn't a pack horn. It was a Royal horn.

Dozens of fresh riders in dark armor burst through the trees into the clearing, their swords drawn. Valen’s main army had finally found us.

Marcus dropped his crossbow in terror, scrambled onto his horse, and dug his heels in, galloping off into the dark forest before anyone could catch him.

"Let him go," Valen ordered his soldiers as they surrounded us and dropped to one knee. "He won't get far."

The captain of the guard hurried up to Valen, looking panicked. "Your Majesty! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Valen said, though he swayed a little on his feet. The poison he tried to pull out of me earlier was clearly draining his strength.

The captain looked over at me, his eyes landing on my glowing purple eyes and the fresh mark on my shoulder. He gasped and pulled his sword out. "Your Majesty, get away from her! That's... that's the forbidden crest!"

In a second, every soldier in the clearing raised their weapons, pointing them straight at my chest.

My stomach dropped. I was surrounded by fifty armed soldiers who looked like they wanted to tear me apart.

Valen stepped right in front of their blades, his voice dropping to a low growl that made the dirt vibrate under my boots.

"Put your weapons down," Valen said, his eyes flashing a dangerous gold. "Touch her, and I will kill every single one of you."

The captain blinked, completely stunned. "Sire... she has enemy blood! She is dangerous!"

"She is my mate," Valen snapped.

The soldiers gasped. They slowly lowered their swords, but they didn't stop staring at me like I was a monster.

Valen turned back around to look at me. He was pale, and his gaze moved from my mark straight to my purple eyes. The mate feeling was pulling hard on both of us, but our families' dark history hung right between us.

"You saved my life twice tonight, Lyra," Valen whispered, keeping his voice low so only I could hear. "But my people will execute you the second we enter the city if they think you're a spy."

"Then why take me there?" I asked, looking right at him. "You can just let me go right now."

Valen leaned in a little closer, his breath warm against my cheek.

"Because I need you to fix the treaty," he murmured, his fingers brushing against mine. "And because now that I know you're my mate... I'm not letting you out of my sight."

He turned back to his captain. "Get the horses ready. We ride for the Capital right now."

As I walked toward one of the horses, a cold shiver ran down my back. I looked down at my hand. The silver light under my skin was pulsing, and a soft, whispered voice a voice inside my head that definitely didn't belong to a wolf spoke for the very first time:

Go to the castle, child... and take back what belongs to us.