All Chapters of THE ROGUE QUEEN : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I woke up to Maya standing over me, arms crossed and expression unreadable.“Get up,” she said. “Now.”“Lyra said I needed rest—”“That was yesterday. Today you train.” She walked out, expecting me to follow without question.I looked at Kael. He was already awake, putting on his boots.“She’s serious,” he said. “And she’s right. We don’t have time to rest anymore.”My shoulder hurt. My ribs hurt. Everything hurt. But I stood up and followed them outside.The training area was already busy. Zara and four other wolves stood waiting, all looking serious and focused.“Listen up,” Maya said loudly. “We have few days to turn this group into something strong enough to attack a defended enemy camp. That means we train harder than ever. No breaks. No excuses. No complaints.”She looked straight at me.“Especially you. You’re our hidden weapon. So you need to control your shadows whenever you choose, not only when you’re scared.”“I’m trying—”“Try faster.” She waved to the others. “The rest o

Chaos.That’s all I could think at first.My shadows had scattered Garrett’s front line, but they got back up faster than I expected. They were trained fighters. Humans changing into wolves in an instant.Our ambush hit from both sides.Zara came from the left, her blade shining. Two other wolves attacked from the right. Kael stayed close, protecting me while I focused on controlling my shadows.A huge brown wolf lunged at me—My shadows caught it in mid-air and slammed it into a tree. I heard bones break.No hesitation. Just like Maya taught me.Another wolf. Then another.The shadows reacted to every attack, faster than I could think. Crushing. Tearing. Killing.“Good, my wolf purred. This is what we were made to do.”"FALL BACK!" Garrett shouted over the chaos. "Regroup! REGROUP!"His wolves tried to form a circle to defend themselves, but we didn’t let them.Maya ran through their line, her wolf form a fast blur of grey fur and snapping teeth. She took down two wolves before they

Sunlight came through the cracks of the shelter when I woke up, and Kael was still holding my hand.He had fallen asleep sitting next to me, his head leaning against the wall in a way that would definitely hurt later. But he stayed there all night.The nightmare felt distant now. Less real.I carefully pulled my hand free and sat up, wincing as my injuries ached. My shoulder was healing faster than normal because of my wolf, but it still hurt.Kael woke up, blinking. “Morning.”“Morning. Your neck’s going to be in pain.”He rolled his shoulders and winced. “Worth it. Did you sleep better?”“A little.” I stretched. “Thank you.”“Always.”Before we could say anything else, urgent voices outside made us tense.“—she needs to hear this now—”“She’s resting—”“This can’t wait!”Then Maya’s voice cut through: “What can’t wait?”Kael and I exchanged a look and stepped outsideA wolf I didn’t know stood in the middle of the camp, older, tired, like he’d been running all night. Maya, Lyra, and

Training started with drills meant to wear us out.Maya made us run through the forest at dawn. We carried full packs and weapons, moving fast but quietly. The goal was to build our strength for the fortress mission and to learn how to move together as a team.I tripped over a tree root for the third time, but Ash grabbed my arm before I hit the ground.“Focus,” he whispered. “Step where I step. Follow my exact path.”I nodded and tried to copy his movements. Ash was amazing at this. He moved through the forest silently, like he barely touched the ground. Every step was planned. Every branch avoided.Behind me, Kael moved just as smoothly, even though his leg was still healing. Lyra and Maya followed behind us, both looking way too comfortable with the harsh pace.We ran for two full hours before Maya finally told us to stop.I leaned against a tree, breathing hard, my legs burning.“That was awful,” I said between breaths.“That was acceptable,” Maya replied. “We’ll do it again tomor

We walked for five hours almost completely in silence.Ash led the way through the darkest parts of the forest. I followed behind, moving as quietly as I could, listening for every snapping twig and rustling leaf.Kael walked behind me, close enough that I could hear his breathing. Despite whatever had been bothering him earlier, he was completely focused now. As dawn came, Ash raised his fist. We stopped immediately.He pointed ahead, and through the trees, I saw it.The fortress.It wasn’t a big castle like I imagined. It was a three-story mill, made of stone and wood, surrounded by a wooden fence. Guards walked along the walls. Lights lit the place.And at the east side, just as the prisoner had described, a smaller entrance for supply deliveries.We carefully moved to a rocky spot Ash had scouted earlier. From there, we could see the fortress clearly but stay hidden.“We wait here,” Maya whispered. “Watch them. Learn their schedule.”“How long?” I asked.“As long as it takes.”We