All Chapters of Marked and Cast Out, She Came Back Untouchable : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Sable's POVI apologized to Dax the next morning, same as Rook told me to. He didn't say much back, just gave a stiff nod and walked off, and I figured that was about as good as it was going to get for now.Yarrow found me a few hours later, a bundle of dried herbs tucked under one arm, her expression more purposeful than usual."Heard about last night," she said."I figured everyone had.""Camp like this, news travels faster than sound." She studied me for a second. "You scared yourself pretty bad.""I scared everyone.""That too." She adjusted the bundle under her arm. "Which is why we're doing something different tonight. Full moon's out. I want to try channeling your power on purpose instead of waiting for it to explode out of you whenever somebody pushes the wrong button.""You think that'll actually work?""I think it's better than the alternative, which is you setting off another ice storm every time Dax opens his mouth." She turned, heading toward the tree line. "Come on. We n

Alaric's POVCorwin came back from patrol later than expected, and something about his face when he walked into the hall made me set my papers down before he even said a word."You're back late," I said."Ran into something on the ridge." He hesitated, which wasn't like him. "We'll talk after the council. It's not urgent enough to interrupt this."I wanted to press him on it right then, but the council doors were already opening, Elders filing in, ranking wolves taking their usual seats along the long table. Whatever Corwin had seen would have to wait."Let's get through this first," I said, my head had already started that familiar swimming sensation, the one I'd been fighting off since dawn.I sat at the head of the table and forced myself through the opening reports, border updates, supply counts, the usual grind of running a territory that felt heavier every single day now. My vision blurred twice in the first ten minutes, and both times I gripped the edge of the table hard enough

Sable's POVI couldn't shake the image of Corwin's face on that ridge, the way recognition had crashed into him the second our eyes met. Sleep didn't come easy that night, my mind circling the same question over and over: what would he do with what he'd seen?I finally drifted off sometime past midnight, exhausted enough that my body gave out even with my thoughts still racing.The pain hit without warning.It ripped through my chest like something had reached in and squeezed, stealing the air straight out of my lungs. I jolted upright, gasping, both hands flying to my collarbone where the mark sat, burning now, hotter than it had been in weeks."What.." My voice came out strangled, barely a whisper in the dark tent.The ache didn't fade the way it usually did. It kept building, spreading from my chest outward, dizziness crashing over me so hard I had to grip the edge of my bedroll just to stay upright. My vision blurred at the edges, the tent walls tilting like the ground itself had

Sable's POVWord spread through camp fast after that. By midday, half the Hollow had gathered near the fire pit, the burned scrap of leather passed hand to hand like proof nobody quite trusted until they'd seen it themselves."So what do we do with this?" Tomas asked, once most people had gotten a look."Depends what you mean by do," Rook said. "We're not marching on Ironclaw over a piece of leather.""Nobody said march on anybody." Sela stepped forward, the same hard look she gave me that first night by this same fire. "But we've got proof a house inside Ironclaw's own walls sent trained killers after someone who ended up in our camp. That's not nothing.""It's not proof of much beyond intent," Rook said. "We know the sigil. We don't know who gave the order, or why, not for certain.""We know enough," Ivy said. "We know it's Ophelia's family. We know it happened before the Ceremony. That's not a coincidence you can talk your way around."I sat off to the side, listening more than tal

Alaric's POVThe tonic worked, more or less. Two days after Ophelia started giving it to me, the shaking eased off enough that I could sit through a full council session without anyone eyeing me like I might drop again. My head still felt wrapped in wool most mornings, but at least my hands stayed steady.Corwin wasn't buying any of it."You look better," he said, catching me in the corridor outside my chambers. "You don't look cured.""I feel fine.""You felt fine right up until you hit the floor in front of the entire council." He fell into step beside me, keeping his voice low. "Whatever Ophelia's giving you, it's masking something, not fixing it. I've seen enough sick men in my time to know the difference.""What do you want me to do, Corwin? Announce to the pack that their Alpha's falling apart three weeks before his own wedding?""I want you to let the Elders actually help you instead of pretending nothing's wrong." He stopped walking, forcing me to stop too. "Halric's already t