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Dark Wolf King (Wolves Of The Night Book 3) 37
It was as if someone had carved out a flat section of the mountain, to build out a throne room completely exposed to the elements. There were doors leading to hallways and rooms carved into the mountain, but most of the activity was out in the open. Servants dressed in plush robes carried platters of vegetables and fruit, and some carried a crisp, bubbling wine. Soldiers stood along the edges of the space in their shifted forms, armed with long spears. Overhead, eagles soared through the skies, effortlessly weaving around each other and disappearing over the mountain pass.For all the activity, I couldn’t look away from the view. I hadn’t realized how high we’d climbed, focused as I was on surviving the climb itself.From here, I could see all of Cruora: its vast rocky balds and sparse trees. At the horizon, the balds became more densely forested, and beyond that, the mountain ridge of old Nightfall. It made my heart clench to see Frasia from this distance. It was gorgeous.I wasn’t g
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“And then she’ll come for Frasia?” Lonzo asked. He raised his eyebrows. “How do you expect the eagles to help you then? Do you come to me to ask for reinforcements?”“No,” I said immediately. Already I knew Lonzo was not the type of king to offer soldiers unless it was absolutely necessary. “She may come for Frasia next, or she may come for Cruora. I intend to stop her before she does either of those things.”“And how will you do that?”“Are you familiar with the jaguars of Askon?” I asked.Lonzo nodded. “I have no qualms with the jaguars.”“Queen Enet and King Khainan recently visited my Court. I raised my concerns about the Fae Queen gathering power. Us wolf shifters only have our shifting magic — nothing like the magic the Fae wield. Queen Enet suggested that the eagles may still have access to the kinds of magic that could hold strong against Fae magic.”Lonzo’s hands stilled. “Did she, now?”“On our travels here, we encountered Fae scouts at your border,” I said. “They were not n
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Kodan pressed her lips together, but didn’t say anything else.I caught Adora’s eye and raised my eyebrows. She flushed slightly, then turned and hurried back into her bedroom. I stepped through the curtain that separated my room from the main room. The space itself was smaller than the main one, with a lower ceiling and a hearth of its own. The walls were decorated with carved murals of eagles gliding, done with so much detail I could see every feather on their wings. The bed was low to the ground, but big and soft, and I crawled onto the plush mattress with a sigh of pleasure. After the rough travel and fitful sleep, sinking into the bed was a sweet relief.I pulled my necklace from beneath my shirt and smoothed my thumb over the smooth ivory of the wolf’s fang. I closed my eyes. I wondered if, across the balds and the mountain pass, Elias was thinking of me, too.Even in the depths of seemingly endless exhaustion, I dreamed.I was running through the woods. The earth was soft under
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I cleaned up and changed into a simple but elegant jacket and trouser set, then wound my hair into a fine plait. Elegant, but functional. When I returned to the room, the other girls were up, sharing breakfast with Kodan. I found I wasn’t hungry and waved off their requests to join them. Instead, I took my sheathed sword, and stepped out of the entrance of our chambers where Parlan was waiting.“Good morning, your Highness,” he said. “What can we do for you this morning?”“I’d like to speak with King Lonzo,” I said. “If he’d be so kind to see me.”“Surely you’d like to see more of our Fortress first? There’s the training facility, as well as--”“Please,” I interrupted. “It’s a timely matter.”Parlan nodded curtly. If he was irritated with me, he didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he led me up the stairs back to the throne room. It was quiet this morning, with just a few servants and soldiers in the vast space. The morning sunlight fell in vast golden stripes across the open spac
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“The eagles have enjoyed our peace for centuries,” Lonzo said. “I am in no hurry to send my soldiers to defend the wolves, if it will bring the Fae to my borders. Why should I help you at all? Why not allow the scuffle to play out as it will? The eagles are not involved. This is not my fight, Wolf Queen.”“I’m not asking you to send soldiers,” I said. I bit back the eagerness that threatened to climb into my voice. This was my in — here is how I could convince him. “I am not asking you to put any eagles on the battlefield, should it come to that.”Lonzo leaned back in his chair. “Then what are you asking for, Reyna?”I unlatched my sheathed sword from my hip and placed it on the table. I slid it, hilt-first, across the wood surface to Lonzo. He peered at it curiously.“Our weaponry did nothing against the Fae at the border,” I said. “Except for this sword, and one like it. There’s something about the moonstone in the hilt. Something different.”Lonzo picked the sword up and looked clo
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The valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it feel secretive, tucked away from the rest of the world. Gazing down at the trees below, I understood why Lonzo was so reluctant to invite the outside world in. This part of Cruora was an oasis.The sound of steel crashing into steel caught my attention. I hurried along the ledge, to the staircase Parlan had told me would be there. Carefully I made my way down the narrow steps, onto the ledge below.“Hah!” Adora shouted, as her blade sliced through the air and narrowly missed Kodan’s arm.The training area was a large, round arena carved into the side of the mountain, with seats chiseled in stadium-style all around us. A few eagles lingered in the seats, watching the sparring match with curiosity.Adora shouted twice more and swung the blade in time with it. Her steps backed Kodan up as she forced Kodan to parry the two blows, but the Nightfall general was grinning as she did so.In the arena, Adora hardly looked like the w
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The valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it feel secretive, tucked away from the rest of the world. Gazing down at the trees below, I understood why Lonzo was so reluctant to invite the outside world in. This part of Cruora was an oasis.The sound of steel crashing into steel caught my attention. I hurried along the ledge, to the staircase Parlan had told me would be there. Carefully I made my way down the narrow steps, onto the ledge below.“Hah!” Adora shouted, as her blade sliced through the air and narrowly missed Kodan’s arm.The training area was a large, round arena carved into the side of the mountain, with seats chiseled in stadium-style all around us. A few eagles lingered in the seats, watching the sparring match with curiosity.Adora shouted twice more and swung the blade in time with it. Her steps backed Kodan up as she forced Kodan to parry the two blows, but the Nightfall general was grinning as she did so.In the arena, Adora hardly looked like the w
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“Don’t say that,” Adora said with a sharp exhale. “We’ll figure something out even if that is the case.”Kodan didn’t look convinced, but she said nothing.Aerika set her mug down. “This might help.” She reached into her hair and withdrew the clip keeping it off her face. Her hair fell like a white curtain around her striking face, and she placed the clip in the center of the table.It was a small silver comb, no longer than the width of my palm, and the spine was inlaid with moonstone.“What is it?” I asked.“My mother gave this to me,” she said. “She said to always keep it close. She said if the Fae ever…if they ever came for me, then this would protect me from them.”“What does it do?” Fina asked.“I don’t know,” Aerika admitted with a small, sad smile. “But it comes directly from the Fae. If the alchemist needs to figure out what exactly the enchantment on the weapons does, maybe this will help.”I nodded. “It might. Especially if the enchantment on our swords is old wolf magic.”
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Dark Wolf King (Wolves Of The Night Book 3) 76
“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Elias murmured. “These are the kinds of innovations we should be encouraging, don’t you agree?”I nodded. In the months since the war, reconstruction had started across Frasia. We’d rebuilt the manor, as well as the walls of the city. The buildings damaged in the fighting had been repaired as best we could. Then after that, Elias and I arranged for convoys to travel to each of the packs, providing resources and answers to all of those who had been affected by the fighting.Everything was going well. But to my embarrassment, I often found myself a little…bored.Fina caught my eye from where she stood in front of the dais. She raised one eyebrow, and I straightened up to better give the young wolf my full attention.Since the end of the war, Fina had been working as my head spy, occasionally running missions to other packs and nations with Kodan. She’d come into her own as a spy of Nightfall, and when I saw her training with Adora in the barracks, she
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He shook his head. “I knew it had healing properties,” he said. “Or…I hoped it did. I bought it off a Fae jeweler outside of Starcrest, before relations with Faerie worsened. I thought it was beautiful, and I wanted something she couldn’t get in Frasia proper.” He chuckled to himself. “I wanted to impress her. The jeweler told me it had healing properties — that it had strong, old Fae magic. I never had a chance to give it to her. But I did have it looked at again, when I was older, to learn more about the magic. But there wasn’t much the scholars of Starcrest could tell me. I knew it had healing powers, and I knew it was strong. But I didn’t know…”“That it would affect me like that,” I said.“That you would be able to wield it,” he said. “You surprise me at every turn. Just like your mother did.”“I wish I could’ve met her,” I said softly.“I do, too.” He folded his hand over mine on the table. “When you and Elias visit Starcrest next, I’ll show you where she’s buried. It’s a beauti
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In the afterglow, I leaned against the headboard of our bed with the blankets pulled up to my hips. Amity and Rue had delivered a small meal a few hours ago, and Elias carried the tray from the table to the bed. We shared a few bites of fruit and soft bread with butter, and Elias poured us each a small glass of fragrant red wine.It felt indulgent, luxurious — like we were the leaders of a wealthy and peaceful nation. It was a glimpse of what life could be like once Frasia has recovered.Elias popped a grape into his mouth, then settled on the bed next to me, careful not to jostle the tray at the foot of the bed. He smoothed his hand over my thigh and squeezed. “So you still have your magic,” he murmured.I laughed and squirmed a little closer to him, despite the nervousness curling in my chest at the mention of it. “I guess so,” I said. “I thought it’d go away eventually, but…”“It hasn’t changed?” he asked.I shook my head. “It feels like it’s settling.” I rubbed my hand over my ste
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Elias smirked and lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that look mean?”“Come here,” I demanded. “Kiss me.”“Love it when you’re so nice and polite like that,” Elias teased.He climbed onto the bed and crawled over me, letting the towel slide from his hips. He knocked my fingers away from the string on my dressing gown and unfastened it himself, then slid the soft fabric open. He caught my lips in a sweet kiss as he flattened his hand on my belly and smoothed over my skin. I hummed into Elias’ lips as I slid my hands over the strong planes of his back, and down to his pert ass. I squeezed.He chuckled into the kiss, then dropped his weight atop me hard enough to make me huff out in a surprised “Oof!” That only made him laugh again as he kissed my cheek, my jaw, my neck.I hummed in pleasure and wrapped my arms around him tightly, keeping his body pressed close to mine. I loved being this close, loved the feeling of all that warm muscle pinning me down, keeping me safe. We kissed for a few long,
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“You did well,” Elias said, low. “Efra still stands.”“At what cost, though?” I asked. “We lost so many.”“We did,” he said. “But not everyone. And Corinne is defeated. Decisively.”“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” I whispered. Guilt chewed at me like a hungry dog. “These soldiers should be alive.”“Reyna.” Elias put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “You can’t think like that.”“Like what?” I asked.His golden gaze burned into mine. “You can’t undo what’s been done. Our subjects need us now more than ever.”I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “How can they trust us after so many have died?” I asked quietly. “What will we say when the citizens return from the forests?”“We say the war is over,” Elias said fiercely. “That the Fae Queen is defeated, and Frasia remains free. And we stand strong for our pack.”I closed my eyes briefly. He was right. After so much death and turmoil, the wolves of Nightfall needed to be able to rely on us.“Your pain only shows
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Around us, more Fae rushed in, launching snarling attacks on Elias, Ealric, and Kodan. I trusted them to hold their own and hold the soldiers back from me as I focused my attacks on Corinne.I grinned at her. “That all you got, Queen?”She shrieked again, then swung her sword back and brought it down with the force of a warhammer.The world seemed to slow down. Each breath burned in my throat. The sun glinted off Corinne’s white hair, and off her bloodstained blade, as she turned on her heel to follow my movements. I parried her sword, the sound of steel clashing against steel drowned out by the crackle of our competing magics. I roared and bared my own teeth. Then, driving my foot hard into her shin, I sent her stumbling backward. I launched forward, slashing my sword at her throat, but she dodged, knocked me backward with a punch, and then swung her sword in another high arc.Corinne was fast, faster than anyone I’d ever fought, yet the moonstone quickened my heart and my feet as we
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But I couldn’t hear the battle around us anymore. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart.Elias pressed his hand to my chest.I took a deep, gasping breath, like I had just broken through the surface of the sea, as cool power rolled through me. My hands flew to Elias’ arms and clung desperately, as the moonstone power coursed through my veins. It eliminated the burning inside me and even stitched up the terrible gashes in my thighs. My vision cleared, and the fog lifted from my mind.“Reyna?” Elias smoothed the hair from my forehead. His brow was still deeply furrowed in concern.“Hi,” I whispered.“Gods above,” Elias choked out. He leaned down and kissed me fiercely. “I thought I lost you.”The moonstone ring was obviously enchanted differently than the swords were — it had healing properties in it. Thank God Ealric had been here to tell Elias what to do. My whole body ached with exhaustion, but the pain had dissipated. I returned Elias’ kiss, then he helped me sit up.“We
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I had to rely on my skills. I met his sword with mine. Clang. Clang. His eyes burned with rage as he pushed me backward. He grinned that sharp-toothed smile, like he wanted to devour me himself. He pushed his blade against me, forcing me back step by step, then suddenly he lunged down and dragged his claws — claws?! — over the meat of my thigh. His fingers, like his teeth, were sharp and threatening, like that of a beast, and with ease he opened four gashes in my muscle. Pain seared through me, and I gasped as my knees quivered. I lost my balance and fell backward. But I still had my sword.“Silly wolf,” Eodwin sneered. “Thinking you’re a warrior. You’re nothing but a lost little girl out here on the battlefield.”“I am more than a wolf,” I said through gritted teeth. I pushed through the pain and clambered back up to my feet. My sword weighed heavily in my hand, but I narrowed my eyes and lifted it up. “I am a Queen.”Eodwin laughed. The made the hair on my nape stand on end. I gripp
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Orange light glowed deep in the darkness. The roars grew louder, closer, and then with a rush of beating wings, dragons poured out the portal, surrounded by rushing flame. There were at least two dozen of them, maybe more. Flames poured from their mouths onto the balds, setting the scrubby grass alight and scorching it to nothing. They flew with soulless determination, over the balds, and directly to the city.My horse whinnied and jerked backward, barely avoiding a burst of flame as the dragons soared overhead. The one who had expelled the flame barely noticed my reaction. It simply snapped its jaws shut and kept flying.“They’re under Fae control!” I called. “Bozhin, to the dragons!”Bozhin shifted into his immense war gryphon form. He cried out, and the few eagles at his side shifted into their forms as well. They took to the skies, streaking after the dragons. Bozhin led them higher, so they were above the beasts, and then led them in a rapid dive-bomb. Bozhin went talon first. He
