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Dark Wolf King (Wolves Of The Night Book 3) 49
After watching a few more sparring sessions between the kids, I nodded to Fina. Midday was ambling toward afternoon, and I wanted to get back to the castle to check and see if there had been any word from Starcrest. We called our thanks to Maribel and the kids, and then began to make our way back through town toward the fortress.“Pretty impressive, don’t you think?” Fina asked.I nodded. I struggled to put what I was feeling into words.Was that something I could do? Be a mother, a Queen, a fighter, a teacher? All at once? Maribel wasn’t a Queen, of course, but she had a job of her own, and yet still had her daughter, and all the other children she taught to fight, despite the fact that she wasn’t a soldier. She shared the duties.Fina glanced over at me, her expression thoughtful. Though I said nothing, something in her eyes told me she knew what I was thinking about. “Seems like a nice balance,” she said.“Yeah,” I agreed. We fell into companionable silence as we made our way to th
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Kodan and I escorted Baltser through the halls of the Fortress, to the soldier’s quarters where Kannis gasped in shock and relief. He thanked us profusely before ushering Baltser inside their small, homey quarters.“I need to discuss this with Lonzo,” I said as we strode back toward the stadium. “The Fae know we’re in Cruora, and they’re angry about it. The border attack was carefully planned — not random. I doubt we would’ve survived if not for our moonstone swords.”“They’ll be looking for us when we leave,” Kodan agreed. “We need to be prepared.”“How is that even possible?” I asked. Anxiety climbed into my throat. “Who knows how many Fae will be waiting for us when we leave. Or if they’ve already made their way to Duskmoon, or Efra. What if we’re too late?”“Reyna.” Kodan stopped. We stood in the hallway leading to the stadium. It was dim and quiet. Kodan placed both hands on my shoulders. “Thinking that way does us no good. Baltser told us what we already knew — that the Fae are
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“Certainly it is,” Lonzo said, “but it’s how we do things here in Cruora. We live slowly, your Highness. We take our time. We’ve kept each other safe and happy for centuries, even as the world has changed around us. Our rituals may seem odd to you, but they are the foundation of what it means to be an eagle.”“I understand your priority is keeping your people safe,” I said, “just the same as mine.”“It’s a weighty responsibility, is it not?” Lonzo asked with a tilt of his head. “Striking out with just a handful of soldiers and a rumor. Hoping to find the thing that will turn the tide in your favor. You are brave to do so.”“Only because our King stays in Efra to protect and lead while I am gone,” I said.“I doubt that’s the only reason.” He grinned. “You have an eagerness about you, Reyna. A youthful energy, a quickness. I haven’t been privy to such energy in many years. I find it invigorating.”“I hope we can continue our diplomatic relationship,” I said. But again the irritation was
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With a bow, Parlan motioned for me to enter the cave.The smithy was much larger than I expected: vast and wide, with soaring ceilings, and chimneys cut through the rock to free the smoke from the work. Despite the ventilation it was still raging hot from the large fires - eagles worked the bellows and pulled swords from the heat to better mold them. Lynx waved me over to the table where he and Aerika had a spread of weaponry before them. Aerika looked exhausted, but she was smiling. Her hair was pulled up and off her face, and she was dressed in a loose, sweat-stained shirt, with soot marking her arms and caught under her fingernails. Lynx was a bit wild-eyed, and his hair was crusty with dried sweat, but he looked pleased to see me.“We’re wrapping up getting the rest of the materials we need,” Lynx said. He nodded toward the eagles still working on swords, daggers, spears, and other weapons. “But here’s an idea of what we have to arm the soldiers.”“This is incredible,” I said, awe
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I returned his bow. “We’re lucky to have you, General.”Behind Bozhin approached two other shifters. Parlan we knew, and his brother, Zellan. A handful of others packed their wagons behind them.“We intend to get you to Efra safely,” Bozhin said, “and we hope this will be the beginning of a fruitful relationship between the wolves and the eagles.”“I hope so as well,” I said. I’d come here simply for solutions — for aid — but if it led to a strong diplomatic bond, as well, then the Nightfall Court would never doubt me again. “This is General Kodan of Nightfall.”Kodan stepped forward and shook Bozhin’s hands. They met each others’ gazes steadily. “Quite a display there,” Kodan said. “Ever misjudge the landing?”“Dozens of times,” Bozhin said. “The theatrics are an important part of military training.”Kodan broke into a surprised laugh. “Us wolves are similar. I’ll show you to our soldiers as well. This way.”Adora peaked her head out of the carriage. “That seemed to go all right.”“W
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He attempted to take control of Bozhin, but it was futile. The spell did nothing, and Bozhin rolled with the attack like water off a duck’s back. Bozhin pinned the Fae to the ground. He shrieked and struggled under the immense talon, but it was futile. Bozhin gripped the Fae’s head in his beak and ripped it off. Then, with a roar, he whirled around to face the remaining Fae. He lifted up onto his clawed back legs and flapped his enormous wings. The fog dispelled under the force of the wind.The battlefield exploded into action. Bozhin grapped a Fae in his talons and chucked him aside - the man’s body crashed into a tree trunk, and he fell, motionless. I stalked forward, sword drawn, until I was at Bozhin’s side. Kodan was at his other side. We stared down the Fae. Then, Kodan shouted and lunged forward, burying her blade in a Fae’s gut.Chaos descended. I lost track of where anyone else was. The sound of battle surrounded me as eagles and wolves charged the Fae. All I could think abou
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Bozhin nodded. “I’ll discuss it with my soldiers. We’ll need more swords. Or…”I leaned closer. “Or what?”“I’ll discuss with Lynx,” he said. He stood up. “Thank you.”I nodded. There was more I wanted to ask him — about his war form, about what he wanted from Lynx, about our plans — but I tamped down my curiosity. Bozhin already didn’t trust me, that much was clear. Especially since he thought I had hidden my knowledge of what the Fae could do and put eagle lives at risk.I followed him out of the tent. Lynx had emerged from his wagon, and was surveying the damage with a deep furrow in his brow. At his side, Aerika stood wringing her hands.Kodan approached, sweaty and bloodied, with dirt on her hands. “We need to keep moving before the Fae come back with reinforcements.”A roar sounded overhead.High above, a group of dragons beat their wings aggressively, picking up speed as they soared across the sky. They didn’t spare us a glance down as they flew straight and fast, their dark bo
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“Yes, we can,” Kodan said. “General Bozhin is working with us, not for us. That Fae nearly took control of one of his soldiers. If he wishes to try to wring information out of him, I’m not going to stop him.”“But we should,” I said, even though I knew this was a losing argument. I knew that Kodan was right. “We shouldn’t allow torture in our ranks.”“And we won’t,” Kodan said. “But he’s not in our ranks.”I rubbed my temples and exhaled hard.Kodan said, “This is wartime, your Highness. This is how things are.”“I won’t stand for it again,” I said quietly. “This won’t be something the wolves allow.”She nodded. “I agree.”As we finished packing up the campsite, my wolf still knocked against my ribs, hungry to be set free. It was the fighting, the anger, the disrespect — she wanted to come forth and prove her strength. Bozhin didn’t think I could lead, or fight. He thought I was a weakling, or a traitor. The general wouldn’t think that if I got my fangs close to his throat. I needed t
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“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
