Chapter Thirty-Nine ▏The Wolf

“No, that’s not true!” I scream at Governor Celso. In a spur of rage, I jump to my feet and aim for a slap, but he grabs my arm just in time and pulls me so that we’re face to face. He sneers, so I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and spit on his face. “Scum.”

His sneer doesn’t vanish, but I can see the fiery anger in his eyes. “Call me whatever you want. That doesn’t change the fact that you brought them here to me.” He wipes his face and grabs my neck, spinning me around to make me face Alistair and the others. “Now I can take them to the king, like you intended. You can thank me later, once we’re married.”

He holds me in place, his breath at the back of my neck. Alistair is staring at me with his eyes shining with tears. Jossie is glaring at me. Gyntih and Kalem are not moving anymore, slumped on the ground and bleeding.

“Please believe me,” I say, but my voice is bare