“Katrine, your beliefs are indeed honorable,” said Roxen. “But you're young. Sometimes what is honorable is impossible. I trust Rayna, too, but I can't believe this is what the gods would want.”
Katrine raised her chin. “My family died for honor. As did Rayna’s. I am not afraid to do the same.”
Gar nudged Rayna's leg, and she hurriedly explained the situation in the Wolven language.
The Alphena did not tell me of your visions, Gar said. You are sure the Goddess wants you to save this Sylrian, at any cost?
She isn't certain, Channon growled, her visions have been clouded recently.
I can answer for myself! Rayna snapped. Gar, my dreams have been muddled lately, it's true. But I heard Lumae speak to me. She told me to save him. How can we ignore that?
Gar sat back on his haunches. He turned to Pike. What say you, brother?
It's not for wolves or humans to question the Divine, Alpha.
I agree, said Gar. He turned his bright yellow gaze on Rayna. I've known you all my life, Rayna Myana. I've known the gods before that and will know them long after I am dust. If you say this is right, then I believe you.
What? Channon and Roxen barked in unison.
Much of my family has perished doing what was right, Gar observed. What would have become of Fenear if my cousin Cairn had not taken the honorable course when her densite was attacked? The Sylrians saved Rayna, and in turn, allowed her to save all of us. In truth, we all owe them our lives. If the gods believe this debt must be paid, than I will not question it.
Rayna, keiri, I came on this journey intending to stop you out of fear for your life, but perhaps fate has allowed us to come this far for a reason.
Rayna knelt beside Gar, pressing her forehead to his. Thank you, Gar.
To Rayna’s surprise, Cassian spoke next. “I’ve only understood the part of this conversation you’ve been having in Clanspeak, but if you still intend on breaking into Krymammer, I want to help.”
“You do?” Channon clenched his fists.
“Not for her,” Cassian clarified. “But those traders who helped us deserve better. If they’re imprisoned, perhaps I can find them and free them.”
Daveed pursed his lips. “Our orders were to find Rayna, Mina, and Katrine and escort them back to the Peninsula, not to join their mission.”
“I know,” said Cassian, “but I think Seperun will understand, given the changes in circumstances. And I’ll understand if you do not want to participate, Daveed.”
“Of course I’m coming with you.” He cracked a rare smile. “I can’t let you do something so foolish alone.”
“Maenorens and Fenearens working together? I like the sound of that.” Katrine grinned.
Channon and Roxen exchanged defeated expressions.
“We did come this far.” Roxen sighed. “If we hear back from Seperun, and have an extraction plan in place, this might be possible.”
“The Alphena sent us to protect Rayna.” Channon growled.
“And you have,” Rayna said. “But I can’t turn back now, not when I’m this close.”
Channon shook his head. “You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.” He took her hand beneath the table. “And the bravest.”
“I’m not asking you to come with us—”
“You don’t have to. If this is what you’re going to do, I’m with you. I wanted to stop Rayna, my best friend and packmate, but I've forgotten you're more than that now.”
His expression turned wistful, almost sad. “You're a twice-blessed seer, and I have seen you do the impossible. Perhaps, we can do it again.”
“May the Alphena forgive us and the gods help us,” Roxen said. “Now, we need a plan.”
Mina smiled at Roxen. “I knew you’d come around.”
Cassian’s hands fell to his pocket. He revealed the bronze locket, its runes now glowing with silver light. “Seperun’s response.” He opened it with a click.
Seperun’s deep voice filtered into the room, slightly warped but recognizable. “Cassian, Daveed, I am glad to hear that Rayna, Mina, and Katrine are safe and with you. I am sorry that your vessel and crew have been compromised, but I am on my way to Halmstead as we speak, accompanied by General Pheros and Priestess Marielana of Alvorn who recently joined me at the Cult. Their Amne Vena speeds our journey and we will arrive by midday tomorrow. I will be in touch with more information. Stay safe.”
“General Pheros and Marielana are with him?” Mina asked. “What were they doing in Maenor?”
“I don’t know,” said Rayna. “But it means they’ll be here by tomorrow.”
“Better than that,” said Mina. “Krymammer Prison is built into a cliff side, overlooking the sea.”
Understanding broke over Rayna. “Do you think we could escape into the water?”
“Normally not. It’s rough, and nowhere near a beach or harbor, but with the Alvornians helping us, maybe.”
“That might work.” Cassian stroked his chin thoughtfully. “But we still need to determine how we’re going to enter the prison.”
“What are its defenses?” Roxen asked.
Mina shrugged. “I mostly know what’s common knowledge in Halmstead. There’s only one road leading out of the city, and around the hillside to the cliffs. Krymammer’s built into the cliffs far below the Upper City and Tenavar Palace, with rock on three sides of the compound. There’s a wall and gate facing front—the only entrance.”
“I assume it’s well-guarded,” Channon said.
“Aye. I met a guard stationed there once. He tried to impress me by telling me about it. There are multiple barracks and guard towers. We’re talking dozens of guards, maybe hundreds.”
Channon shook his head. “A single entrance, hundreds of enemies, and walled in on all sides. It’s suicide.”
“Maybe not, if we go about it the right way.” Roxen addressed them all. “If our strategy were based on brute force alone, we’d never succeed. What are our resources?”
“A pair of Kyrean Council guard uniforms,” Daveed offered.
“We’re all armed in one way or another,” Mina said. “Though I suppose I’ll never see my bow again.” She sighed.
“We have these, too.” Rayna reached into Channon’s pack, revealing the two open Monils.
Katrine’s lip twitched. “We should throw them in the ocean.”
“Perhaps not.” Roxen picked one up, examining it. “You said the one who puts the Monil on can remove it?”
“Aye,” Rayna said. “There’s also an unlocking rune, but I don’t know it, and it needs a special dagger to work.”
Roxen nodded. “Then I have an idea.”
Part II
The White Wolf and the Lost Seer
Chapter Nineteen
A night of planning and several messages to Seperun later, Rayna and her friends had the next morning's every moment choreographed. She did not let her ever-mounting headache distract her as they went over each detail.
“All right,” Roxen said through a yawn. “One last time. Channon, you start.”
“Rayna and I put on the Monils.” He growled the last word. “Then Cassian and Daveed, dressed in the Council Guard armor, take us to Krymammer's gates, arriving exactly one hour before midday.”
Daveed took over. “We tell the guards we've captured the fugitives. Once we're inside, we'll have an hour to find the Sylrians.”
“Good. Mina?” Roxen prompted.
“You, Katrine, the True Wolves, and I hold back. We watch the road to Krymammer, and if any reinforcements arrive before the hour is up, we ambush them.”
Much disagreement had been raised over this last part—especially from Katrine and Mina. But in the end, they all agreed someone needed to guard the road.
“After the hour's up,” Roxen finished, “the Alvornians will have positioned Seperun's clipper ship as close to Krymammer as possible. Rayna's team and the rescued Sylrians exit the prison into the courtyard. Pheros and Marielana use thei
r amne vena to flood the courtyard, and with Lurenia and Winiam's help, we all escape to the ship in the confusion.”
“I still think someone else should go with Rayna, Channon, Daveed, and Cassian,” grumbled Katrine.
Rayna shook her head. “If we time everything correctly, we won't need to fight any of the guards stationed at the prison's entrance for long. Any fighting will be inside, where we'll need to be quick and covert. You'll be more useful in case anyone tries to approach the prison before we're ready to leave.”
“If.” Katrine crossed her arms.
“This isn't a game, little wolf,” said Mina.
“I know that,” Katrine snapped. “I hate the idea of waiting while we have no idea whether or not the others are all right.”
“It isn't perfect, Katrine,” said Channon. “But at least this way we have an exit strategy.” He shook his head. “I still think this is madness, but at least there's a thread of reasoning to it.”
With that, it was time to get some rest. Rayna worried something would go wrong, but for the first time since the ordeal began, she and Channon were on the same side. That strengthened her resolve. They were strongest when they were together. Channon may not have completely understood her reasons, but despite his fear and reservations, he'd found a way to support her. Rayna only hoped she proved worthy of his trust.
Rita had readied four rooms for the nine Peninsulars. As Rayna followed Mina into theirs, Channon touched her arm.
“Ray, I know we need rest, but can we talk?”
“Sure.” Rayna closed the door, leaving Mina within. She and Channon walked to the stairs, and sat on the top-most step.
Gooseflesh prickled on Rayna's arms. It felt so strange to be this nervous about a conversation with Channon, but so much had happened between them. She was not certain where they stood anymore.
He swallowed, as if preparing to speak. Instead he wrapped his arms around her.
Relief spread through her—so sudden and complete it was intoxicating. Whatever else was happening, he was there. Whatever their disagreements, and no matter how she had hurt him, she had not lost him again.
“Channon,” she spoke into his neck. “I’m sorry. I know leaving like that wasn’t fair to you. I didn’t want to hurt you again—I felt pulled in so many different directions. I’m sorry.”
He stroked her hair. “I was angry at first,” he admitted. “But as soon as I saw you, none of that mattered. I’m sorry, too.”
They pulled apart, though they still held hands. “You are?” she asked.
He nodded. “I reacted badly when I learned about your dreams. I’m still getting used to this part of who you are. If my behavior pushed you away—”
“No. Channon, it wasn’t anything you did.”
“Even so. I’m sorry.”
She sighed. Only one question still weighed on her heart. “Channon, what happened with Swann?”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t have to die. You chose to kill him for revenge. I hated him, too, but we’re Fenearen. We’re supposed to be better than them.”
He swallowed. “You sound like Roxen.”
“I do?”
“When we were looking for you in Maenor, we came across some soldiers who had seen you three. I was rough with them. Roxen didn’t approve.”
“When you say rough—”
“I would’ve killed them.” Channon’s voice fell to a whisper. “If Roxen hadn’t been there...The way they spoke about you—it awakened something uncontrollable inside me. I thought it was a good feeling. I thought I'd grown stronger since everything that happened last winter. But what if it’s not good?”
Rayna bit her lip. Her hold on Channon’s hand tightened, pulling him closer, until their foreheads touched. “Whatever it is, it’s still you. Maybe you made a mistake with those Maenorens, or with Swann, but I believe in you. I believe that whatever you did, your reasons were good, even if your choices weren’t.” Rayna spoke to herself as much as she did to Channon.
“My reason was you.” His warm, soft lips brushed her earlobe.
Chills ran down her spine. She longed for Channon’s touch, but at the same time, his words unnerved her.
He loved her, but he loved her so completely, he'd killed for her unnecessarily
She loved him. She wanted him in every conceivable way, but could she survive a love so damning? Could he?
Rayna pulled away. “I know,” she said, breathless. “But that frightens me.”
He removed his touch. “I frighten you.” It was not a question, but a realization of a long-held suspicion.
“No! It’s not you.”
“Then what is it?”
She looked at her boots. “When I lost you, when Rhael took you from me, I would’ve done anything to save you.”
“And you did.”
“Aye. I did impossible things, because losing you felt like losing the sun. Nothing was warm, or bright, or right without you. It was worse than anything I’d experienced, or experienced since.” She blinked back tears. “Losing you was worse than being orphaned, worse than losing—” She exhaled, guilt and confusion spiraling within her. “It was worse than losing Bayne.”
“Don’t cry.” Channon cupped her scarred cheek. “I feel the same way.”
“I know. But don’t you see? That’s what scares me. We’re so tied up in one another. We’d do unspeakable things to save the other. Don’t you see how vulnerable that makes us? How easily we could be led down a terrible path—a path we might already be treading?”
“No.” Channon’s cornflower blue eyes compelled her to look at him. “I love you more than anything. There’s nothing evil in that.”
“No, but there is something selfish.”
He dropped his hand.
She stood before he could say anything more. “We should go to bed. We can talk more when this is over.”
“What if we don’t get the chance?”
She blinked. Her fear and confusion obscured everything, as the gold-limned fog clouded her dreams.
But she saw Channon.
He stood, a step below her but still a hair-length taller than she. He'd traded his stolen armor for his Fenearen clothing: leather pants, a soft doeskin shirt, and a sturdy leather jerkin, cut close to his torso. His blond hair twinkled amber in the tavern’s low light. His time spent at sea made his locks wavier than usual. He hadn’t shaved in some time—he’d been too busy chasing after her.
Channon frowned with uncertainty, but something else lit his eyes—his perfect, beautiful eyes.
Rayna knew the emotion, because it filled every fiber of her own being: desire.
She was right. Their love was dangerous. It terrified her, it controlled her, and she hated to be controlled.
But Channon was right, too. They could die the next day. They were about to undertake a task as insurmountable as any they had before, perhaps more so.
They were not promised a future.
Rayna brought her hands to his cheeks. Her thumbs traced his jaw’s sharp lines.
Channon did not move. He did not blink, or breathe.
Rayna acted slowly, deliberately, leaning forward until her lips hovered above his. She paused. His leather-and-pine scent enveloped her. He smelled like home—like fog-wreathed glens and the forest after it rained.
Channon's hands found her neck. He did not pull her into him. His touch was light and restrained, but thrumming with energy, like an arrow about to be loosed.
Rayna closed her eyes, her lashes brushing Channon’s skin. She raised her chin, closing the tiny gap between them.
Her lips touched his for the first time. Warmth bloomed in Rayna's chest—the sensation so new and pleasurable, it called a tiny moan from her throat.
Channon reacted to the sound. He jumped from the stairs, his hands keeping her pressed against him. He deepened the kiss, his mouth covering hers, his tongue urging her to respond.
She gladly obliged.
Hi
s bristles tickled her chin as she felt his smile against her own.
Her teeth grazed his bottom lip, and he pinned her against the wall.
His lips left hers. At first Rayna protested their absence, but as Channon began kissing her jaw, and trailing down her neck, she exhaled in shock and delight.
He stopped, no doubt worried he'd gone too far.
She tangled her fingers in his hair. “Don’t stop,” she whispered.
A sound rumbled low in Channon's throat, part growl, part groan. “Well, since you asked.” He kissed her and a cascade of pleasure followed the contact.
In that moment, as their scents mingled and their bodies responded to each other in new ways, Rayna was in free fall. She knew where they were headed, and wanted nothing more than to embrace her instincts.
“Ray.” Channon slid his forearm against the wall, pillowing her dizzy head. “I love you so much.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “I've been confused about so much, but not that. Never that.”
A door creaked. The slight sound exploded like thunder in Rayna's hyper-focused awareness. She and Channon pulled apart and looked toward the noise.
“Sorry.” Daveed blushed as he left his room. “Don't mind me. Just going to the privy.”
Rayna's gaze dropped to the floor as the Maenoren shuffled past them down the stairs.
“I suppose we should go to bed?” she said.
The corner of Channon's reddened lips quirked at her unintentional double meaning. It was the first time in a long time he did not looked haunted. He was as she first knew him—youthful and sweet.
“You're right.” Channon caressed her face. “We belong in Fenear. Do you know what that means?”
She shook her head.
“It means we have something to live for.” He pulled back, sliding his hands down her arms. He lifted her right hand, and kissed her knuckles. He let go.
It took all of Rayna’s strength to keep herself from leaping back into his arms. Why had it taken them so long to get this far?
Twice Blessed Page 22
