Bloodmark

by Aurora Whittet

  “His darkness didn’t end there,” Mund continued. “Uaid corrupted his entire pack. They began a murderous rampage of entire villages of our sacred humans, devouring their flesh. They painted the earth in blood. Our great-grandfather, Donal Boru, sacrificed his life to take Uaid’s, but Uaid’s eldest son, Crob, replaced his father on the throne. And Uaid’s younger son, Verci, set out to destroy what was left of our pack. The Dvergars began attacking smaller packs and exterminating them on their quest for domination, and they showed no mercy.

  “Adomnan himself led the attack on the Kahedin pack in the seventeenth century as they worked their way from Iceland toward the Boru throne. They wanted to destroy everything the Boru stood for, and that included all our allies. I fought Adomnan and his brothers to protect the Kahedin pack, and we won, but not before nearly eighty of us died at their hands. I watched as he tore children apart with his bare hands. I have never witnessed something so brutal. . . .”

  My stomach knotted to hear the pain and fear in my brother’s voice, and rage poured through me at the grotesque murders on the Dvergars’ hands. Adomnan was a terrible creature, and the more Mund spoke of him, the more my fear and anger grew. If I fell into their hands, I could only imagine what they would do to me before they finally got Father to trade something for my life—if I were to survive at all. The thought of it made me want to vomit.

  As we raced into Cashel, my nerves got the best of me. Every emotion I felt when I left the Rock two years earlier bubbled to the surface, rage at Father and Brychan clouding my thoughts. How could I trust Father to protect me now? Would he finally take me in his arms, comfort me, and tell me all the things a daughter yearned to hear, or would he betray my trust in him yet again?

  We entered the darkened castle to the secret underground world. Mund escorted Tegan to their chamber to rest, and I followed Mother to Father’s War Room. I remembered the way as if it were yesterday. It was there, in that room, that Father had last betrayed me. I shook my head at the memory.

  “Pørr,” Mother said.

  He looked up from the ancient scrolls on the table before him. Anger consumed his face. “Why have you come?”

  “Adomnan Dvergar found us,” Mother said.

  “Seize her,” Father commanded his guards as they rushed forward, grabbing me. I was stunned to have their rough hands grasping my body, nearly crushing my bones. I should have known he would abandon me. Fear trickled through my blood.

  “Stop, Pørr!” Mother shouted. “Have you gone mad?”

  He didn’t even dignify her with a response. “Lock her away,” he told his guards.

  Anger pulsed inside me like a shockwave. They dragged my body out of the room as I struggled and screamed against them. Mother ran after me—I could feel her fear, and I needed to protect her from all of them. I bit into one of the guards’ hands, drawing blood, but several more guards blocked her path.

  “Ashling,” Mother said, her voice quivering and tears staining her porcelain cheeks. I fought as hard as I could to get to her, but her screams began to fade as they dragged me farther into the fortress. I finally stopped struggling against them and let them take me wherever they chose, instead focusing on memorizing the labyrinth of halls for my escape.

  They dropped me on the cobblestone floor and slammed the heavy wooden doors shut. I could still smell them standing outside the locked doors. I looked around my new cage, yet another enormous room that had been built on the blood and backs of our people. It was a hand-carved stone room, filled with books from floor to ceiling. The history of the human world was hidden in this limestone room, the only surviving copies of thousands of books, scrolls, runes, and hieroglyphics. Every language through history was trapped in this one room. Just one room out of hundreds, our endless world below the earth’s surface. This was the sanctuary of our pack, gathering place of our elders, and the tomb of Calista Vanir—yet I felt no comfort.

  3

  Untamed

  My anger boiled to the top. Like the animal inside me, I felt wild. Locked up in that empty limestone room was bloody infuriating. I listened, but no sounds came. Neither Mund nor Mother came to free me. I was alone. I paced back and forth, agitated. The only daughter of the great and legendary King Pørr Boru. What an honor that must be, I laughed. I was treated as a pet. The look in my mother’s eyes broke my heart. My father was a monster.

  The sounds from the street outside the stone wall trickled through an iron grate high above my head. The grate was old and rusted and forgotten, just like all the books that inhabited the library. For a fortress that was seemingly impenetrable, the small opening could be its greatest weakness. I was sure my small body could fit through, if only the grate was weak enough to fail. I ran at the nearest pillar and leaped against it in one swift movement, ricocheting to the ledge of the vent grate and tearing my leather skirt.

  From the grate, I could smell the grasses swaying in the wind, even the spray of the ocean miles away. The fresh air swirled in through the vent, and it consumed my mind, calling to me like a command to come home to where I truly belonged. I didn’t belong here, locked up in a musty old castle; I belonged on the cliffs with the wind and the ocean in my face. I was trapped in a stone tomb of fools.

  Father wasn’t going to protect me. I shook my head angrily. I’d have to protect my bloody self. I yanked the iron grate off the wall with all my strength, cracking the edge of the stone, dropping it loudly to the floor, but no one stormed in to see what the frail little princess was doing. I laughed; they didn’t know what I was capable of. Staring down the dank tunnel, I couldn’t see any hints of the morning light at the end. I crawled through the dark, moist vent, barely shimmying my body through, but I crawled out onto the grass and limestone outside the castle walls that surrounded the Rock. The passage wasn’t even blocked on this side, like an open invitation to enemies. I shook my head at the arrogance of my father. He had to have known this was here, but he didn’t bother to bar it.

  I glanced at the city of Cashel. Through it was the shortest path home, but I didn’t want the guard to see me flee. So I took the long way around the cemetery on the north side. The feeling of the rocks under my soft boots reminded me of home. The edge of freedom waited there for me, and I ran to it. Away from my duty, away from Father, from everything they thought I should be—and I would never be what they wanted. I fled from the city like a fugitive. My boots were so thin, it felt as though my bare feet were meeting the ground with each stride. When I was finally out of sight, I began running faster, away from human eyes. Miles away from duty, over the countryside of Ireland, through the mountains of Comeragh and Galty through cattle pastures and scattered farmhouses. In a mere hour, I ran 136 miles, and I could finally see the coast.

  The rocky edge looked treacherously inviting, it was my salvation; I yearned for the adrenaline of the wind and Old Mother’s spirit. I ran right to the end of the earth and leaned forward, letting the wind hold my body, suspended between sky and earth. I breathed in the salty air and closed my eyes as the wind blew my menacing hair all around my face. I leaned farther into the wind, past the point of sanity. It was exhilaratingly easy to get lost in the adrenaline.

  I flopped down on my back in the tall grass, completely hidden as I watched the clouds drift by. I closed my eyes and breathed in the ocean. I wanted to always feel this way, but Father’s deception crept into my mind. He just wanted me to sit still and look pretty. I hated him. But who was I without him, without his Bloodmark? I was just an untamed, wild animal with no family to claim. Without a Bloodmark, I wasn’t recognized as a member of our pack, and I could never marry. Even Brychan couldn’t marry me until Father tattooed the Boru Bloodmark on my neck. I closed my eyes and rested as the warm sunlight eased my wandering mind.

  “I have waited a long time to possess you, Ashling.”

  Adomnan bent down and stroked the side of my face. I tried to squirm away from his touch, but he grabbed a handful of my hair and nearly tore it out as he for
ced me to look at him.

  “They tried to keep us apart, but you were destined to be mine.” There was an evil twist in his smirk, and I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to see it. Crob’s two other sons, Eamon and Bento, stood next to Adomnan, though Adomnan was about a foot taller than each. Bento, the youngest of them, looked innocent; his brown eyes were softer, more understanding than Adomnan’s harsh green eyes. Bento’s hair was cut short, and he wore a simple shirt, nothing fancy like Adomnan’s.

  “Are you scared yet?” Eamon said, chuckling at my vulnerability. His shaggy dark hair fell slightly over his left eye. He was stockier than the others. His green velvet coat stretched over his back, bringing out the green flecks in his blue eyes. I noticed the shape of his nose—strong and angular.

  I hated the way they looked at me, as though they were starving. Their eyes devoured me, and I shivered from their unwanted inspection.

  Only scraps of leather covered my modesty, and I wrapped my arms around myself protectively. They talked in hushed whispers that were absorbed by the wind.

  The confusion and drowsiness left my mind in a blur, but through the whipping wind and the rustling grass, I heard someone approaching. I couldn’t recognize their scents, so I didn’t know who—or what—they were, but they must have been wolves by how swiftly they were closing the distance between us. Had Father sent his guards to collect his wayward daughter? They were closing in from the north, trapping me between them and the rocky cliffs.

  I crept up in a crouch, barely visible above the grass, with my hair dancing around my face like flames. I felt confident and ready to fight, but the sight of Adomnan and his two brothers stole all my resolve. Panic raked through me.

  It wasn’t just a dream, it was a warning. I didn’t need to be reminded what would happen to me if they caught me. All the stories Mund had told me were enough to make my heart pound with fear. I knew in that split second by the smirk on his face that he could plainly see my fear; I couldn’t beat him. He was faster, bigger, and so much stronger. I wanted to scream for Mund, but he was over a hundred miles away. I felt frozen with fear.

  “My beloved,” he cooed.

  I could smell human blood on them. I felt sick to my stomach, and anger filled my soul.

  “My lady, I have searched for you for so long. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said, standing only a few feet away. There was fresh blood still on his lips.

  “You’re disgusting,” I said.

  Adomnan lunged at me, grabbing a clump of my hair, ripping it from my scalp. I screamed in pain and leapt into the air, ripping through my clothes as I shifted to my wolf form and Old Mother’s love and blood flowed through my veins. I landed several yards away as a small red wolf with blazing golden eyes. Without a conscious decision, my body was running. Self-preservation was fueling my adrenaline. I knew I had to get to Mund, or I would be just a pawn in someone else’s game.

  “Why are you running, Ashling?” Adomnan taunted.

  I turned a daring glance back at them, faltering my gait. They were shifting, three large black wolves at least twice my size were coming up from behind. I pushed myself forward, my heart pounding like thunder in my body.

  I was running faster than I had ever run before, and yet it seemed like slow motion. I knew I couldn’t outrun them for long. I wondered how long it would take to die. Mother would mourn for me, but would Father even notice I was gone? Or would Adomnan try to trade me back to them in return for something far worse?

  I slipped on loose rocks, and my left flank hit the ground, ripping at my flesh. I could feel Adomnan and his brothers gaining on me, and the pain in my leg vibrated through my every step. I just had to ignore the pain. The leg would heal quickly while I was in wolf form with Old Mother’s blood in my veins. I knew the terrain well enough to gain some ground through the mountains, but they were still close behind.

  I pushed my body harder than it could sustain; the exhaustion burned my muscles as I continued to run. If they caught me, I would be too weak to fight back. Their howls sent chills down my spine as I finally reached the edge of Cashel. I slowed down as I entered the city, knowing I was safe from them, they didn’t belong in the kingdom. I glanced behind to gloat at them, but they weren’t stopping. At a full run, they were pursuing me, quickly eliminating the ground between us. I scrambled through the dirty alleys of Cashel toward the kingdom, my nails ripping at the cobblestone streets as I ran for my life. Their hot, stinking breaths were only seconds behind mine.

  It would not be today. It was not my day to die. I was not ending like this—scared and running away. Anger fueled my last desperate steps to the gates.

  They must not have realized how close they were to Father’s castle. Even if they killed me, his guards would gladly kill them before they ever reached the edge of the city. A smile curled at my wolf lip as I rounded the final corner, skidding slightly.

  I leapt through the welcoming gate and shifted to my human form, proud and naked as the day I was born. My hands and feet welcomed the cold stones of the Rock. I straightened from the crouch to stand before my enemies. My hair flowed down my pale skin. I threw a knowing look over my shoulder—they dared not enter here.

  At the back of my mind, a question still nagged at me. Was I truly safer inside the kingdom or outside? I pushed my thoughts aside.

  Their glowing eyes were all but hidden in the shadows, their growls close to a hiss. I knew the guard would quiet their chatter and chase them from the city. I gave them a throaty laugh and flashed a crooked smile as I dashed down the stone stairs to the entrance of the underground kingdom.

  I didn’t care how they were to be punished . . . I was more concerned with Father’s retribution for my escape.

  As I entered the main halls of the castle, I could hear yelling. It echoed off the walls with a thunderous roar, but the stone echo made it impossible to make out what was being said. I heard my father’s voice, the heavy alpha weighed down my mind. He was still angry. I wondered if he had discovered me missing. Mund was probably trying to cover my tracks. The only time he ever disobeyed Father was for me. I had to know what was going on. With all the yelling, they would never hear me enter.

  I knew I had to hurry to get to Mother and Mund, but I had to get dressed first. I giggled, turning into a side room through a small stone archway. I saw the red coals of the fire in the hearth still burned from supper the night before. Our great Boru family painting hung above the eight-foot-wide mantel, proclaiming our family’s domain over the kingdom. I was only about three years old, but I remembered it. They couldn’t convince me to shift into human form, I loved my four legs. So there in the family painting of perfection: my beautiful mother in all her glory; my powerful and proud father; my four strong brothers all dressed in their finest clothes, jewels, weapons, and adornments; and one tiny red wolf pup in the foreground, ruining the tranquility of the portrait.

  I looked like the family pet. I shook my head at the memory.

  At the end of the long, thin room was our travel chests. Centuries old, the chests were decorated with jewels of every variety from all over the world. Oddly, their beauty was nothing compared to what was inside each of them. Quickly I opened mine, revealing many family heirlooms and jewels.

  My things, gifts from my family over my sixteen years. All priceless pieces of history. A rose-gold, leaf-shaped wrap-ring covered in tiny glimmering diamonds stood out among the large gems and jewels. Mund had given it to me for my sixteenth birthday. He had been so proud; he knew I would love it. It sat next to Brychan’s ring that signified his claim to me—the symbol of my doom, in one gaudy ring, waiting to smother the life and breath from my body and soul.

  I lifted off the top shelf of jewels and carelessly set it to the side to access the clothes below. There in the bottom of the chest were all the appropriate choices of gowns—beautiful greens, ruby reds, and cream silks—all gowns of importance, all picked out by Mother. The appropriate attire for a lady of royalty, but I had hid
den several leather outfits below all the stuffy gowns. I put on similar handmade leather boots and a simple short leather wrap skirt with rough-cut edges and metal peg closures on my left hip. I tied a piece of soft leather around my chest, creating a strapless top from the supple fabric. And as a final adornment, I wrapped my right wrist with extra leather laces in shades of brown and black, creating a cuff. Now all I had to do was sneak into the throne room and find out what Father’s new strategy for punishing me would be.

  4

  Animal Kingdom

  “Redmund!” I heard my father bellow, his thunderous voice vibrating in my ears and cutting through all the clutter in my mind. I needed to get to Mund and Mother. I wasn’t a child anymore, and this time I would protect them. I slammed the trunk closed and broke into an easy sprint, winding through the halls, into the labyrinth.

  The long, twisted passages would get the best tracker lost. Certainly no enemy would ever get to the center—alive, that is. The darkness was welcoming; the candlelight barely kept me on the path. But even though I had never been to the center, I knew the way. It was in my blood, I was born to find it. As I grew near, I could hear the collective breathing of the council as the argument continued.

  I came to a halt and walked slowly to the giant doors created by our ancestors from the wood of the ships they sailed during the ninth century, hand-carved with grotesque wolves to scare the strongest of opponents. Honestly, they even intimidated me. I barely noticed the guards on each side of the door; they were like pieces of furniture—always there, always silent, barely moving, and they didn’t even look at me.

  I had never seen the throne room or met all the packs. I barely even knew my own father. I nervously gnawed on the inside of my cheek. Part of me wanted to just turn around, run away, and take my chances with Adomnan.