by Camille Rae
“Is Mika—” I started, but Loel held up a hand.
The men stopped, defensively crouching once more, and I prepared myself for another white witch to show up and say that they had it wrong, that I was no one important, that I could absolutely go home, and they’d give me a billion dollars for my inconvenience.
Instead, in the moonlight, I could make out Loel’s grin.
Loel put a finger to his lips and looked at me, his eyes wide.
I heard it after a moment. A horse’s high-pitched whinny.
“Horses?” Silas whispered, looking excited.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Loel said with a grin.
We crept silently through the wood toward the sound of the horses, realizing there was a fire and encampment of Blues soldiers not fifty feet away. It was well after midnight at this point, and the army guards were silent and asleep.
The guard near the horses never even knew what hit them (for the record, it was the pommel of Loel’s and Silas’s swords — they were all truly men of knockout talent, it seemed). The horses were quietly eating as we approached, and Lachlan neared them first. They stayed calm, and I thought he might be using his calming powers on them.
I felt nervous being so close to the Queen’s Army camp. I could smell fires.
If I started screaming, the Blues could find me. They could reunite me with Jude and get me away from these wolves.
Loel put an arm on my shoulder.
Don’t even try it, his expression read. Or rather, it was as though I heard that voice in my mind. Now I was truly losing it.
Rationally, I should have been afraid of Loel. I had witnessed him murder someone just that morning. He had said over and over that he wouldn’t harm me, but what if I put him in harm, first? Would his moral compass waver at that?
I peered through the trees at the camp. Leaving one captor for another wouldn’t be a smart choice, and I needed to make smart choices if I was going to survive, find Jude, and get back to my normal world.
I needed to escape without either side knowing.
Chapter 7
Loel
We silently unhooked the four horses where they had been tethered by their bridles, and then led them as quietly as possible to get a safe distance away before climbing on.
I pulled Caia onto my saddle, squeezing her in between my body and the horn. She was nearly sitting on top of my thighs, but I didn’t trust her to not ride off on her own horse yet.
I pretended not to be affected by her nearness as I hooked her bag to the saddle with a tie.
Gods, why her? Why did I feel so drawn to her?
I watched as she furtively glanced once more behind us toward the camp. I leaned into her to whisper, “You don’t want to know what they’d do to a lone woman.”
She tensed and I felt a shiver in her back — fear. Her fear smelled like a sour version of her normal scent, and I disliked it immediately. It called to something inside of me. I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around her, clutching her to me, letting nothing come near her ever again.
“And how would you know?” She asked.
“Because I used to be one of them,” I answered against her ear.
Speaking of it now felt like speaking of a past life. It hadn’t been even five years ago now, but it felt like an entirely different lifetime. I was a different person then. I was a terrible person then.
Before she could ask me any more questions, we began to run. Better to put some distance between us and the Blues, even if it was a noisy departure.
We heard shouts behind us, but they faded quickly. It wasn’t as though they could actually pursue us on foot, and we had stolen the only horses in the area.
Besides, stealing horses was an art that my pack had perfected.
Hell, even some of the Queen’s Army horses were shifters. Undercover, of course, but ours, nonetheless.
Lachlan and Mika ran with us, staying far enough away not to spook the horses.
I closed my mind off from the connection with the others. Truthfully, I was livid. I was the highest ranking pack member when we were out on missions, and they had defied me time and time again in the past few days.
It was as though Caia’s presence made them completely forget order.
When the spell had hit me just hours before, I almost forgot, too.
I had been terrified that she had gotten away, but nothing had prepared me for the horror of realizing that Flora had chosen us as her protectors.
If I could just get her to Nos, get her to Theo, maybe we could figure out a way to undo the spell.
The magic that had come from that ring was powerful. I didn’t entirely understand that type of magic — it was so different from what shifters used. Our magic came so naturally. Effortless. Like Lachlan’s emotional perception or Silas’s shield.
If Caia truly was the Lost Princess, it was the kind of magic that she held in her body.
I had seen the Queen’s magic. She was one of the most powerful sorcerers in Laeris.
But her power came from her bloodline. And if Caia shared that bloodline, then she’d be that powerful, too.
I held onto her tightly as we galloped, and she eventually pressed back into my chest to keep from falling off. I would be lying if I claimed that her ass moving against my dick wasn’t doing terrible things to my concentration.
Her body was warm and soft, and even though she was a tall woman, she tucked back neatly into the space between my jaw and shoulder.
She fit into me as though we were made for it.
My wolf growled at that.
The fucking irony of my perfect mate not being a shifter.
The fucking irony of my perfect mate being the Lost Princess.
Could I be wrong? Could my body just be attracted to her?
My wolf growled again.
It was more than attraction.
It was fucking obsession.
Down, boy.
It was probably from the spell, anyway.
Nevermind I had felt it the moment I had held her in my arms.
After about fifteen minutes of galloping, Cash came through the connection to tell me that we could probably slow down — that he couldn’t track any Blues near us.
Caia leaned forward and I didn’t like the loss of her closeness, but I was grateful for the much-needed distance between us.
I had to focus.
Now that we were slowed, I could feel her shivering against me. “You’re cold,” I whispered.
She shook my head. “I’m not,” she said stubbornly.
I loosened one hand’s grip on the reins and reached, grabbing the blanket roll that was tied to my bag. I wrapped it around her shoulders.
“How long have you lived in Nos?” She asked, gesturing vaguely to the forest.
I lowered my brow, calculating how much to tell her. “Four years, but mainly out in the woods for two.”
She seemed shocked by the response. “Two years? Why? Where are you originally from?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” I said, smirking.
Even though I could only see her face in profile, it was almost as though I could feel how disappointed she was by my answer.
“Queen’s City,” I said.
She nodded in response and for a moment, it almost looked like she knew what I was talking about.
“The capital of Laeris,” I went on. “I don’t exactly know where you’re from, Spark, but you have to learn a few things about Laeris if you’re going to survive out here.”
“Spark?” She repeated, raising my brows.
I touched the ends of her red hair. “Yeah, because you’ve been kissed by fire.”
Her face was tilted up, and her breath was brushing along the soft skin of my neck, giving me goosebumps.
She shifted quickly, putting some distance between us again.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said quietly, leaning back.
“No, it’s just…” She trailed off.
Chapter 8
Caia
We rode for a few hours, and then found a place to settle in, water the horses, and sleep for a bit. We built a fire, and the men made a plan for who would take watch first. I made a simple bed on the ground with a blanket and wrapped myself in my jacket, using my pack as a pillow, and settled in for the night.
Lachlan got the first watch because he was still in his wolf form, so Silas, Cash, and Loel made makeshift beds around me.
“How do you guys get used to sleeping on the ground?” I groaned, shifting. I preferred a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and tent to surround me when I was outside.
“It helps if we all cuddle,” Cash said, unamused, giving me a flat look.
I couldn’t help but laugh, surprised. “Yeah, I bet you’re a real snuggle monster, Cash.”
He made his signature Mmphmm noise and made a bed across the fire from me.
Loel made a small clicking noise, and Mika came out of the shadows. He patted the ground next to me, and she shifted on her front legs, as if asking, Seriously, do I have to?
I eyed her warily, but stayed still as he patted the ground again and she sighed, curling up beside me. “Ah, another secret snuggle monster, I see,” I said, scratching her ears. She opened one eye to look at me, but stretched her neck toward me, willing me to continue the scratching.
“It’s okay, the fact that you’re a softy will be our little secret,” I whispered to her. “You poor thing, having to hang out with men all the time.”
She opened one eye, as if raising an eyebrow in amusement.
“Are you a shifter, too?” I asked. She was smaller than Lachlan, but still larger than any real wolf I had ever seen.
She slowly closed her other eye.
“Ah, a woman of secrets, I see,” I said.
Loel laid down on the other side of her, keeping her in between us as a buffer.
“We’ll all sleep warmer next to one another. Cash wasn’t actually lying. He’ll never admit it, though,” he said quietly to me.
I fell asleep staring up at the stars, unable to find any of the constellations I knew.
The dreams came in flashes that night.
Red eyes.
Woman in blue. She didn’t speak, but her eyes were red as she watched me.
I was on the stone wall, high above the ground.
And then, I was falling.
I opened my eyes, taking a long, slow breath. Mika was cuddled across Loel’s legs, and Lachlan was curled up beside me on the other side. I stared at him, trying to make out features in his wolf form.
Silas was out on watch, I figured, since he was the only one not near the fire.
I sat up as quietly as I could and held my jacket close to my body as I climbed out from the pile of wolves.
“Just going to the bathroom,” I said, once I noticed four sets of eyes on me. “I don’t need the leash.” I pointed to Loel and narrowed my eyes, but he only gave me a grin and closed his eyes again.
I relieved myself out in the trees, and just as I was pulling up my pants, Silas appeared beside me. His expression relaxed once he realized it was only me.
I jumped as he appeared. “You’re lucky you didn’t catch me about ten seconds earlier,” I said, teasing.
He pushed his glasses back up and grinned. “I’m glad I investigated before throwing a dagger at you,” he joked back.
I rolled my eyes. “Lucky me,” I said flatly. “How do you walk so quietly?”
“Step on the damp leaves on the ground,” he said, pointing down. “Also, it helps if you’re a wolf. But in a pinch, look for the damp leaves.”
I nodded, filing away that bit of knowledge.
“Anything exciting?” I continued, gesturing to the dark wood around us.
“Thankfully, no,” he said, looking back out into the trees. “As far as I can tell, we’re near no Blue encampments, but you can never be too careful.”
“So why are you guys rebelling against the Queen’s Army, anyway?” I asked.
“A lot of reasons. It’s complicated. Laeris has a very…” He paused, looking for the right word, and I couldn’t help but smile at his intense concentration face. Silas had perpetually messy hair that seemed to get more tousled with every moment. “Difficult history,” he continued.
“Difficult how?” I asked.
“I’m sure you’ll see soon enough,” he smirked. “There’s a lot of tension between the shifters and the non-shifters.”
“What does that mean?” I pressed on.
“Once we get to Nos and you meet Theo, I think you’ll understand,” he said.
“I really thought you’d be a little less cryptic than the others,” I said, groaning.
“If we’re in Nos for a while, I’ll teach you all I can then,” he said, his voice sounding like a promise.
I nodded, feeling grateful and disheartened at the same time. On the one hand, I was curious about this world, but that didn’t mean I wanted to stay long enough to learn about it.
He put his hands on my shoulders, giving me the most Well-Intentioned Big Brother look I’d ever seen. “Now go back to sleep. We only have a few hours until sunrise.” He pushed me gently in the direction of the fire, and I walked back, making sure to step on the damp leaves to muffle my steps.
Cash, Lach, and Loel all eyed me as I stepped up to the fire. I warmed myself, and then Lachlan shifted over, making a spot for me between him and Loel. I laid down between them, and they pressed into each of my sides, muscle and fur keeping me warm.
I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest: Crickets, fire crackles, the wind whispering in the leaves. With my eyes closed, I could pretend that it wasn’t so different from home.
Chapter 9
Caia
The next morning, I was sitting in a cool stream in my underwear near where we had made camp. I was sore all over and stalling before I had to get back on a horse.
Loel and the others were nearby. I assumed they were keeping a close eye on me after Loel had teased me about being quite a water sprite for someone kissed by fire.
Mika fished in the stream near me, her focus intense on finding the small trout that kept tickling my legs.
She pounced, her head dunking under the water, and then she surfaced again with a wriggling fish between her teeth.
“Nicely done,” I said, giving her a golf clap.
I watched her happily chew on the fish, and then I saw her body tense, her ears dropping back.
My blood ran cold in my veins as I watched a man step out from behind a tree on the opposite side of the creek from our camp.
He wasn’t dressed in blue, but he wasn’t dressed in beige, either. He was dressed in ripped, dirty cloth that might have once been an animal hide. His ash blond hair was matted with mud and leaves, and his beard grew patchy and erratic.
He said something to me in a language that I didn’t recognize, but my body hummed in recognition. I crossed an arm over my chest, remembering I was only in my bra.
“Who are you?” I asked as calmly as I could, my body tensing in preparation to run. I tried to relax my muscles and casually reach for a large rock from the bed of the stream, just in case.
Mika growled, wading back into the stream to stand near me.
“My Queen,” the man murmured and lunged into the stream toward me. He yelled something in a language I didn’t understand.
Mika sprang into action and I yelled, standing up in a splash of water. A flash of light blinded me and the man fell backwards against the other bank. Mika had the man’s shoulder in her jaws and he was shrieking in pain, still flailing toward me with his free arm.
My men appeared moments later and Cash and Lachlan jumped into the water. They grabbed him and Loel ordered Mika off of him. She obeyed him enough to let go of his arm and take his leg, instead.
The stranger turned toward me, his eyes wide and frantic.
The man responded with something in the same language from before and daggers of pain shot through my chest. I could barely breathe. I fell back, twisting in immediate pain. I felt I was being ripped apart from the inside, like my ribs were breaking all at once. I desperately clawed at my chest, trying to get rid of the agony.
I was going to die.
I was surely dying right at that very moment.
“Caia,” Loel yelled, falling to his knees next to me. He gathered me in his arms as I cried out.
Silas quickly put a hand over me, watching my face intently.
“What’s happening?” Cash said, and Silas looked back over his shoulder.
“My shield isn’t working,” Silas said, his voice panicked, and I watched as Cash, in one swift movement, hoisted his dagger up into the man’s abdomen. The man made a horrific gulping noise and slumped over.
Mika stepped away from him, looking disgusted by the taste.
My pain stopped immediately and I gasped for breath, my entire body shaking.
“Who was that?” I asked, curling into Loel for comfort.
“One of the Cascus. He must have followed us,” Silas said solemnly.
“What are Cascus?” I asked.
“They’re of the ancient ways,” Silas said.
He pulled his jacket off and Loel wrapped me up in it. It was warm and smelled faintly like campfire.
Cash laid the man’s body down on the ground, inspecting his corpse.
“Why did he call me a queen? His queen,” I asked after a moment of watching Cash rummage through the man’s meagre belongings.
The men all avoided my eye contact.
“Tell me,” I demanded, pushing away from Loel to stand up.
Lachlan’s ears flattened against his skull and he stepped back away from me.
Cash grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“What do you want to know?” Silas said, taking my arms in his hands.
Loel gave him a look that plainly signaled that telling me anything was out of the question.
