Chapter 16
“Who’s there p>
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Vanders
My voice comes out rough, the smoke scraping at my throat. The heat swells around me as ifit’s trying to choke me alive.
There was no answer. But it’s getting louder, the pounding of footsteps–it’s moving fast and desperate–slamming against
stone.
I push myself off the cot and stagger to the bars, gripping the iron. “Agh…” I hiss as it burns instantly, the metal is so hot it feels alive under my palms. I grit my teeth and lean in, squinting through the haze of the black smoke.
The guards who were here last night are gone. The corner they usually slouched in is empty with the chairs toppled over. Every inch of this place is on fire–stone walls glowing orange from the reflected light, smoke curling along the ceiling. Which makes no fucking sense. When I first got dragged down here, it was all damp rock, mold, and iron. There’s nothing to burn unless someone brought the fire down here themselves.
Which means this isn’t an accident.
Who would…
The footsteps come closer but this time, it’s heavier now, slapping against the floor though they’re running for their life.
Then-
“Luna Sorin!” A loud call gets me out of daze.
My head snaps toward the voice.
Through the smoke, a figure emerges – small, hunched forward skirt bunched in one fist as she runs. She breaks into view, panting, eyes wild.
“Edith?” My voice catches somewhere between disbelief and relif. “What the hell-?” How is she here?
Why would she-
“They’re going to kill you!” she blurts out, crashing into the bars so hard it rattles the lock. Her hands are shaking so bad I think they might fall off her wrists. “I heard them, I swear on the Goddess, I heard them p>
What?
“Edith, slow down-“I begin to urge but it’s useless.
“No, you don’t understand!” She’s gripping the bars now, face palle beneath the smears of soot. “Luna Ariel’s going to kill you, in secret. Right now. Tonight p>
I blink, my brain trying to catch up to her panic. “In case you haven’t noticed, everything’s already on fire p>
“She’s going to make it look like you died in it!” Edith shouts, voice cracking. “I heard them. There is no trial, Sorin! No chance for you to clear your name. They’re going to leave your body here to burn so there’s nothing left p>
That’s the hit that lands in my chest like a fucking boulder. No tal. No chance.
My mouth goes dry.
Edith’s already digging into her pockets, fumbling with a set of keys that rattle violently in her hands. “We have to go, right
now p>
“No.” My voice is steady, but it comes out harder than I meant.“m not running. Not until p>
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There is no trial, Luna! ” she screams over me, eyes brimming th tears, face red and streaked with sweat “You will die here if you stay, do you understand me? I’m not letting them but you alive p>
The coughing starts behind us–low, hacking gasps from the other cells. The prisoners are dropping, some slumping over completely, others clawing at the bars for air. The smoke is thickening, crawling into my lungs with every breath.
Edith’s hands are a mess as she shoves the key into the lock, hernuckles bloody from something–running into walls, fighting someone, I don’t know. Her breath comes in short burst
I slide my hand through the bars and grabs her wrist, the metal saring into my arm. She flinches but doesn’t pull away “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her quietly.
Her trembling slows just enough for her lips to twitch into a smal, pitiful smile. She believes me. Thank the Goddess she believes me.
The lock finally clicks open and I’m just stepping out when movement in the doorway catches my eye.
Three men.
I squint harder to see the figures and I grit my teeth almost immediate. They’re not my guards. Not the ones who brought me here. These men look… wrong. Dirty leather, mismatched armor, the kind of eyes that make your stomach turn. The one in front is carrying an old, stained rag bag.
They see us–and smirk.
Edith freezes beside me and I already know those are the guys she’s trembling for.
I take a step forward, voice sharp. “You’re not the guards from last night p>
The tallest one’s grin widens. “You should ask your guards yourself p>
He drops the bag.
The fabric spills open.
Two heads roll out across the blackened stone, leaving streaks of blood in their wake before stopping at my bare feet. My guards. The ones from last night. The ones who–despite everything–still carried out my orders though it was the last scrap of respect they had for me.
Edith’s gasp cuts through the roar of the fire.
The man laughs low. “They gave us a headache. Put up a fight. It really didn’t make sense, guarding a disgraced Luna. But they seemed to think you were worth it p>
The heat stabs at my lungs, but this–this hits colder than any dungeon wall.
I glance at Edith. Her face says the same thing mine is screaming–this wasn’t random.
My eyes snap back to them. “Did Ariel send you p>
The smirk turns feral.
They move.
Fast.
“Run!” I grab Edith’s arm and we bolt, smoke clawing at our threats. She yanks me toward a narrow, shadowed arch I swear wasn’t there before.
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she pain chasing me though het m
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1 to batohy My mouth is already open to tell her we’re heading to Wade’s quarters, demand answers, anything when the thought candles in my head
What if Wade already know?
What it Ariel’s not just involved, but this was then plan all along
The bile rixes quick and hot in my thisat
No Alaric If anyone would
dah! Let’s go to the Alpha King and ”
I don’t finish thought because a blur moves from the shadow
A hand shoots out, yanking Eduh back
She jerks against the grip but freezes when the rogue presses a bite to her throat. The moonlight glints off the blade, catching on the edge right over her pulse
“How do you know,” he rasps, voice thick with sing an
your previous Alpha King didn’t plan this tow
I stare him dead in the eye, letting a slow, dangerous smile spre across my face. “That’s where nie wrong “Because he’s obsessed with me, dumbass p>
The smirk drops from his face at the same moment my honester and rekut. My wolf hustout, claws hitting dic before he can even register the change Islam into Hirst of t two other rogues circling us, teeth snapping for his leg
They’re big Bigger than me, heavier than me, and strong enor one clips my ribs with a clawed swipe that burns all the way the scent coating my tongue.
make the ground vibrate when they hit The second bone Hot blood spills dowit my side, the metallic
I twist, land hard, and launch again, catching the edge of one’s older. The taste of from floods my mouth, but it’s not enough to drop him. He snarls, shaking me off.
Edith’s still pinned, the knife a thin silver promise against her sk She can’t shifi–too hurt, too weak and every time t strike, I can feel the seconds bleeding out for her.
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Chapter 16
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1 dive again Miss. A paw slams into my flank, sending me sprawling into the dirt. My legs stutter under me when I push up
Luna Sorin-“Edith’s voice is broken, a whisper torn raw “Run
1 spin toward her and whimper low. No.
“Laina please” Tears streak her face, but her eyes are hard. “You have to go p>
Another slash across my shoulder. Pain blooms bright and dizzying, but I still take a step toward her.
She sucks in a deep breath–and shifts.
It’s instant and violent, the knife slicing into her neck mid–change. Her howl tears out jagged, choked with blood, but she’s already on the rogue holding her. They go down in a mess of fur and claws, and her jaws clamp over his throat until the gurgle stops.
She pulls back, swaying, limping, blood soaking her chest fur. The other two rogues whirl toward her, but she wheels on me instead, her eyes fierce through the haze of pain.
“Run p>
The command is a whip–crack. My wolf spins before I can even think.
No. I shove at her control, snarling inside my own head. We should fight. We don’t-
“We die if we stay!” she snaps, surging forward. “I’m not dying here p>
The trees blur past, the night air slicing my face and ears. My heart slams against my ribs so hard I swear something cracks.
“We can go back p>
“We can’t save her now, Sorin p>
And then-
Edith’s howl shreds the air. It’s loud and sharp and it ends too soon.
I feel it like a punch in the chest. My legs almost buckle mid–run. A sound tears out of me–half–scream, half–keening—and my wolf doesn’t even slow.
She’s gone. Edith is gone.
And we run anyway.
Through the cold, through the stinging whip of branches agains my face, through the blood still dripping from my side. Every step feels heavier, but slowing down is asking for teeth in my back. The rogues‘ scent lingers faint, enough to keep my muscles locked and ready.
We run for what feels like hours. The forest stretches endless, shadows folding in around us.
Fog starts to gather, pale and heavy, swirling low over the groun wolf’s pace falters for the first time. My body screams with each
We stumble to a stop. I hit the dirt and shift back before I can fa
Dawn is bleeding into the sky in thin streaks of gray. My ep, my muscles vibrating with exhaustion.
The cold slaps me hard in my bare skin. My knees hit damp card, my hands digging into leaves and roots. Blood is sticky down my arm and along my ribs. My breaths come in shallow, saky pulls.
There’s a tunic hanging from a low branch a few feet away, the tric looks rough and worn. I drag myself toward it, my
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16:32 Sat, Dec 20 GGA
Chapter 16
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fingers numb as I yank it over my head. It smells faintly of pine hp and wolf musk–left for anyone who needed it.
The second the fabric’s over me, my body sags. I sink down at the base of the tree, the roots pressing hard into my spine. My eyelids feel like they weigh a ton.
The forest is quiet again. Too quiet. My ears strain, every muscle tense.
A twig snaps.
My eyes flick up, but the fog is thicker now, swallowing shapes. Something moves in it–slow, deliberate. Heavy.
My pulse spikes. My nails dig into the dirt.
I can’t tell if it’s a rogue… or him.
My body tilts before I can get up, the edges of my vision closing in fast. The last thing I hear is the crunch of leaves getting closer.
And then–black.
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