He was silent for a long moment before he slid his hands down my shoulders, squeezing them tight before he leveled his gaze with mine.
“After this is all over, my love, I’m going to take you to that meadow like I had planned to today and remind you that I will forever be your alpha,” he purred, and I whimpered softly in anticipation.
“I’m looking forward to it, Alpha,” I whispered, swallowing heavily as I tried to figure out what that might mean.
“Me too, my sweet sigma.”
I could feel his reluctance as he pulled away from me, but we didn’t have any other choice. He brushed his hand against my cheek before he finally turned away and walked out the door. I waited several long moments before I followed and slipped inside the secret passages of the castle, watching over him from the safety of the walls.
The Acolyte was a ticking time bomb. Either we died first or he did.
For the next several days, I observed the happenings in the castle tirelessly. I attended every meeting that Magnar went to, every dinner and every late night showing of power that included an incredible amount of alcohol and beautiful women dressed in nothing more than thin gauzy fabric. I watched them dance for him, but he didn’t give any of them a second glance because he only had eyes for me.
I scrutinized every man I could find for a limp, but either he wasn’t here or he knew how to cover it up enough so that it wasn’t noticeable in public. I could look for the mark on his hand, but from a distance I couldn’t see them well enough to distinguish a scar of any kind. The Acolyte’s brown eyes weren’t remarkable enough to set him apart either, but I looked for them anyway. I watched for it all.
Late one night, I noticed that there was a piece of fabric caught in the window of the bedroom chamber I’d first been confined to. I opened it and grabbed it before it flew away, noticing that there was a small piece of paper curled up into a tight roll expertly hidden along the hem.
The scarf was a sign. It was from my father and the Brotherhood.
I pressed my back against the wall and unfurled it.
Ariana,
With the rise of the red moon, turn your gaze to the north among the overgrown colors of wildflowers. I’m sending a gift fit only for the lips of the betrayer. See to it that it is delivered.
The Ghost
I turned to look up into the sky to see the tiny glittering lights of the stars. The moon hadn’t risen yet, but I knew it would soon by the slight scarlet hue on the horizon. I grabbed a dusky gray hooded cloak and slipped it over my shoulders before I rushed along the stone hallways until I closed in on the gardens. Tonight, the castle was mostly abandoned, much of the servants asleep in their beds, exhausted from preparations for the biggest event the city had seen since the day of Magnar’s crowning.
Erik and Magnar had planned a big dinner celebration with the people of Kingsworth to commemorate a big announcement. He’d been too exhausted to tell me much about it when he’d come to bed the past few nights, but I could guess that they’d come to terms on an alliance of pretty epic proportions.
I’d learned a bit about King Erik in the time since I’d first met him.
Erik was king of a city far to the north that was said to be at least four times the size of Kingsworth. There were rumors that the buildings were tall enough to scrape the sky. It was built into the side of the mountains, carved out of stone and rock.
The city had never been taken. Not once in the history of the world. It was said that Daneridge was impenetrable.
An alliance with him would put the Cult in a position of power that would be difficult to beat and it was up to Magnar to secure it.
It was critical that he did.
Quietly, I made my way through the gardens and pulled my hood up to hide the telltale color of my pale blonde hair. I turned my head and gazed to the north, wandering until I approached a hidden corner that appeared to be long forgotten. I found a small scrap of fabric tied to a door, made of the same cloth the scarf in my window had been. Carefully, I removed it before I turned the handle and cautiously walked through it. I stiffened when I saw a cloaked figure sitting silently on the other side.
His head turned and he pushed back the hood of his cloak once his eyes settled on me, revealing his identity at once.
Ivar.
Silvery blue eyes stared back at me. I could see the dark outline of his beard. This time it was well trimmed, which was different from how I remembered him last.
“Ariana,” he whispered. “It’s been a while.”
“It has, Ivar,” I whispered.
“When you were taken, we couldn’t save you,” he said quietly.
“I know. You weren’t meant to,” I replied gently.
He gazed at me with quiet understanding, nodding once before he cleared his throat.