Page 28 of Savage Crown
‘Godric and Kaelric will tear this camp apart if you vanish. If you leave a note explaining where you went, they will storm the city looking for you and die. Harrow’s army is vast.’
‘So what do you suggest?’
She hesitated.
‘You must leave Kaelric a note saying Godric escorted you back to Hildreth to think about things. Tell him you are unsure about being with him.’
My heart fractured. It would destroy him.
‘It’s only temporary until we get back tomorrow night—at the latest. Then you can tell him it was my idea. He respects my war strategy.’
I bit the inside of my cheek. That didn’t go so well last time she had an idea.
‘And Godric? He will go to Hildreth and look for me.’
‘You convince him to lie to Kaelric and go into the city with you to protect you.’
My eyes widened.‘No way. I can go alone.’
‘You can. But I don’t want you to. Godric will run fast to Hildreth and confirm you left. It’s the only way we buy a full day of silence. We need him on board.’
Godric appeared at my side suddenly, and I jumped.
“You okay?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Just stuck in my thoughts. Sorry.”
He studied me quietly, then nodded once, accepting my answer.
The forest felt suddenly closer, shadows deepening as night settled fully. I glanced toward Kaelric’s tent, then toward the distant wall, feeling the pulse of my fate urging me forward.
Chapter Five
We walked back to our tent as I tossed Val’s idea around in my head. What if Val could cut through Harrow’s spell like she did when Elia was captured? We could end this entire thing!
‘I won’t know how complex it is until I see it,’Val confirmed.
‘And anyone in town will do?’
‘Yes, if the entire city is under Mind Render’s magic, I’ll be able to see how it works. I can see magic that is invisible to your eye.’
The air around us felt thick with purpose, heavy with the scent of pine resin. The tents behind me rustled in the night, but the world outside them felt still, waiting.
I walked past my tent and toward the thick tree line as Godric jogged to catch up.
“Wrong way, Brynn!” he called, but I gave him a wide-eyed look, sharp, urgent, and he immediately fell silent and followed.
The forest swallowed us quickly. Shadows stretched long between the trunks, and the ground was soft with needles. Only when we were at least a hundred feet in did I finally exhale the breath burning in my chest.
“How badly do you want to rescue your sister from being Harrow’s favorite bed companion?” I hated to word it that way, but that’s how dire it was.
“More than anything,” he growled. The sound was raw, guttural, his wolf bleeding into his voice.
I nodded, telling him Valkaryn’s plan.
As I spoke, moonlight filtered through the canopy in thin silver strands, illuminating flecks of dust floating between us. Godric’s expression shifted as I spoke, with alarm, disbelief, until his eyes went wide.
“I will not lie to my alpha.”
