Page 44 of Savage Crown
I rode through the day without stopping but to rest my horse. My body felt shaken loose from my bones, muscles tremblingwith exhaustion. I rode without staying at the inn that Godric and I had.
I needed to get back by the full moon. Ineededthis to work.
‘Brynn,’Val delicately pressed into my mind, but she felt far away, our bond still there but muffled, a thin thread instead of the bright cord I was used to.
Was it because I was getting farther away from her, too?
‘I don’t want to be talked out of it,’I told her.
‘There is time, child. You can try it next full moon. This is something you must fully think about and not rush into.’
‘I have thought about it,’I snapped.
The night swallowed my voice, leaving only the pounding of hooves.
‘Oh? And what if you are wrong? What if you die and never see your mother and siblings again?’
A shiver of unease ran through me. My breath faltered, chest tightening.
‘Why would the Creator allow me to wield you if I weren’t ever going to be able to truly use your power to save the people of Lunaria!’
‘I don’t know.’Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
‘And why would the Creator have Kaelric be my mate if I was never going to be able to have children with him? It’s cruel.’I had to fight back tears.
She was silent for a while. Her stillness felt like grief.
‘I asked myself the same thing on the long, lonely nights I lay in bed without Drake. I don’t know why the Creator does things the way he does.’
The road stretched on beneath us, a ribbon of pale dirt glowing faintly beneath the rising sun.
I knew.
I knew I was meant to be a wolfkin.
Maybe not at birth, because I also knew I was meant to be my mother’s daughter. But turning into a wolfkin now, I knew in the deepest parts of my soul that I was meant for this.
I would survive it.
This was the Creator’s plan for my life, just as it was for Valkaryn’s.
The thought settled heavy and certain, like a stone placed gently into my palms.
‘I want to say one last thing, Brynn, and then I will drop it, as there is nothing I can do to stop you.’
‘What?’I growled, almost angrily, as I rode Star harder and harder.
‘Be careful not to confuse your will with the Creator’s.’
What did that mean? That I wanted to be a wolfkin, and it wasn’t fate’s design? No. I couldn’t believe that.
I shut out the negative thoughts swirling in my mind and rode for Hildreth like my life depended on it.
The sun was setting as I reached Hildreth’s train station. I’d barely been gone from the quaint little pumpkin-filled town, but upon seeing the rooftops and farm fields in the setting sun, a tear actually filled my eye. The sky burned orange behind the windmills, washing everything in a honeyed glow that made the wooden storefronts look soft and familiar. A cool breeze drifted up from the river, carrying the scent of crushed leaves and wood smoke.
This was home. I loved this place more than I’d ever loved any other land. The edges of my heart eased just being here.
“Greetings, Brynn!” Mr. Wheeler said.
