Page 35 of Savage Crown
‘I just thought of something…’Val said beside me.
‘What?’
‘An entire city of thousands of wolfkin, and have you seen a single wolf?’
Chills ran down my spine as I processed her words. I frowned, and Godric seemed to take notice, cocking his head to the side.
‘That’s not normal,’I said.
After living with the wolfkin for months, I knew that they preferred to eat in their human form, and of course, when building or doing anything that required hands, but they craved their wolf form fifty percent of the time, mostly for hunting, running, scenting, and covering long distances quickly. In a city this big, we should have seen one. Especially children; they loved their wolf forms more than the adults.
I flattened my right palm and then walked across it with the two fingers of my left, mimicking a wolf to Godric. “None around here,” I said casually.
His eyes widened a little, as if he, too, was just realizing. Then a look of dawning realization graced his face, and his features hardened.
He made the hand motion of the toothbrush scrubbing the man was doing outside, and my mouth popped open.
Insurgent. Was it against the rules to shift into your wolf form here? That would be brutal for a wolfkin. Godric and I waited patiently for the food to come, only speaking about the weather and other mild things so as not to raise suspicion from people listening nearby. The stew was good, a little saltier than I liked, but filling, and I was always grateful for a full belly.
After placing some coins on the table and setting down his water glass, Godric stood. “I’m going to use the toilet. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded, peering around and people watching.
Not a moment after Godric left, something shifted in the air. The people in the tavern began to become restless, peering left and right, as if nervously.
‘Something is happening,’Val told me.
I could see that, but I had no idea what. Everyone dropped what they were doing then and stood abruptly.
‘Mimic them!’Val snapped, and I did, standing so fast my chair skittered back.
‘Mind Render is controlling them. The little spiderwebs around their heads are getting thicker,’Val told me.
“Hey, so everything is fine, but tell Godric not to come out of the bathroom right now,’I quickly sent to Kaelric, as I peered around and tried to mimic the dead expressions of those around me.
‘What? Why?’
‘Do it, Kaelric!’I snapped.
‘Okay, I told him. He said he’s standing by if you shout for help. What’s going on?’
Valkaryn vibrated at my hip with a burst of fear then, and it leaked into my very soul.
‘He’s coming. He knows I’m here, and he’s coming,’ Val said.
My eyes widened, but then I relaxed them, trying to look unbothered like the others standing around me, head slightly cocked, breathing slow.
‘The king? Mind Render?’I asked her.
‘Both. Listen to me very carefully and do not argue,’Val said.
‘Brynn, what the Hades is going on!’Kaelric roared.
‘One second, darling,’I told him, bracing myself for Val’s instructions.
‘I want you to ever so slowly move over to the well and drop me down it, sheath and all.’
I gasped, and the eyes of someone next to me flicked my way.
