Lilliana
The night air was a mixture of ozone and damp concrete. I relished the feel of the cool air still infused with moisture from the earlier downpour. I was getting used to the frequent rain here, and it was moments like these that made me like it, moments when I could stand at the edge of a sidewalk, tilt my head back and breathe the fresh rain-infused air deep into my chest. It was head clearing, and I craved more. Especially after Ephrem’s proposal. Maybe it was just how clean it smelled in the usually polluted city, but it was enough to re-energize me after a busy night at the diner.
The cars zoomed by as I waited for the signal to flash green so I could cross. The diner wasn’t far from Ephrem’s apartment, but I wasn’t headed that way. It was early in the evening, and I needed more time to clear out the cobwebs clogging up my thoughts. A long walk through the city was what I needed. Luckily, I was getting to know what streets and narrows to avoid where the derelicts loved to hang out. This street was fairly safe, and I enjoyed the walk to the nearby Antes River. There was a park that ran along it, and I could feel the earth calling my name.
My fingers itched to touch trees, grass, and flowers… anything alive. There was a preserve on the ArcKnight palace grounds where the royals could shift and run freely. I missed the feel of the earth beneath my paws. There was no such sanctuary here. Even the park, with miles of semi-wilderness, would be too risky to shift in and run through.
When I was younger, I used to help my mother out in the garden at the edge of the preserve. I’d forgotten how much I loved the feel of the dirt under my fingertips. The earthy mulch and grit was more life-giving than the man-made concrete surrounding me now. Life and royal responsibilities always got in the way of enjoying the small things, and I had rarely gone back to the garden and preserve as an adult.
Now the urge to touch the ground had me tearing my shoes from my aching feet when I arrived at the park, just to walk barefoot on the soaked grass. Few things in life compared to how it felt to be one with the earth. I wondered if shifter wolves drew power from the ground. Had living in these concrete cities inhibited a deep carnal vibration that filled us with more magical potential than anything else? I knew this city had a supernatural affinity, but walking on the sidewalks did nothing to show its potential like walking barefoot on the very surface of the earth.
Like a skin-to-skin embrace, it fed my soul more than I could’ve imagined. I needed this, and it made me realize that it wouldn’t be so bad out here—with Ephrem, of course. The turmoil inside had kept me from saying yes to him, but I didn’t want to lose him. I decided I had to take him there one day so he could feel the flood of intoxicating power emanating from the ground. It was a wonder there weren’t throngs of people across every square inch of the park.
I knew I’d have to go there every day for the rest of my time in the Outlands. It was the only way I would ever feel at home again.
“You’re not human.”
The voice came from behind a large oak tree, and its resonance chilled me to the bone. It was full of magic and made the goosebumps rise up across my skin. I peered around to get a good look at the person who’d spoken.
He stepped to the side so I could see him but remained in the shadows. His hair was a dark obsidian, and it framed his chiseled face. His eyes shined gray like the moon, making his black eyebrows and lashes stand out stark against his pale skin. He wore a fitted black sweater and snug black jeans that showed off his slender but athletic body. Shivering in my coat, I wondered how he wasn’t freezing, for the night was several degrees cooler than it had been a half hour before. It didn’t seem to bother him at all.
“Who are you?”
The clouds blocking the moonlight allowed a line of silver to shine through, piercing the thickness of the shadows and revealing more of his face to me. His jet-black hair touched his shoulders ever so slightly, and he walked with a slight limp I just barely noticed. I’d never before seen this man, even though I felt an odd sense of familiarity. He obviously knew I was something more than human, as was he.
“I apologize for approaching you like this, but I didn’t know how to get you alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“My name is Grayson. I’m a scout for the KelHan wolf pack. I’ve been waiting to meet you without the MarkTier prince around.”
The KelHans? The pack name didn’t ring any bells.
“Why would you do that?” I didn’t get any closer. The hairs on my neck rose with each word he spoke. I racked my brain to try and remember the names of the various families I’d heard of over the years, but his pack’s surname didn’t come up. “I’ve never heard of your pack,” I said, more than a hint of suspicion creeping into my voice.
“That’s because we stay out of wolf politics and have remained isolated for a long time.” He cocked his head to the side, which illuminated his eyes even more under the moonlight breaking through the cloud cover. They reflected back at me like a wolf’s would, but he remained in human form. How did that happen without a partial morph? I didn’t like the waves of menacing air drifting toward me. He obviously wanted to test my defenses, but I was more than up for a challenge this time. I could hold my own.
I pulled out my stick weapons. He needed to know I wasn’t down with being messed with.
“Why come here then?”
“We are owed a debt, and we’ve come to collect.”
“What sort of debt?”
“You’re involved with the MarkTier royals, are you not?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? It seems you need to be speaking to them directly.”
He sneered, and the shine of madness gleamed in his dark eyes. The moonlight dimmed behind the clouds, but it felt more as though he was casting his shadow toward me, making the light disappear. He flashed a smile, with a glimpse of fangs, and I gasped. His canines were sticking out in a challenging manner as if he was preparing to fight. Shifters wouldn't flash their teeth like that unless they were about to tear into someone. I kept my senses on full alert.
I cursed to myself, realizing my shoes were still dangling from my fingertips and not on my feet. I reached down and slipped one on before hopping on the other foot without taking my eyes off him. Grayson’s smile faded, but he didn’t come any closer. I could’ve sworn he was amused, enjoying my struggle.
“I need Ephrem. You’re close to him.”
I scoffed. “What makes you think I would bring him to you?”
His narrowing eyes stabbed me in the chest. He gave off waves of magic I was unfamiliar with, and my mood darkened.
“You’ll bring him to me because I have something you want.”
“I doubt that,” I muttered. There was only one thing I wanted, and it was to go home.
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small bracelet. It gleamed under the streetlights and seemed to emit its own light. I stared hard at it and couldn’t look away. It was beautiful and unusual. The etchings in the metal glowed just a bit brighter than the rest of it. Something about it made my mind calm to a numbing, pleasurable hum while the world blurred around me. Even Grayson’s voice came out muted.
“Put it on,” he said as he held it out to me. I stepped forward, unaware of what I was doing. Even when I felt his cold fingers slide the silver bracelet onto my wrist, where it clamped down snug against my flesh, I didn’t fight back. I couldn’t. My desire to do anything but what he asked fled my mind, and now there was nothing but a blissful cloud of euphoria.
“That’s right. You’ll get me what I want. Lead him to the edge of the city via the northern gates and take him into the forest. If you do not, you’ll suffer agonizing pain from the silver now poisoning your blood. It won’t hurt for three days, but after that, you’ll want nothing more than to die, and you’ll beg for it. Bring him to me within that time, and I’ll make sure it never hurts you. You’ll act normally like nothing has happened until you bring him to me. Then you
will belong to the KelHan pack forever. Understood?”
I nodded. Understanding wasn’t exactly what I felt at the moment, but it penetrated my brain along with his threat, and the drive to appease his request was overpowering. I had to do as told or I would writhe in pain from silver poisoning until I died. I didn’t want to die, did I? At that point, it was irrelevant. I didn’t care either way. I just had to obey.
“Yes… I understand.”
Chapter Twenty-Two