Page 110 of Oath of Revenge

He’d taken her on missions, taught her how to hunt, live off the land, and follow orders on missions. But the Rangers had only welcomed her because of him. They’d always been wary around her, whispering behind her back about being a druid. She’d gone to the Hunters after his death, trying to find her place. But she’d never quite fit in.

And now, after all the pain and sacrifices and heartache, she was a druid?

“This doesn’t make any sense. How can I be a druid now?”

Grandma sobbed, and Scarlet drew her awkwardly to her shoulder. She met Lailant’s smiling eyes over Olive’s back.

“Either the mate bond magic, the Growler spell, or both unlocked a piece of yourself that had been lying dormant all this time,” Lailant said matter-of-factly. "You're no longer more connected to man, but are more connected to nature now."

Grandma cried, “It’s as the dream said. I was so afraid to hope, but it’s true. You’ve always been one of us, but now you’ll be able to come to the annual meetings and actually feel the goddess at the pilgrimage, maybe even hear her, and—“

“For gods sake, Olive, don’t overwhelm the girl,” Lailant said, pushing to her feet. “I’m going to leave you two to talk and go check on that Growler of yours. I need to see how much he remembers and see what this prophecy business is all about.”

The door clicked closed behind the medicine woman as Scarlet held Olive, her throat still too choked on emotion to speak. Her body hummed with nervous energy. She had so many questions, but the most pressing thing making her antsy was the need to tell Wulfric.

She wanted to run down the stairs and tell her she really was a druid now. Finally, she belonged somewhere. She frowned, unsure of how he’d react. Would he be excited or would he remind her that he wanted her to go back to the Growlers with him when all of this was over?

Grandma leaned back and wiped her cheeks. “I’m sorry, child, it’s just… your mother would be so proud of the woman you’ve become. She already was, I’m sure, but do you know what I was thinking the whole time you were telling us what happened the past few days?”

Scarlet shook her head, still unable to speak.

“I was thinking… you seem so much more settled now. Less angry at the world. Less jumpy, like you’re content to be where you are. I haven’t seen you like that since she died.”

Scarlet sat back on the settee and blinked. Grandma looked so much like her mother, like herself even. It was why Scarlet spent so little time on her appearance or looking in a mirror, why she didn’t bother with makeup or fancy hairstyles like Eirwyn or the other nobles or women in the villages.

Grandma cupped her cheek and smiled. “I think being mated suits you, child, and that? That’s what your mother always hoped for. That you’d find someone to love and be loved unconditionally in return. You did it. You found someone to share your life with the way she did with your father. You opened yourself up to him, and I—I’m just so happy.”

Grandma stood, wiping her cheek again. “Here, let me bind your arm until the healing potion finishes.” She grabbed the gauze from the vanity, and Scarlet scooted forward on the edge of the seat to let her work.

Was this really what her mother—of course it’s what she would’ve wanted. Scarlet remembered the way her parents had looked at each other. It was the same disgusting way Knox and Eirwyn looked at each other, like they were the only two people in a room.

Her chest grew tight, but thankfully Grandma didn’t press her on it. She cleared her throat. “I—uh, I need to check on Wulfric. Make sure Knox hasn’t killed him.”

Grandma chuckled and nodded. “I’m sure we would’ve heard things breaking by now if he had, but very well.”

Scarlet slipped her feet into a different pair of boots that didn’t lace up, Grandma pulling the sides up over her calves with a grunt. Then they both turned to the door to go downstairs. She had so much to talk to him about, and she wasn’t sure what he would say.

Chapter 35

The pull on his shoulders and hips hurt with every step. Wulfric’s eyes fluttered open, each breath harder than the last. He was in a tunnel of some sort with his hands and feet tied to a long pole, two big men carrying his swinging body between them. The scent in the tunnel of roses was cloyingly sweet, and he looked around in panic.

The other Growlers were in the back of a cart with a large net on it, and a giant gargoyle singlehandedly dragged the cart through the tunnel.

“Where’s Scarlet?” he grunted.

One of the men’s steps faltered, but neither of them responded. Wulfric turned to the gargoyle.

“Damn it, don’t leave her there. The eagles will come back. Go get her. The dragon—“

As he spoke, they’d broken through the tunnel and marched him up a wide driveway to the front door of a giant mansion. His voice broke at both the sight of the giant building and the door swinging open.

“She’ll be fine,” the gargoyle said softly but deeply. Wulfric opened his mouth to reply, but another giant of a man strode down the steps, equally as big as the gargoyle. The brass buttons on his green shirt gleamed and his brown pants were starched crisp in the weak winter sun. But his boots were scuffed and muddy, in contrast with the fine material of a noble.

Wulfric turned his attention to the newcomer, unable to see his head with the angle of the sun. “Do you have Scarlet? These jackasses left her back there. Send them to get her, for gods’ sake—“

“We have Scarlet.”

The man’s deep voice echoed in Wulfric’s soul and made him blink. But then his fear for his mate pushed him to struggle at his bonds. “Where is she? Is she hurt? Is she safe? Fuck, let me out.”

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