Page 27 of Oath of Revenge

Scarlet shook her head and pulled out a dagger to clean under her nails. Having the blade in her hand brought her comfort, settling her nerves slightly. She couldn’t have them both agreeing.

“By the gods, you change your mind fast,” she grumbled.

He shrugged, stretching his shoulder as his gaze was unfocused above Olive’s head. “I take a while to process, Red. Let me think this through, but it might work.”

Scarlet’s breathing grew shallow. She couldn’t go with him to the Growlers camp. Maybe she could entice him with something else? “No, it won’t. You’ve been demoted and probably pronounced dead. This is your chance for a new life. Take it and run. Go somewhere new.”

Grandma nodded. “Yes, he could come to Hartsgrove or Vidrland with us, couldn’t he? I’m sure Knox and Eirwyn would love to have a Growler aid their cause. He could be useful. Who knows?”

“Vidrland?” Wulfric asked, his lips twisting. “You mean that upstart king that’s taken over the northern half of the forest? You have to be mad, woman. That’s enemy territory, and they have to be pushed back to the mountains.”

Scarlet pointed her finger at him. “First, that’s my brother you’re talking about. He’s no upstart. He’s a dragon whose family has ruled this forest for hundreds of years. And second, what do you mean pushed back to the mountains? What are the Growlers planning?”

Wulfric’s jaw stiffened with emotion. “The argument in our tribe was about which way we would expand. Either east into Busparia or north into dragon territory. We had settled on going north a few days ago, before I was ambushed.”

Scarlet pointed the dagger at him. “And you were on the side of invading the dragon’s lair? By the gods, you’re dumber than I thought.”

His eyes flared, and his hand gripped the armrest of the chair, claws growing as his emotions heightened. “I’m not. It’s a calculated risk and the better option, considering Growlers are forbidden from leaving the forest.”

“Other than to raid the Southern Road, pick off injured soldiers returning from war, turn them into more Growlers, and thus grow your numbers. You know, if you’d just leave them alone, your tribe wouldn’t be running out of room.”

Wulfric’s eyes narrowed and his mouth and nose began to elongate. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen the reports in Busparia.”

“No, you don’t. It’s not like that.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No–”

“Enough,” Olive laughed, shocking them both enough to turn to her with surprised expressions. “Oh, this is going to be fun to watch.”

“What are you talking about now?” Scarlet asked, completely at a loss.

Olive smiled and set her needles down. “Wulfric can come with us to Hartsgrove to see Knox and Eirwyn, or you can go with him to the Growlers tribe. Those are your options right now.”

Scarlet frowned. “Why can’t he just run home, and I’ll take you to Eirwyn? I think that’s a much better plan.”

Olive’s lips twitched again as she looked down intently at her knitting. “Well, you see, the glocken berry only grows in one area of the forest. And the one plant was all I could find. It’s very temperamental.”

“How is a plant temperamental?” Scarlet asked. Exasperation made her voice higher than normal.

Grandma shrugged and shifted on the chair, still not meeting Scarlet’s gaze. A shiver of awareness went down her spine as dread spread.

“Well, this is the Feral Forest, after all. Plants and animals alike don’t act like they should.”

Scarlet glared at Wulfric, and opened her mouth to be a smart ass.

Olive said quickly, “The glocken berry doesn’t release its healing properties and magic without consequences. It clings to itself until the very last moment. Since you both drank the tea made from it, you’re tied together until the next full moon.”

Scarlet blinked. “What?”

“Tied together? What does that mean?” Wulfric asked, his face now shifted back to the normal human mouth, the claws gone.

“The farther apart you two are, the weaker you’ll be. If he goes to the Growlers and you go to see Eirwyn, the distance will literally kill you both.”

Scarlet gripped the back of the chair and glared. “That’s a load of shit.”

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