Page 36 of The Shadow of Polaris

My lungs collapsed as I followed the canvas up the wall. Staring down at me was a woman with cruel eyes and a delicate frame. Blonde hair flowed in ringlet curls down her bare shoulders. A circlet of topaz sat atop her slender head. I slowly reached for the dagger against my leg. Expecting to wrap my hand around the heavy metal hilt, my fingers only hit the stitching of an empty leather sheath.

My muscles froze as the realization sank its teeth into my chest.

A pained yip echoed from the darkness down the second story hallway, and without thought, I slammed into the shadows. The yipping turned into agonized whines as I threw myself into an open doorway.

There, with her claws wrapped around my wolf’s neck, stood the goddess, an exact duplicate of the oil portrait I’d just laid my eyes on. Arcturas screeched and scratched at the goddess who was, without effort, holding her in midair as if she weighed only a feather. My nostrils flared and with clenched fists, I lunged at the Spring Queen. Flicking her open hand, a wave of invisible force sent me flying back and I landed on my tailbone, the remnants of breath pushed out of my throat.

“Get your fucking hands off my wolf,” I hissed, rubbing my aching back.

“Oh, Lady Elpis, I couldn’t possibly do that. This beast would tear me to shreds the minute I released her.” Tethys’s voice was just as velvety as it was in my dreams. She tucked a loose curl behind her ear and smiled sweetly at me as she tightened her grip.

Arcturas, now squealing frantically, nipped at her fingers, choking as Tethys cut off her airway.

“Let her go. Now,” I screeched, jumping to my feet and lunging again.

Vines pierced through the deep crimson carpet beneath us, binding my ankles to the floor and trailing up my body, paralyzing me with their venomous thorns.

“I think it’s time I tamed this beast.” One second Arcturas flailed in her outstretched arm, the next she cracked against the floor, limp and unmoving.

Something within me snapped and the tether between my wolf and me faded until I could barely feel the thread of her life against mine. My blood turned to flames. Rage ignited across my skin as the hair on my arms pricked up. The scream that poured out of me was more than agony. It was a primal, animalistic roar of sheer anguish.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic.” Tethys stepped towards me, floating across the dusty floor until her bright eyes were mere inches from mine.

She smelled of honeysuckle and the dewy air of early morning.

With a click of her tongue, she brushed the back of her hand against my cheek. “It’s not dead, just subdued.”

I trembled against her touch. If I could wriggle out of these vines, I’d rip her throat out with my teeth and watch her blood spill onto the dirty carpet.

“What do you want from me, Tethys?” I spat. “Let us go and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“Well, Lady Elpis, you’re the only thing standing in the way of what I want.” She turned, lacing her fingers behind her back, and stepped to the large oval window that overlooked the manor’s gardens.

Strings of pearly shrubs and blooming flowers swayed in the gentle breeze. The only light illuminating their pink and yellow petals was from the flicker of torches lining the gravel paths.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but it has nothing to do with me. So let us go, please.”

I glanced at Arcturas. She was too still. Too limp. The fur of her pelt brushed down her spine as if it were melting into the floor.

“You truly don’t know who you are?” Tethys glanced over her shoulder at me, sincere shock stretched across her perfect lips. “Oh, you poor thing. Well, let me enlighten you. Twenty-three years ago, your saintly goddess fell in love with a mortal king. She whisked him away to the immortal realm and, while his kingdom starved and withered away, they had a child. Polaris realized that her infant daughter was prophesied to bring war to the mortal realms, so she sent her loving king and their child away. Did you ever wonder why your sister hated you so much? Or why your mortal mother treated you differently?”

“No. That’s not true,” I hissed, struggling beneath my tightening binds. Lies. She was just trying to get under my skin.

“Elpis, come now. You may be pathetic, but you’re not stupid. Those shadows lurking beneath your skin had to have come from somewhere. No mortal holds power like you,” she said.

I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks as thorns pierced the flesh of my arms.

“You are the daughter of Polaris. You’re to bring utter destruction to the mortal realm. Thousands of lives will be lost because of you. I’m protecting not just my people, but the people of Ursae, Aquilae and Canissa alike. From you.” She emphasized her words, enunciating each syllable with her full lips.

“That’s why I sent my son after you. Although, I didn’t think it’d be that easy to get you here. You really are too trusting. Aryx, come in here.” With a flick of her wrist, the chamber door swung open, and a broad-shouldered figure stepped in from the shadows.

Dangerous power dripped from the man’s entire being as he towered over his mother, making the immortal beside him look as weak as a mouse. Shoulder length, golden hair peeked from beneath a tinted black helmet that shielded all of his features. Amber pupils glowed from beneath his helmet, sending shivers down my spine as he scanned me from head to toe. Every hair on my body pricked at his energy. Never in my life had I experienced someone so deadly. Someone who commanded the attention of every molecule in their presence.

“Aryx, my love, take off your helmet. Let her see your face,” Tethys grinned widely as he pulled the bronze off his face. My knees gave out and suddenly, there was no air left in the room for me to breathe.

Standing before me was Rune.

Chapter 21

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