Page 26 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

My uncles snarled in unison at her. I had no idea why so many marriages to the Onyx King and his little brother fell through, when, like me, none of those brides really had a choice. But theyhad, and I wasn’t about to test seeing if I could become another one. Gods forbid he actually try to hold on to me. Maybe one more rejection would make him finally snap.

“Youwillmarry him and bring the Onyx Wolves back into play for the coming war,” my father insisted, confirming my suspicions. They knew a war was brewing, too. But that also meant the Onyx Wolves weren’t already on their side.

“Oh, so I’m a trade for his armies?” I asked, noting how Navin stiffened from my periphery.

“Something like that,” Pilus said.

“And here I thought you’d come because you cared for me.”

“We care for you inasmuch as it keeps you—and our family—alive,” Pilus said.

I was about to respond when Maez interjected, “Funny how Tadei gets older and older, but the age of his brides stays the same. How old is the prince now? Surely into his fifth decade at least, hmm?”

“Silence,” Aubron spat. He pointed a gnarled finger at Maez. “We are taking Sadie to Rikesh and delivering her to her prince whether you like it or not.”

“And then we’re returning with an army that will destroy your little Gold Wolf friends,” Pilus added.

“You are puttingalotof value in Sadie’s honeypot, I must say,” Maez said. I gaped at her. “What?” She turned back to my uncles. “They know how sex works. I’m sure they’ve even had it a time or two.” More growls from my uncles. “The real thing I want to know from you”—she pointed her finger back in Aubron’s face in mirror to his action, ignoring their bristling at her insult—“is how did you know we were here?”

Aubron’s snarl turned into a smile as he leaned into the table. “We aren’t the only ones seeking your bounty.”

My vision sharpened, my Wolf desperate to break free as panic coursed through me. “Bounty?”

“King Luo has put quite a lot of gritas on anyone who finds his brother’s bride and brings her safely home,” Pilus said.

“What?” The word barely came out as a rasp.

“He’s not the only one who put a bounty out.” Aubron laughed maniacally and slapped Maez’s hand away. “Nero has announced the marriage of his new heir, Evres, to a certain Crimson Princess.”

That... was a mistake. Threaten me, and Maez would come to my defense. Threaten Briar...

Fast as a snow snake, Maez’s dagger embedded into the wood of the table. My uncles pulled their knives and held them out at her in response. “She already has a mate,” Maez seethed. “No one can break that Wolf law.”

“You’re no longer a Wolf,” Pilus purred. “You’re a traitor. We don’t recognize shit from you.”

“Briar will make an excellent match to Evres,” my father said with a dark chuckle. “A Damrienn Queen just like she was raised to be.”

Maez yanked her blade from the wood and was about to lunge when a loud crash sounded from behind the bar. A glass seemed to fall from the bar of its own volition and shattered across the tiled floor. As all the heads turned to the sound, Maez rose suddenly, flipping the table into my uncles. Navin darted from the booth just in time to avoid the wood smacking into him. Before my father and uncles could rise, Maez nailed my father’s foot to the bench with another knife. He let out a baying howl, shifting instantly into a snarling Silver Wolf.

“Run!”

Sadie

We bolted down the hallway, darting through the sparse crowd in the dark, cavernous space.

“This way!” Navin shouted, twisting to his right and running down a smaller corridor.

We followed him easily, practically nipping at his heels to get him to run faster. If the sound of stomping boots was to be believed, my uncles stayed in their human forms even as my father howled behind us. We zigzagged through the labyrinth of tunnels, each one getting darker and smaller. Our panting breaths echoed off the sandstone along with the heavy stomp of our boots. The ceiling sloped down, lower and lower, until we had to crouch.

My father and uncles kept right on our tails.

“Grab the rope!” Navin called, and I lifted my head from my crouch to see the open tunnel ended in nothing but air, a lean rope hanging down in front of it.

“Shit,” Maez growled as Navin leapt, grabbing the rope and hooking it around his hands and feet.

He quickly rappelled downward and Maez jumped, grabbing the rope above him. My stomach lurched, but the feeling of my uncle’s hand reaching for the back of my neck made my skin prickle. I couldn’t go with my father and uncles. I couldn’t turn and face the life they had planned for me. And so I leapt.

The rope burned into my palms as I grabbed it. My legs flailed in the open air before I could finally loop them around. Far, far below was the sand-covered ground. A fissure in the rock ahead peeked into the sunshine and I could spy Galen den’ Mora still sat under the shade.

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