Page 42 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

The moonlight in my fur made all my fears feel further away. I sniffed the brisk air, smelling the snow hares and ebarvens winding through the pine forest. I loved running through the powder of freshly fallen snow, the howl of the hundreds of Ice Wolves surrounding me, and Grae hot on my heels as I zipped through the darkness.

I was reminded once again of the sheer immensity of the Ice Wolf pack. They were so large that despite their more lax training, they’d still be a considerable force against Damrienn. We needed this, needed Taigos on our side. Running with the pack would surely help. It was the way Wolves bonded; hunting together made us all feel closer.

And closer was what we needed, as Ingrid still was playing coy, not giving us a decision one way or another. Inviting us on this run was at least a sign of good faith.

“Slow down, little fox,” Grae spoke into my mind. “We’re meant to be runningwiththe pack, not leading it.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, my maw letting out a frustrated whine. I slowed my pace slightly. I was sick of holding myself back, sick of making myself lesser than, to appeal to Ingrid. I hated how much Ingrid had us by the balls and how much I was contorting myself to appease her. Now, I even had to run differently.

“Soon we’ll be running under the golden leaves of Olmdere again,” my mate reassured me. “Soon.”

“There will be no running through the forests of Olmdere if Ingrid doesn’t agree to side with us.” I shuddered at the thought. “What if she never makes a decision and stays neutral forever?”

“She’s smart enough to know if she allows them to come for Olmdere, Taigos will be next.”

“What if she brokers a deal and sides with Nero?”

“She won’t.” Grae’s voice was thunder in my mind. “There’s nothing that could be promised to her that couldn’t just as easily be taken back. Nero has no loyalty to anyone but himself and Ingrid has just as much to lose as we do. More. We could cut off Olmdere from the rest of Aotreas far easier than Ingrid could, sharing two borders with enemy packs.”

“She has mountains to protect her.”

“And we have a treacherous stretch of sea and only one navigable port.” Grae raced alongside me, so close I could feel his fur brush my own. “We could burn the port down. Close our borders, if we had to. There’d be lean times at first, but we could make it.”

“Gods,” I groaned, staring up at the moon. “Do you think it’ll come to that?”

“I hope not, little fox.”

My ears twitched as Briar’s pained howl rent the air. A chill zipped down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold. I swiftly turned in her direction, trying to find her in my mind. “What is it? What happened?”

“Maez.” Briar’s voice was a broken cry. “She said... she said that...”

Hector practically bowled me over as we raced out onto a frozen clearing. “What happened?” he snapped. “Sadie? Is she okay?”

Briar appeared from the other side of the clearing, her golden fur glistening in the moonlight. Her ears were pinned back, her hackles raised.

“Briar.” I bolted over to her. “What did Maez say?”

“Galen den’ Mora was on the way to Upper Valta when they were hit by a sandstorm.” Hector, Grae, and I paced anxiously around her as she spoke. “Navin and Sadie fell from the wagon.”

We all froze.

“Fell?” Hector asked, searching between us. “How bad can a sandstorm be? Enough to...” He couldn’t bring himself to say “kill” but a new kind of fear laced his lupine eyes.

“I don’t know,” Briar cried out as if she was being stabbed over and over, as if the pain Maez was feeling was manifesting throughout her entire body.

“Briar!” I shifted on instinct. “Briar, break the connection!” I dropped to my knees in the snow in front of her, so panicked I couldn’t feel the sting of its cold. “Shift!”

At my command, she collapsed into the snow. I caught her in my arms as she shifted and writhed beneath me. I was only faintly aware of Grae barking orders at Hector and then fleeing back through the forest. Hector stood with his back to us, pacing, protecting us from any beasts that might be prowling the forest.

“Breathe, breathe,” I commanded my twin as Briar shuddered in my arms, her fingers clawing at me and her legs flailing like a pup in slumber. “Open your eyes, Briar. Look at me.”

Her blue eyes peeked open, her red hair strewn across the white snow. A sliver of moonlight beamed down onto us as her breathing steadied and then tears were spilling down her cheeks.

“They fell from the sky,” she whispered, staring up at the moon as if she was reliving it anew. “I don’t know how far. They disappeared into the storm.”

Hector snarled and paced faster. A group of Ice Wolves skirted around the clearing, and with two snaps from Hector, they kept moving and didn’t linger.

“Is Maez okay?” I asked.

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