Page 101 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

I was more confused than before. She actuallybelievedwhat she was saying. In some ways, I saw her side. “But they aren’t a single invasive species. They are many, most of whom came over with their own forms of checks and balances. Many even made this world better?—”

“Those who made it better were by far less than those who did not. You have seen it, Aurelia. Do not try to ignore the children you have seen slain by monsters.” She was right. The hollow eyes of dead children were seared into my mind, their bodies mutilated.

“Then why try to exterminate all magic?”

She smiled. “You know better by now, Granddaughter. It was never about exterminating magic; it was about bringing back the balance to this world that was interrupted long ago—and making it better.”

I walkedfrom the palace more confused than when I’d went in. I went searching for answers only to get more questions.

Did Grandma truly believe we had to help achieve balance? I felt there was something more there, something buried beneaththe ‘why’ she gave, and yet, it seemed she was telling the truth. I just didn’t know how that truth translated in her mind.

Markus took over for Brandt.

“Later, ma’am,” Brandt said.

I sent him a rude gesture, and he saluted. I shook my head, a smile teasing at my lips for the first time since exiting the palace.

My feet turned to the massive tent and the creatures there. I understood them. They were simple. They liked some and disliked others. There were no games, no questioning. They just were.

The sphinx bowed her head to me as I walked in. I set a hand on her beak. “Hey there, beautiful.”

She trilled, the feathers at her neck standing on end with the sound. Her eyes told me her grief was still raw, but that she would make it. That’s all I wanted. Her little oneneededher now. They needed each other.

I went to her baby, picking her up and scratching the feathers beneath her beak. She warbled in happiness. She curled up in my arms, her big blue eyes staring up at me with questions I couldn’t answer. So I kissed her fuzzy little head and rocked her until she slept.

“Matriarch!” Brandt called out.

“In here!” I said, trying to keep my voice low so as not to wake the baby sphinx.

Brandt came around the corner, Elder Vera at his heels.

“There’s been a breech, Mistress. Graham and Verald have escaped,” Elder Vera said, her long hair folding over her face as she doubled over to catch her breath.

I stared at her. It took a moment for my brain to catch up. “How?” I whispered. I gently eased the baby under her mother’s wing, who looked at me with dull eyes. She nuzzled my hair with her sharp beak, being gentle with my thin skin.

I rose and walked outside, being careful to keep a lid on my panic as I nodded to a dryad who held the hand of an elf. I gave a quick hug to the center hydra head, Brandt and Elder Vera close behind me.

When I crossed the threshold and no one was about, I spun to Brandt and Elder Vera.

“How?” I snapped.

“The guards saw nothing. It is as if they disappeared into thin air,” Elder Vera said, her eyes darting around as if they would come to attack us here and now. I doubted it. More than likely, they wouldn’t strike until they thought we least expected it.

“Take the werewolf trackers. Hunt them down,” I said.

“Yes, Mistress,” Elder Vera said with a bow of her head.

She trotted off, huffing and puffing. “Go with her, Brandt. Ensure the safety of the werewolves and the Reds who follow the trail.” I wished I could go personally, but I had other duties.

Brandt nodded. “Stay safe.” He saluted to his heart before running to catch up with the elder.

I leaned against a tent post outside, watching the people dart in and out of the entrance. A man I hadn’t seen before darted inside, his pale gray eyes briefly meeting mine. We were often conscripting new folk to help with the ever-changing needs.

“Can I help, madame?” Enforcer Markus asked, coming up behind me from his post by the door.

“No, Enforcer. Not with this,” I said. Though leadership was a heavy burden, one I wasn’t sure I could handle, it was mine to bear.

You aren’t alone, Two-Legs. Lean on us when it becomes too much,Ran said.

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