Page 147 of Until the Stars Fall

There was only one official way off the royal property, and it led in the completely wrong direction from Engle. Thankfully, my uncle had thought to construct three other gates. They were known only to a select few outside of the royal family. The gate I needed was set in the northwest wall.

As soon as I entered the trees, I shifted into my wolfhound form, running as fast as I could. I marveled at how the shift no longer irritated me as it used to.

It didn’t take me long to reach the wall, and I slowed down to hunt for my exit. This gate was nothing more than a narrow fissure in the thick stone, hidden beneath heavy curtains of ivy and moss, making it extremely difficult to find. As I paced along the wall, I tested several spots, sticking my snout behind the ivy here and there.

Shit, I should have marked the damn gate, but it had been years—decades, even—since I’d bothered to use any of the secret entrances. I muttered another curse, which came out as a canine whimper.

Someone laughed behind me, and I spun around, snarling.

Matthias’s eyes lit up with humor. “Anyone ever tell you you’re cute when you’re mad?” he asked, leaning over and patting his knee, calling me over like any ordinary hound.

Shifting back into my fae form, I crossed my arms and glared at him. “I don’t come when called.”

I realized too late my unfortunate choice of words, and Matthias was instantly smirking. “I honestly don’t want to know what gets you to come.”

“Why are you here?” I asked impatiently.

“Ouch.” He flinched in mock offense but recovered quickly. “Saw you head into the trees and shift like it was no big deal. Never seen you do that without a lot of fretting first, so I figured there must be a good reason and maybe you needed help.”

Pushing out a sigh, I pivoted back to the wall behind me. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well be useful.”

He marched past me, slapping me on the shoulder as he did. He walked along the wall, but his eyes watched the ground. “Why are you looking for the gate anyway? Decided to run away from Lieke rather than just hide from her?”

He must have found something among the grass and leaves and roots, because he abruptly turned and pulled back the ivy to reveal the opening I’d been hunting for.

“Running after her actually,” I said, joining him. I moved to step through the gate, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

“Wait, did she actually refuse the bond?” he asked, all humor now gone.

“No, she’s gone.”

“Gone? Why? Where?”

“I don’t know, maybe to see her family. I just—I need to find her,” I said, gritting my teeth anxiously. “You coming?”

Matthias’s brow twisted. “Of course. Though it’s really too bad you don’t shift into something more useful, like a horse.”

“Like I’d let you ride me if I did.”

He pushed me through the gate, laughing. “If only you could be so lucky, you mean.”

CHAPTER 78

Lieke

I adjusted my grip on my knife as the barn door opened and daylight washed over us. Anna stepped inside, followed closely by Owen. Clicking her tongue to the beat of her steps, the woman stopped a little more than an arm’s length away from me and never once even glanced at her daughter, who stood beside me.

“Of all the things that could have derailed this mission, I never thought it would be this,” she said.

I lifted my chin. “An abandoned farm? Why would you?”

Anna’s expression hardened, and her hand struck fast, slapping me on my cheek and sending my head reeling to the side. Raven shouted something at her mother as I reached a hand up to my face. I clamped my eyes shut but said nothing, straightening to face Anna again.

Sneering, the older woman scrutinized me, and her lips curled into an unnerving smile. “I see you’ve brought my knife back to me. Hand it over.” She offered me her open palm, but I didn’t bother to acknowledge it.

I leaned forward slightly. “When I return it, it’ll be in your neck.”

I braced myself for her to strike me again, but she simply stood there.

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