Page 84 of Blood of Wolves

“It’s–” He was gulping in air, and pitched forward at the waist, leaning on his spear. “It – there was – the tunnels,” he finally managed. “The secret entrance.”

Beneath Tessa’s feet, the palace shuddered.

~*~

Aeretoll spread beneath them, its streams and tree lines like rows of stitching on a vast quilt; pillowy and perfect from this height. Oliver leaned low over Percy’s neck, the plume on his helmet slapping at his back as it waved behind him like a banner. He felt another smile threaten – because nothing could rival the sensation of flying like this – but all too soon remembered why he was flying in the first place, and the potential horrors that awaited them.

He tossed a glance over his shoulder – and found that Náli, Kat, and Valgrind had fallen behind.

Percy’s concern pinged in the back of his mind, and with a thought, and a light touch on the reins, he swung Percy back around in a wide loop, and they swooped in to ride alongside them.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver shouted.

“He spotted something!” Náli shouted back, and pointed.

Valgrind dove down a little – his mother called out to him – and whipped his tail, crying in agitation.

Far below, Oliver glimpsed a knot of dark shapes gliding beneath the shade of a pine stand. Percy relayed a mental image: wolves. Several dozens of them.

“It’s wolves,” Oliver shouted, straightening in the saddle. The drakes were hovering now, flapping their wings in place with loud cracks and snaps.

Náli sent him a sharp look. “That’s a big pack.”

“Yeah, well. It’s winter. Maybe they’re teaming up to hunt.”

Náli didn’t look convinced, gaze shifting to Valgrind. “Why is he so upset about them?”

Oliver didn’t know. Percy could convey only confusion and unease, but offered nothing more helpful than that.

“Come on. We have to keep moving.”

Náli stared a moment longer, then nodded. He whistled, a sharp sound that managed to cut above the wind and the rustle of leathery wings. “Come along, boy!” he called.

Valgrind snapped his jaws down at the wolves hiding in the trees, then flapped his way back toward them.

Unease prickled at the back of Oliver’s neck.Hurry, he thought. Percy ducked his head, and dove into the wind.

~*~

Revna gripped the young guard’s shoulder and squeezed hard. “What happened? What about the tunnels?”

He took a few more explosive breaths, and panted out, “I was part of – of the reserve team – down at the gates. The secret entrance. They – they came out of nowhere. I don’t know how! One moment the way was clear, and the next an entire company was bearing down on us. They were – they were carrying something. A big – big basket. It looked like a ball. I don’t–”

“What happened?” Revna snapped.

“The lieutenant sent me to you. To – to warn you. We have to – have to seal off the tunnels.”

Another vibration shot up Tessa’s legs.

Revna’s eyes widened. “Powder. The Sels use black powder.”

Tessa’s stomach lurched. “You mean–”

“They’re blasting their way through the lower gate,” Estrid said, grimly. “They’re coming for us.”

~*~

On the far end of the palace grounds, beyond the sheer-faced outer wall that encircled the stables, nearly ten acres from the ramparts where Rune now stood, black smoke curled toward the sky in fitful streamers, billowing and lurching like a snake with its head struck off. A rumble issued across the distance, a deep boom like ice in the harbor cracking and shifting apart.

---