Page 126 of The Lands Defying
“Good boy,” I say to the wolf as I look down at the mess he left of the male.
My heart beats uncontrollably in my chest as I slide up closer to him, putting my hand on his back as he continues to growl down at the remains.
My head stings where he pulled my hair, and I reach up with my free hand to rub at it. “Come on,” I whisper to him. “We need to leave.”
A gasp comes from behind me and I freeze. The wolf whips around at the sound, teeth bared and ears perked. I turn with him, my fingers gripping his fur tightly.
A woman stands still at the corner of the house, her eyes wide with a hand over her mouth. She looks toward the remains on the floor, then to me and the large wolf in fear.
I hold up a hand, taking a step back. “We’re leaving,” I tell her, pulling on the wolf to get him to move, but he’s locked in on the woman. “Hey,” I hiss at him. “Come on.”
“Elrick?” The woman mutters, her eyes on the mutilated body before once again looking at the wolf. Her brown eyes takingin the blood on his muzzle that’s barely visible on his dark fur, before again coming to me.
Her eyes suddenly light up in recognition and I go still with shock as she drops to her knees, head bowed, neck exposed.
“Heir of Zahariss.” I blink, then blink again before looking around, wondering if this is some kind of trick and she’s stalling me so the others in this village can capture me.
I move even closer to the wolf, wishing I had a blade of some kind so I can protect myself.
“You are safe here,” she says, and I raise a brow at her when she looks up and then move my eyes to the body at our feet. She shakes her head. “He was a tyrant, the self-proclaimed leader of our village and treated us worse than livestock.” She spits toward his body, her face twisted in anger. “You have done us a great service by getting rid of him, or the…wolf.” She swallows roughly before she lowers her eyes to the ground again when he growls.
“You’re not wanting coin for my capture,” I ask, suspicion lacing my voice. She shakes her head adamantly.
“We want peace that was stolen from us by him, you have now restored it.” I look around once again, but I see no signs of anyone else coming for me. “We do not pray to the Highers, Heir of Zahariss.” My eyes sharpen at her words. “We have seen the posters that branded you as a traitor, but we have seen the posters about the Highers too.”
“Posters?” I trail off.
She nods her head. “Of their deeds, of them stealing children.” The breath halts in my lungs…They released the posters. What has happened since I fell? “Some may have lost belief in the Gods of old, but we have not.”
“We?” I question, watching her for any sudden movements.
“Our village,” she answers. “We may be small, but for generations past, our village has only prayed to the wolf Gods, even when we were forced not to utter their prayers.” The wolfshifts next to me and she eyes him warily. “The Highers, they do not care for the common folk, for those who till the land and grow the crops that provide them with bountiful feasts to fill their bellies. They do not care that the rogures are killing us all, and they refuse to let us seek sanctuary in their castle. My mother took my little sister and baby brother to seek safety there, but they were turned away and a riot ensued. It was too dangerous for them to continue to try, and they came home. But rogures caught them.” I grip the wolf’s fur tighter. “Thankfully, the Elites came and killed them before they were hurt, and they managed to flee and come home. But it was close, a few more moments and they would have been dead.” Her eyes fill with tears. “The Alpha of the Elites is also the Heir to Cazier, is he not?” Her fingers shake when she places them in her lap, d gripping the material of her dirty dress. I nod my head in affirmation. “If…I beg of you.” She bows her head and places it on the ground before her, and a lump forms in my throat at the sight, at the sound of desperation in her voice. “Please, ask the Alpha of the Elites for sanctuary on behalf of our village, of my family.”
Slowly letting go of the wolf’s fur, I move a step forward, my feet wet from the dew on the grass here and I sink a little into the mud. The wolf moves with me, but I halt him with a palm to his chest. Green eyes lock with mine, and I tell him with my eyes to stay put. He makes a low sound, but he doesn’t follow when I continue forward.
When I reach the woman, my knees hit the ground, partly because I want to be on her level, to show her that we are equal, but also my legs just can’t hold me up any longer.
I reach out tentatively when she sniffles, gently peeling her fingers from where they clench her hole-ridden dress. She flinches, but then squeezes my hand— almost painfully, but Iignore it. Lifting my other hand to place it under her chin, I raise her head until her eyes are on me.
“What is your name?” I ask her gently.
“Mivera,” she hiccups.
“Do not beg, Mivera,” I say sternly.
She releases a sob. “Please, my sister is only young, my brother younger still, maybe just take them? I don’t have much, but take anything,” she cries. “I’ll do whatever you—”
“No,” I tell her, and she cries even harder, tears dripping onto my hand that she holds on to so tightly. “Do not beg me for this, you shouldn’t need to beg anyone for safety.” Safety is all most ask for in the lands, it is all I have ever asked for, and I won’t make another do the same, let alone beg for it. Her watery eyes meet mine. “I am going to Eridian, you must have heard of it, I assume?”
“Inside the Deadlands?” she says through trembling lips. I nod. “The Highers released an announcement when you were captured, and posters were pinned to every board in every town and village. It told all of who you are, what you did, and where you came from. It also told us we were not allowed to enter The Deadlands or Eridian, and if you were to do so, punishment would be brought upon those who do.”
Bastards.
“I’m going to Eridian. I was…taken somewhere and I need to get back. Darius should be there.”
“Alpha Darius?” she sniffles.
“Yes, you can come with me.”
