Page 102 of Forged By Heart and Claws
I ripped my sword free of its sheath, muscles coiled to strike, but the wolf didn’t slow. As I prepared to swing, it leapt clean over me and crashed into Colm full force. He staggered backward into Calla Lily, sending the goblet soaring from his hands. Blood-red wine arced through the air, splattering the dais like spilled blood.
Screams exploded from the audience, and panic rippled outward.
Guards shouted orders, and weapons were drawn. Shadow wolves tore through them with wild fury, jaws snapping, limbs thrashing, and snarls echoing off the marble walls.
Calla Lily shrieked as she tumbled backward with her gown tangling in her legs. Colm stumbled but didn’t go down. With a snarl, he pulled an onyx-and-silver dagger from its sheath and drove it into the wolf’s side.
Thalen, Veralt, and Rhielle burst through the bride’s door, weapons flashing as they charged, cutting a path toward us through the chaos.
I bolted upright and ran to my mate.
“Vad!” My hands trembled as I cupped his face, then flew to the chains binding his wrists and ankles. Blood smeared my fingers.
He’d been beaten brutally. One eye was swollen shut, his lips were cracked, and cuts littered his throat and arms.
His eyes fluttered open with a hazy glaze. “Briar?” His voice was barely a rasp, wet and broken.
“I’m here,” I choked, brushing blood from his cheek. “I’m right here.”
His right hand twitched in its bonds, trying to reach for me. “You shouldn’t be here, beloved. Get out while you can.”
“No.” My voice broke. “I’m not leaving you.” My gaze dropped to the dagger still embedded in his chest.
The same blade that had killed his father.
My breath caught, and my chest locked. What if pulling it out finished him? “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be fine.”
Vad gave me a half-laugh, half-wince. “We need to talk about whatfinemeans.”
Tears slid down my cheeks. “You live through this, and I’ll give you an entire essay with citations and footnotes.” But my hands kept shaking.
I couldn’t pull the blade, not without a plan. Too much blood had already pooled beneath him.
All around us, the room had descended into chaos.
Shadow wolves attacked the guards and guests without pause, painting the polished stone red. Ember hacked at a yellow-eyed wolf, her blade slick. Veralt grabbed a snarling beast by the scruff and flung it into a guard. Thalen and Rhielle carved their way forward, steel clashing as they took down anything between them and us.
Colm threw the dead wolf aside and yanked Calla Lily to her feet. “Guards!” he bellowed. “End this now!”
Calla Lily’s face twisted in terror. She screeched, “How did they get in?”
A red-eyed wolf and an orange-eyed wolf flanked the altar. I hesitated, questioning whether they were about to attack. They crouched low and snarled at the chaos, but not at me.
Wait. Were theyhelpingme?
I didn’t care. All that mattered was saving Vad. Except… “Ember!” I cried out.
She ripped her sword free from a wolf’s corpse, eyes flicking to the two wolves flanking the altar before she sprinted to me. “What?”
“Briar,” Vad breathed, his eyelids slipping. “You have to go. Get out of here while you still can.”
“No.” I cradled his face, my palm sliding to his muscular chest. “I’m not leaving you.” I looked at my sister. “Can you heal him?” My voice wavered. “Maybe you have your magic from Earth.”
Before Ember could answer, the orange-eyed wolf pivoted toward us, baring its teeth. As soon as it took one step toward us, the red-eyed wolf lunged sideways and slammed into it with a snarl, knocking it back. Protecting us.
Ember pressed a hand over the one I held against Vad’s chest, her brows pinched in grief. “I tried healing Elara earlier. Nothing happened. I…” She looked at him, and her voice softened. “Hi, Vad.”
Nothing was happening.
