Page 117 of Through Battle and Blades (The Wolf Queen 2)

We drove her backwards, knowing the terrain would be against her on the stairs. This creature was so weak she wouldn’t even be able to use the height difference the steps gave her to her advantage.

Unloved.

I paused then, her eyes widening as she struggled to catch her breath and it was then I seemed to see Aurora for the first time. When her coronet was taken, all her regal grandeur seemed to go with it, or had it even been there in the first place? Had she and Ulfric created a court of smoke and mirrors, where they asserted loudly their way of doing things and we’d all gone along with it. Their signals of office, the architecture of the castle, their confidence, all giving credence to their decisions, regardless of how terrible they’d been. But more than that. The ruling class had thrown their support behind them, for whatever reason, and so we’d all been forced to suffer their petty tyrannies. Bloated by that power, she’d sought to help others sexually assault her sons, just to ensure her rule continued. No one loved her. They couldn’t. She was a merciless beast seeking more and more power over everything else.

I moved then, feeling the paws of my wolf within me as I did so, striding across the stones, moving into a run, forcing her to scrabble back, right as her heel connected with the bottom stair.

Would she have cracked her skull open, bleeding out for the Morrigan, an unwilling sacrifice? I’ll never know. My blade followed her down, the dense flesh, the hard bone resisting my thrust, but not for long. Because my will was stronger. She gasped, high and girlish, as the sword pierced her, but that sound became a terrible gurgle as I clasped the hilt and forced it deep.

“The goddess’ will has been done,” Mother Aeve intoned, and I turned to stare at her.

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“Darcy!”

Del’s voice rang through the citadel courtyard, which considering it was being filled steadily with people was a feat in itself. But the sound of it? My head whipped up, my eyes finding his and I tracked his path down the citadel stairs, even as my heart went to my mouth. Too many people. Too many strangers around my…

Yes? The Morrigan said.

“Just stay there, Del!” I shouted when he got to the bottom, Jan making a much slower progress with her shorter legs. “We’ll come to you!”

“Easier said than done,” Weyland said, surveying the chaos. Fear was so thick in the air it made it hard to breathe. “We need to organise this crowd, find them spaces and–”

The sharp blast of a horn cut through the air, stopping everyone in their tracks. I saw Fenster and Annis standing on one of the other sets of stairs.

“Everyone’s scared,” Annis said, her voice carrying surprisingly well. “We know exactly how that feels. I was driven off my land by those bastards.” A little rumble in the crowd at that. “My husband, my boy, dead in the ground. But this is a good place, a safe place. Got through main door here, into the grand hall. We’ll sort you out from there.”

“Well, looks like we aren’t needed here,” Dane said with an amused sniff.

“Yes, we are,” Gael said, then threw himself into the crowd, leaving us to follow after him.

We were needed, he was right. I felt it as soon as Del’s arms went around me, as I heard the ragged rasp of his breath, followed quickly by Jan. Gael scooped the little girl up, swinging her around so she could see me.

“You came back,” Del gasped out.

“We said we would,” I replied, smoothing a hand down his face. I frowned slightly as I saw the state of my hands. Grimy with dirt, but it was the rusty red stain of blood that had me snatching them back. I rubbed my hands on my armour, trying to abrade the mark off.

“But there’s more to come,” Del said, staring into my face as he pulled back. “They say the Reavers are coming.”

My eyes widened meaningfully, shaking my head slightly before I looked up at Jan. The little girl went pale, then shoved her face in the crook of Gael’s neck.

“Let’s get you two inside,” he said.

“Let’s get us inside.” Axe’s voice was hoarse with tiredness. “It’s been…”

I didn’t blame him for not being able to produce a description of what we’d been through. I couldn’t either. All of it, the horror and the depth of it, just sat in my stomach like a stone I’d swallowed, my hand rubbing absently over the slight swell of it, feeling that dull ache.

I’d thought I was getting my menses again. That’s what it felt like. But when I’d had a chance, I’d looked and there was no blood. I knew I should see a healer. We all should. Each one of us wore cuts and bruises, abrasions and grazes that needed attention.

But everything needed our attention.

Everything that had happened, since I’d shot Callum, demanded we address it, but not now.

“Children, we have to sleep,” Dane told them as gently as he could. “We’ve been awake for more than a day.” He stumbled when he reached the first step, his eyes widening, his hand slapping down on the wall to steady himself.

“Come on, Jan,” Del said, straightening up, every inch the young man right now. “I found a book with pretty pictures and nice stories in the library. I’ll read you to you.” She let out a discontented little whine. “We have to let the princess rest, so she can rise up and protect us when the Reavers come.”

Was it his offer or the mention of the Reaver that had her launching herself from Gael’s arms into Del’s? I didn’t get to ask. He took on the burden of his sister with practised ease, something that hurt me to realise. But it all hurt. Every breath I took, my muscles much abused. Every minute I stayed on my feet, my legs shaking. Every thought of what was to come. Every memory…

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