Page 76 of Through Battle and Blades (The Wolf Queen 2)

“No,” Gael said with a slow nod, then took my hand. “I don’t suppose I can.”

But the minute his hand connected with mine, something happened that never had before. Those flames reappeared, flaring hotter, brighter, forcing me to let go of Del so he could scramble back as they sought to consume me whole.

“Gods, Darcy!” Weyland shouted, stumbling forward, but Gael didn’t move. His other hand gripped mine and together, we stood, each of us staring at the other.

I’d felt the goddess’ power like a golden light, but this was something much hotter, harsher, in comparison. It felt like pinpricks formed all over my body, making me all too aware of where we connected.

“Get them apart,” Dane ordered and Axe lumbered forward right as Rath barked a response.

“No.”

As if given permission, the flames flared higher and higher, swallowing the two of us now, encasing us in a great ball of flame.

“I told you I’d give you everything,” Gael said, as I just stared, uncomprehending. “Everything I’ve got is yours, Darcy, so what’re you going to do with it?”

Power, that’s what this was. The power to heal, to change destruction into wholeness, to protect and preserve life. I nodded, then smiled, even through the bite of his power, and then we turned and ran.

Get away from the pups, the wolf inside me agreed. Their time will come, but not yet. The lost ones…

She didn’t need to explain, because somehow I knew. We ran past the boys, then the older lads, until we found where the seasoned soldiers were training. They stopped what they were doing sure enough, and why wouldn’t they? It would be hard to keep your guard up when a man and woman swallowed by blue flames approached, though some tried.

They flinched away when I touched them, low hisses and sharp grunts letting me know how it felt. Pain before it gets better, how well I knew that adage, though I spared a moment of sympathy for the men as they collapsed onto the ground, landing on all fours in one breath, taking fur in the next. We moved, Gael and I, weaving our way through the crowds, more pushing forward to be seen now, but they needn’t have. I could feel them, those who needed our touch. Fingers glided over arms, took hands, tangled fingers, touched brows, placed palms on bare biceps, even cupped a jaw or two. We moved and moved until I heard that beat again.

Rapid and thunderous, just like the boys had been when they were striking their shields, but becoming impossibly faster. I stumbled at my next stop, then felt my knees give out.

“Darcy! Darcy! Get them apart, now!”

“No…” I protested weakly, clawing at the air as Gael was torn away from me by Axe, Weyland swooping in to collect me.

“It’s alright, lass,” he told me, which might have been a lot more convincing if his voice wasn’t shaking. “You did it. You did everything.”

“So she did,” Rath said, appearing between us with a small smile. “I’ll be glad to report our progress to your father.”

Dane’s sword was out of his scabbard and against the general’s throat before he could respond, leaving the man’s hands hovering impotently in the air.

“You’ll be very careful about what you tell my father.” Command throbbed in Dane’s voice, cold and as impervious as ice. “If you tell him that tormenting my mate is what triggers her powers, you’ll not live through the night, that I can promise. No matter how good you think you are or how proficient your guards are, I’ll come and I’ll slit your fucking throat. You wanted more two-souled soldiers.”

Masses of the newly turned clustered around Dane’s feet then, a huge pack of very alert wolves.

“Well, who do you think they owe their loyalty to? Tell my father what he needs, that he has more soldiers, more to fight in the war, but no more than that. The most important person to protect is the Lady Darcy. Remember that.”

He lowered his sword with a flourish, then put it back in his scabbard.

“As you say, my prince,” Rath said, performing a very precise bow before turning to a now pale Gael who stood only with Axe’s assistance. His bow was slower, deeper now, showing my mate a level of respect that Gael seemed to resist, his head slowly shaking from one side to another. “But there are other soldiers we need to test, those not present here today.”

“Of course there are,” Dane said wearily. “We will return in the morning to see what can be done, but not today.” He glanced at me, then Gael, almost warily. “The effect of this change, it must be gauged, a level of safety determined.”

“It will be done, my prince.”

“Del,” I croaked when we turned to leave. I pushed myself away from Weyland, scowling when I remembered his wholehearted support of the beatdown the boy had received. “I’m not leaving without Del. Jan as well, but Del…” I looked the training grounds over with new eyes, seeing the theatre of it. Rath’d had a theory today and he proved it with the little scenario he’d set up. “Anyone I care about will live inside the walls of the citadel, lest they be used as a”—my lips twisted—“catalyst for my power.”

“Retrieve the boy,” Rath said to his aide.

I watched the man run down the length of the training grounds, not looking away for a second when he reached the excited cluster of boys, nor when he returned with Del in hand. But if I’d expected this to be a joyous reunion, I was to be disappointed.

Del looked at me with much the same fear and suspicion he had when we’d first met. His eyes flashed silvery, letting me know what his future was going to look like. Just like before, I knelt down, making myself smaller, less of a threat to him.

“Darcy?” he said, the silver fading. “Are you…? Are you still the princess that’ll save us?”

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