Page 188 of A Warrior's Fate

And that was all too nice coming from him.

She cocked her head to take in the empty space behind him. “Where’s Kai?” she asked, forcibly simple at first.

Ezekiel tensed, and Isla felt her blood ice over and boil at the same time.

He wouldn’t answer. Not fast enough.

Her fists tightened at her sides, and Rhydian and Ameera seemed to pick up on the shift in her disposition. They shuffled on their feet, falling a bit behind her, as she pressed, “What happened?”

Further hesitation. “We should—”

Isla bared her teeth. “Ezekiel, what’s going on?”

Upon the address, the older man blinked, and there was the hint of that irritation she’d been expecting. But it didn’t last long. His throat bobbed and he shifted his gaze around, ensuring there weren’t many people around them. “The call came a few hours ago.” He spoke quietly, and they all absentmindedly leaned closer. “And we haven’t released it to the papers yet, so let’s try to remain calm…”

“Beta,” Isla said through gritted teeth, making him jolt. He’d been too slow. Too slow.

One last breath fell from his mouth before he said, “The Imperial Alpha and Council passed the challenge.”

Reporters surrounded the closed front gate at the bottom of the hill that led up to the hall. According to Ezekiel, there were fewer than yesterday. Isla could only imagine how crazy things would get once the news broke of the challenge.

It had passed. They’d approved it.

It didn’t feel real. It couldn’t have been.

But Kai was already in an emergency audience with his council, discussing what would happen next. What needed to happen in order to prepare for whatever befell him in ten days, on the night of the next full moon, when he’d step before another man, with his pack in witness, and kill him or be killed himself.

She felt sick to her stomach. Worse than she ever had before.

Kai had sensed when she’d been fighting the bak. He hadn’t known exactly what she was doing but was aware that she was in trouble. To keep him in place, as the news had just broken, Ezekiel had offered himself to go find her, find them. The beta had been searching Mavec all night.

He seemed appalled that they’d gone to the other regions, especially Surles. When he asked about what they’d been doing, no one spoke. They were all distracted, confused, and only wanted to get to their friend, their family. Ezekiel originally hadn’t seemed thrilled that Rhydian was going, but Isla made sure he knew the guard wasn’t leaving her side.

As they got closer and closer to the behemoth until they were entrenched in nothing but shadow from its looming size, Isla focused on the sense thrumming beneath her skin. She shouldn’t have called for Kai, especially if he was busy, but she wasn’t thinking clearly. She needed to see him, hear him, now.

There was a second way into the hall that avoided the main entrances and the crowd—thankfully. A mysterious marked female entering the grounds with the beta when no one else was permitted could’ve led to speculation. Not much, but enough. And Ezekiel likely wanted the time to brace for whatever chaos her—a woman of Io, the daughter of one of their highest Council members who’d just set Deimos on a collision course—being their luna would bring.

As they traveled through a small side passage—a dank cavern disguised by greenery—Isla and Ameera flinched, their footsteps aware and looks over their shoulders frequent. It eventually brought them to a room, the door hidden behind a bookshelf.

Exactly how many places like this existed around here?

When they stepped out into the corridor, Isla noted their location by their orientation to the courtyard. This was the Eastern Hall. Now, where were council meetings held? Where were the alpha and luna’s official seats? The thrones. They were usually around the same location. At least in Io.

Instead of asking Ezekiel, who’d likely be a complete dead end having wanting her to wait in the House, she began reaching for Kai again, sending down whatever words she could.

Where are you, where are you, where are you?

She hadn’t meant for those frantic thoughts to travel, but they must’ve because she received a response and sensed his presence at the same time.

“Here.”

Even without the echo lent by the barren halls, his voice reverberated through the space, through her.

Isla halted as Kai slowly rounded the corner a few feet in front of them and stopped at the end of the corridor. Her heart leaped and dropped all in one beat. Hours ago, moments existed when she didn’t think she’d ever see him again. Moments, she was sure, that he shared.

They held where they stood and simply stared at one another.

He looked exhausted but was dressed well as he had to be to address his council. Isla wondered if he’d slept at all last night after they’d parted.

---