Page 236 of A Warrior's Fate

Adrien gave her quip a flat look, the expected reaction, and then settled against the railing again.

He looked up at the night sky and the jewels that adorned it, shining bright in the low lights of the town. His eyes slid from the moon to the stars, where the witches saw their deities, marked in the heavens by constellations. “I know.”

Isla frowned and didn’t want to address any more of what she was seeing—how resigned he sounded, the smallest hint of longing in his stare.

Shame and doubt coiled within her.

After all this time, wondering if Adrien would ever find another, a witch capturing his attention was the last thing she’d expected. Part of her itched with fear that this healer’s daughter had found a way to manipulate his feelings, was using him. But there was a clearness to his face that told her something real lurked beneath. Something that meant trouble.

She wanted to, would, support him in most things, but there was no way this could end well. At least, he knew that, too.

She changed the subject, for his sake and hers.

She picked at a splinter on the railing. “What did my dad vote?”

“I’m not sure,” Adrien said with the same mindfulness she’d used. “I know it wasn’t unanimous, but I’m not sure who was against it…does it matter? I’m sure he doesn’t know.”

Isla clenched her teeth, pushing against the wood so hard it cracked away. There was a hollowness in her chest. “If my dad thinks a rogue wolf is better suited to lead a pack than its current alpha, especially this one after all they’ve gone through, after all they’ve suffered…I’m happy he doesn’t know about me and Kai. At least now, I’m getting to see what kind of person he is.”

And now she wanted to change the topic again before she got into anything about Charon.

“And why am I being left out of this?”

Perfectly timed, Isla turned along with Adrien to find Sebastian strutting towards them.

“What happened to your game?” Adrien was quick to respond, so quick it seemed he wanted everything that they’d just spoken about to be washed away.

Did Sebastian know about the healer and this Raana? He and Adrien were basically brothers, a future Alpha and Beta. They weren’t keen on keeping secrets from each other.

“I just got my ass handed to me again, so I stormed out,” Sebastian answered. “But not before flashing how much money I still had to lose.”

Isla rolled her eyes, knowing that everything was going to plan for him. “You’re incorrigible.”

Sebastian guffawed before putting a hand on her shoulder. “My dear sister, I’m—”

A scream tore through the air.

CHAPTER 48

Eyes and markings flaring, Isla, Sebastian, and Adrien turned in the sound’s direction. Raw and pained and followed by so much silence that they didn’t hesitate.

They ran.

Isla called for Kai, but he was already outside Talha by the time they reached the tavern. In his wake, the rest of the group filed out of the building. There was no question of where the noise had come from. A fear-drenched scent beckoned them from the distant darkness.

They took off for it—all of them—and all Isla knew was the rush of blood in her ears, the thundering of her heart, the pounding of their footsteps, and such a keen awareness of where everyone was, where Kai was, the boys. Her wolf was ready to tear out of her skin.

They came to a skidding halt at an alleyway solely lit by the lamp across the boardwalk.

“Dhalia?”

It was Adrien who’d spoken; the name said in a breath.

The woman he’d spent the night talking with, wooing, was sprawled on the ground where the wood met tar, arms out and legs bent. For a moment, Isla panicked, thinking the halo of hair around her head was blood.

Dhalia’s chest rose and fell in a shallow cadence. She was breathing but barely.

Isla was the first to drop to her knees at the woman’s side as everyone else caught up and gathered at the alley’s mouth. She heard Davina take a sharp breath, heard Rhydian curse.

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