Chapter 24 The Severed Gift

A loud, sharp blast from a horn cut through the training barracks. I was still standing in the dirt, looking down at Valerius while he bled in his rags. The sky was turning a dark, bruised purple as the sun dipped behind the trees. I did not stay to help him up. I turned my back on his broken face and ran toward the Northern Gate.

My boots hit the dry grass with a heavy thud. Silas was already at the gate, standing on the stone wall with his hand on his sword. His face was a mask of cold iron. He looked down at the road, his eyes narrow and mean. I climbed the stairs to stand next to him, my breath coming in short, hot gasps.

"What is it?" I asked.

Silas pointed a finger toward the woods. "A single rider. He is wearing the gray of the Iron-Tooth Pack. He is not here to be nice, Elena."

The heavy iron bars of the gate groaned as the guards pulled them back. A man on a big black horse skidded to a stop in the dirt. The horse was wet with sweat and its eyes were wide with fear. The rider wore armor that looked like it was made of scrap metal and a cloak that smelled like old blood. He did not get off his horse, and he did not bow his head to me.

"I am here for the King!" the rider yelled. His voice was scratchy and loud. "Where is Alpha Valerius? Why do I smell a female on the throne?"

I stood at the edge of the wall and looked down at him. I felt the cold weight of the iron crown on my head. "Valerius has abdicated. He is no longer the King. I am the Regent Queen. You speak to me or you leave."

The rider let out a bark of a laugh that sounded like a dog choking. He looked at the guards, then back at me. "A Queen? Alpha Torian does not make deals with girls. He does not recognize a female on a throne. We had a treaty with a King. If the King is gone, the treaty is just a pile of ash."

"The law is the law," I said. I made my voice as hard as a rock. "It does not matter who sits in the chair. The peace treaty says our packs do not fight. Tell Torian to stay on his side of the river."

The rider kicked his horse and moved closer to the bars. He looked at my leather armor and the silver scar on my neck. "The law is for the strong, little girl. Torian says a pack with no Alpha is just a pile of meat waiting to be eaten. He says the peace is over. He says he is coming to take what he wants."

"I have an army of a thousand Rogues," I barked. I pointed to the warriors standing behind me. "They are not weak. They are not tired. If your Alpha crosses the river, I will send him back in a box."

The rider leaned over his horse's neck and showed his yellow teeth. "You think you have a river to hide behind? You think your walls are high?"

He reached into a big leather bag hanging from his horse. He pulled out a bundle wrapped in a dirty white cloth. The cloth was wet and dark red spots were growing on the fabric. He held it up high so the guards could see it, then he looked at me with a scary grin.

"Torian sent you a gift," the rider said. "He wanted to show you that a girl cannot protect a kingdom."

He threw the bundle through the bars. It hit the dirt with a heavy, wet thud. The white cloth fell away as the object rolled across the ground. It stopped right in front of the gate guards.

I looked down and my stomach turned over. I felt a hot flash of sick hit the back of my throat. It was a head. The hair was matted with blood and the skin was a pale, cold gray. I knew that face. It was Jax. He was my best spy. I had sent him to the Northern border two days ago to watch the roads.

"Jax," I whispered. My voice broke and I felt a fire of anger start to burn in my chest.

"He told us you would save him," the rider said. He pulled on his horse's reins to turn it around. "He said the Queen was strong. We laughed while we cut his neck. He was the first one we found, but he will not be the last."

The rider kicked his horse and galloped away into the dark woods. I looked at the head in the dirt and felt my heart drop. They were already inside our lines. I didn't care about the walls or the treaty anymore. I had to reach Leo. I had to lock the nursery door before the killers moved from the woods into the halls.