Chapter 30 The Map in the Dark

Silas slammed his heavy fist onto the wooden table and the candle jumped. Hot wax splashed onto the map, covering the river and the North woods in white goo. It was late at night, and the air inside the war tent felt like ice. I could smell the old smoke from the campfires and the sour scent of Silas's anger. My heart beat fast against my ribs as I looked at the red lines Silas had drawn on the paper.

"We have to move now, Elena!" Silas yelled, and his voice was so loud it made my ears ring. He pointed a thick finger at the spot where the Iron-Tooth Pack was waiting. "Five thousand wolves are coming to kill us. If we stay behind these thin walls, we are just giving them our necks to bite. My Rogues know how to hide in the trees. We must go out there and hit them fast before they see us."

I looked at the map and then I looked at the tent flap. The sky outside was not black, but a dull and scary red. The Red Blight was moving through the forest, turning the tall trees into piles of gray ash. We were trapped between a sickness that ate the land and an army that wanted our blood. I rubbed my face with my hands and felt the cold iron of my crown.

"Torian is not a fool, Silas," I said, and I made my voice as steady as I could. "He has five thousand men. If we go into the woods in small groups, he will find us. He will pull us apart like paper. We have to think of a better way to stay alive."

A loud rattle of metal came from the dark corner of the tent. I turned my head and saw Valerius sitting on a small wooden box. He was still in his silver chains, and his bare feet were covered in dirt and dried blood. He looked thin and weak, but his blue eyes were fixed on the map like a cat watching a mouse hole. Silas spun around and growled deep in his chest.

"Why is he still in here?" Silas barked, and he grabbed the handle of his black sword. "He is not a soldier anymore. He is a prisoner who bankrupted his own home. Get him out before I cut his tongue out and feed it to the crows."

"He has fought ten wars, Silas," I told him, and I stood up tall to show I was the boss. "He knows how these Alphas think because he used to sit at their tables. We are fighting for our lives. I will listen to anyone who knows how to keep my son safe."

Valerius stood up slowly, and the chains made a cold clink-clink sound on the dirt floor. He walked to the table, but Silas moved to block his path. I put my hand on Silas's chest and felt his heart hammering under his leather shirt. Silas backed away, but he did not stop looking at Valerius with pure hate. Valerius looked at the map for a long time and did not say a word.

"Silas wants to hit them in the Black Gully," Valerius said, and his voice was a low rasp that sounded like dry leaves. He pointed his chained hands at the narrow path in the woods. "He thinks his Rogues can hide in the tall grass. He thinks the water in the creek will slow Torian's big wolves down so his men can jump on their backs."

"It will work!" Silas shouted, and he hit the table again. "We did it to the hunters for five long years in the Dead Lands! We are the kings of the dark woods!"

"The hunters were small groups of men," Valerius said, and he looked Silas right in the eyes. "Torian has five thousand wolves in iron armor. He does not care about the gully. He will send a hundred men into that hole just to make you busy. While you are killing them, his main army will cross the river three miles to the south."

I leaned in closer to the map and felt a cold sweat break out on my neck. "The South Crossing?"

"Yes," Valerius said, and he moved his hands over the paper to show the way. "The ground there is flat and hard. It is easy for a big army to move fast. Torian will come behind you while you are stuck in the mud of the gully. He will trap your Rogues between his teeth and the water. You will be dead before the sun comes up."

Silas let out a mean laugh and shook his head at the ceiling. "He is lying! He is just trying to make us stay in the camp like sitting ducks! He wants his friend Torian to have an easy win!"

"Look at the marks, Silas," I said, and I pointed to the high ridge a mile back from the woods. "Valerius found a hole in your plan. If we go to the gully, we are walking into a giant mouth. He is right about the ground. I saw the mud myself when we rode in."

"So you take his side?" Silas asked, and his face went from red to a sick, pale white. He took a step back and his mouth opened like he had been slapped. "After everything I did for you? You trust the words of the man who burned you over the man who kept you alive?"

"It is not about sides, Silas," I told him, and I walked around the table to touch his arm. "He saved us from an ambush. This is how we win. We will move the men to the high ridge. we will build a wall of wood and stone. We will make them climb the hill to get to us. That will make their big wolves tired."

Silas ripped his arm away from me so hard I almost fell. He hit a lamp off the table and it broke on the floor, making a small blue fire in the dirt. He looked at me, and his eyes were not kind anymore. They were full of a dark and scary light that made my skin crawl.

"You still love him," Silas whispered, and the words felt like a punch to my stomach.

"What? Silas, stop it," I said, and I felt a big knot of fear in my throat. "This is about the war. This is about keeping Leo and the pack alive. Don't be a fool."

"No!" Silas yelled, and he stepped so close I could smell the metal on his breath. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. His fingers dug into my skin and it really hurt. "I see how you look at him. I see how you listen to his voice like it is music. You want to go back to him. You want to be his little Omega again."

"I am the Queen!" I shouted back, and I felt the White Wolf starting to growl in my chest. My eyes started to sting with a cold power. "I do not belong to you, Silas. I belong to my people. Let go of me right now."

Silas saw the white light in my eyes and he let go, but he did not move back. He looked at Valerius with a look that wanted to kill. I saw a flash of madness in his face. He was not thinking about the 5,000 wolves anymore. He was only thinking about owning me.

"I am going to win this war, Elena," Silas muttered, and he leaned in until our noses almost touched. "But I am going to do it my way. And when the fight is over, I am going to make sure the King is the first one to lose his head. Do not choose him again. You will not like the ending."