Chapter 5 Into the Abyssal Mists

The iron cage stopped with a bone-jarring thud.

The guards didn't speak. They didn't even look at me. One of them unlocked the door and kicked it open. I scrambled out, my hands hitting the cold, sharp gravel. I looked up, but the cage was already turning around. The horses galloped back toward the palace, leaving me in the pitch-black silence of the border.

I stood up, shaking. My neck began to throb.

The silver scar—the "Exile Brand"—started to glow a sickly, bruised purple. It wasn't just a mark anymore. It felt like liquid lead was being poured into my veins. My legs grew heavy. Every breath felt like I was sucking in thick mud.

"Move," I whispered to myself. "Elena, move."

I turned toward the Dead Lands. Ahead of me, the trees were twisted and black, like skeletons reaching out of the ground. Beyond them was the Mist. It was a wall of thick, swirling grey smoke that touched the sky. No wolf ever went in there and came back.

I took one step, and my knees buckled. The brand was designed to keep me weak so the monsters would find me easily.

Snap.

I froze. The sound came from the trees behind me. It was the sound of a heavy boot breaking a dry branch.

They weren't even trying to hide.

I forced myself up and started to run. I wasn't fast. With the brand weighing me down, I felt like I was running through deep water. My heart hammered against my ribs.

Please, Moon Goddess. Just a little further.

Three shapes blurred through the trees. They moved with a speed that made my stomach turn. These weren't normal guards. They were the Shadow Claws—Valerius’s personal pack of killers. They wore black leather armor and carried long, curved blades that shined like silver teeth in the dark.

"There she is," a voice hissed.

A shadow landed on a branch directly above me. I looked up and saw a man with yellow eyes and a cruel grin. He jumped, landing five feet in front of me. Two more landed behind me.

I was trapped.

"The King said you were a witch," the leader said. He drew his sword. The metal sang as it left the sheath. "He said we had to be careful. But you just look like a scared little rabbit to me."

"Valerius sent you," I said. My voice was small, but I kept my chin up. "He whispered in my ear that he was saving me. But he sent you to finish the job."

The assassin laughed. "The King is a smart man. He doesn't like loose ends. And a mate who can throw Alphas into fountains is a very big loose end."

He stepped closer. I backed away, my heels sliding on the dirt.

"Don't worry," he said, raising the blade. "I’ll make it fast. I want to be back in time for the wedding feast."

I turned and bolted.

I didn't head for the woods. I headed for the cliff.

The brand on my neck burned hotter. It felt like it was trying to snap my spine. I stumbled, my hands hitting the dirt, but I didn't stop. I crawled, then scrambled back to my feet.

"She’s heading for the drop!" one of the assassins yelled. "Cut her off!"

They moved like lightning. One of them swung his blade. I felt the cold wind of the metal as it sliced through the air, inches from my back. I felt a sharp sting on my shoulder. Blood started to soak my dress.

The pain didn't slow me down. It woke my wolf up.

Run! she screamed in my head. Protect the spark!

I reached the edge of the cliff. I stopped, my toes hanging over the jagged rock.

Below me was the Abyssal Mist. It looked like a boiling sea of grey. It made no sound. It just sat there, waiting. People said the mist ate your flesh. They said the ghosts of a thousand rogues lived inside it, ready to tear you apart.

I looked back.

The three Shadow Claws were ten feet away. They had stopped, their swords lowered. They knew I had nowhere to go.

"End of the road, Elena," the leader said. He sounded bored. "Jump and the mist kills you. Stay here and I kill you. At least if you stay, I can bring your head back and get paid."

He started to walk forward, his boots crunching on the stone.

"He really wants me dead, doesn't he?" I asked. My voice didn't shake this time.

"He wants to forget you ever existed," the assassin said.

I looked at my stomach. I thought about the tiny life inside me. Valerius wanted to erase us. He wanted to marry his golden Queen and pretend I was just a bad dream.

I looked the leader in the eye. I gave him a small, cold smile.

"Tell the King he missed," I said.

The assassin's eyes went wide. He lunged forward, reaching for my hair.

I didn't wait.

I leaned back.

The world tilted. The stars disappeared. The sound of the wind rushed past my ears as I fell into the dark. I saw the three assassins standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down, their faces growing smaller and smaller.

I felt the cold, damp touch of the mist. It swallowed my feet. It swallowed my waist.

I am not dying for you, Valerius, I thought as the grey fog filled my lungs. I am jumping to live.

The mist hit my face like a freezing blanket. It was thick and smelled like old rain and magic. My vision went white.

Then, there was nothing but the fall.

I hit the water.

It wasn't a hard impact. It felt like falling into a cloud. I sank deep into the grey depths. The Exile Brand on my neck suddenly screamed one last time, then went cold. The purple glow died. The weight in my blood snapped.

I was free.

I kicked my legs, pushing toward what I thought was the surface. My lungs were burning. I needed air. I needed to know if we were okay.

My hand broke through the water. I gasped, drawing in a lungful of the thick, heavy mist.

I pulled myself onto a muddy bank. I couldn't see five feet in front of me. The trees here were different. They were white, like bone, and they seemed to hum with a low power.

I curled into a ball, shivering. My shoulder was bleeding, and my dress was ruined. But as I touched my stomach, I felt it.

The throb. The heartbeat.

We had survived the fall.

I looked into the grey woods. Deep in the shadows, I saw eyes. Not two eyes. Dozens of them. They were glowing red, orange, and blue.

"Who goes there?" a voice boomed.

It didn't sound like a wolf. It sounded like a mountain moving.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out. I collapsed into the white mud.

"I am Elena," I whispered, my eyes closing. "And I am not a slave anymore."

The last thing I saw before I fainted was a massive shadow stepping out of the mist. He was covered in scars, and his scent was rain and leather.

He didn't have a sword. He had claws that looked like they could rip a King in half.

He leaned over me, his shadow blocking out the grey sky.

"A Moon-Blessed in the Dead Lands?" he muttered. "Well. This changes everything."