Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Chapter 34

The western forest was a different kind of hostile.

Where the eastern sector had been choked with fog and crawling with rogues, this part of the Mistwood was simply empty. The trees grew taller here, their branches interlocking overhead to form a canopy so thick that only scattered coins of sunlight made it to the forest floor. The silence was absolute no birdsong, no rustle of wind, no distant howls. Just the steady crunch of boots on dead leaves and the sound of Valeria’s own breathing.

It should have been peaceful. Instead, it felt like waiting.

"Move faster," Valeria ordered, her voice cutting through the silence. "Thornridge and the prince are alone out there. Every minute we waste is a minute they don’t have."

"We’re moving as fast as we can," Orion said through gritted teeth. His legs ached. His shoulder, where a rogue had grazed him with its claws, was still throbbing despite his wolf’s best efforts. "The terrain isn’t exactly cooperating."

"Then make it cooperate."

Silas and Elias exchanged a glance but said nothing. Draven walked at the rear of the group, his axe strapped across his back, his face unreadable. He had been quiet since the battle quieter than usual, which was saying something. The smirk he’d worn since the beginning of the mission had vanished entirely, replaced by something darker. Something that looked almost like doubt.

Valeria didn’t notice. She was too busy thinking.

Thorne. Thorne Astrlyn. The prince who fights like a dancer and bleeds like the moon. The prince who Soren carried on his back like he was the most precious thing in the world.

She had been so close to the truth. The binding cloth in Soren’s suite. The way Thorne flinched when touched. The strange, almost feminine grace of his movements. The pieces were all there, scattered across her mind like fragments of a broken mirror. She just couldn’t quite fit them together.

And even if I could, what would I do with the truth? Expose her? Prove that Soren has been protecting an impostor?

The thought should have brought her satisfaction. Instead, it just made her tired.

He’s never going to choose us, her wolf whispered. Lila’s voice was subdued, the earlier heat of the full moon faded into something more contemplative. We’ve known that for a long time. We just didn’t want to admit it.

"He might," Valeria murmured under her breath. "If he knew the truth about Thorne. If he knew he’s been deceived—" ℯℯ𝘭.

He already knows. Lila’s words were gentle but firm. You saw the way he carried her. The way he looked at her. Whatever secret Thorne is hiding, Soren already knows it. And he doesn’t care.

Valeria’s jaw tightened. "Then what do you suggest?"

If you’re that curious about what she’s hiding, why don’t you get closer to her? Lila’s voice took on a cunning edge. Stop fighting her. Stop threatening her. Pretend to accept whatever this is between her and Soren. Pretend to give him up. Get close enough to learn the truth for yourself.

Valeria was silent for a long moment. The suggestion went against every instinct she had. Every fiber of her being wanted to destroy Thorne Astrlyn, not befriend her. But Lila had a point. She always did.

"If I pretend to give Soren up," she said slowly, "I can watch her without her guard being up. I can find out what she’s hiding."

Exactly. And once you know the truth, you can decide what to do with it. Expose her. Use it against her. Or... Lila paused. Or you might find that the truth changes nothing. That Soren was never ours to begin with.

The words hurt. They always hurt. But Valeria had been hurting for weeks now, and she was beginning to grow numb to it.

"Fine," she said. "When we find them, I’ll try it your way. But if it doesn’t work—"

Then we’ll try something else. We always do.

Valeria straightened her shoulders and increased her pace. "Faster," she called to the team. "We’re burning daylight."

Soren stopped walking and let out a frustrated growl.

"That’s the third time we’ve passed that same twisted oak."

Nyra lifted her head from his shoulder. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past hour, the exhaustion of the battle and the awakening of her wolf leaving her drained in a way she’d never experienced before. "Are we lost?"

"We’re not lost. The forest is just... uncooperative."

"So we’re lost."

Soren didn’t answer, which was answer enough. He pulled the map from his belt and studied it for the tenth time, his brow furrowed. The terrain didn’t match. The landmarks the map described a distinctive rock formation, a stream crossing, a fallen giant iwere nowhere to be seen. Either the map was wrong, or the forest had changed since it was drawn.

"We need to rest," he said finally. "I’m no good to either of us if I collapse from exhaustion."

Ahead, a massive fallen tree stretched across a small clearing. Its trunk was wide enough to serve as a bench, and the branches above provided some shelter from the elements. It wasn’t much, but it was defensible, and right now that was all that mattered.

Soren carried Nyra to the fallen tree and set her down as gently as he could. She winced as her feet touched the ground, but she stayed upright, which he took as a good sign.

He straightened and stretched, his spine popping in several places. Then he looked at her and something in his expression shifted.

"You literally weigh nothing," he said. "Don’t you eat at all?"

Nyra rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Her body still felt heavy, but her mind was clearer now. Luna was quiet, resting, recovering from the energy she’d expended during the battle. "I was under a strict diet routine back at home," she admitted. "So that I wouldn’t become a chubby princess."

Soren raised an eyebrow. "A chubby princess."

"My mother’s words, not mine. She said a princess should be elegant. Graceful. Light on her feet." Nyra stretched her arms above her head. "It wasn’t the worst thing. I just... got used to being hungry."

"Your mother sounds delightful."

"She had her moments." Nyra’s voice was carefully neutral. "Most of them weren’t."

Soren nodded slowly. He sat down on the fallen tree beside her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. The pendant he’d given her rested against her collarbone, a small weight that had become strangely comforting.

"My sister does the same thing," he said. "The diet thing. Though in her case, it’s because she’s stubborn, not because anyone’s forcing her."

Nyra turned to stare at him. "Your sister?"

"Yes."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes." Soren’s lips curved into something that was almost a smile. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"I—yes! I mean, no, but—" Nyra sputtered. "How come I’ve never heard of her? Which academy does she attend? What skills does she have? Is she an Alpha too? How old is she? Why doesn’t anyone talk about your family?"

Soren held up a hand, that almost-smile still playing at the corner of his mouth. "One at a time, little prince. Or princess. Whatever we’re calling you now."

"Nyra. Call me Nyra."

"Nyra." He said her name like he was testing it. Tasting it. "My sister’s name is Freya. She’s thirteen years old, and she hasn’t discovered her wolf yet. She lives at our family estate with my mother. She doesn’t attend an academy, and she has no special skills unless you count driving the household staff to madness, which she does with impressive regularity."

Nyra stared at him. This was more words than Soren had spoken to her in the entire time she’d known him, and every one of them was a revelation.

"I don’t know anything about your family," she said quietly. "The only thing anyone ever says about you is that you’re powerful and undefeated. You’re... mysterious. No one talks about where you came from or who your parents are."

"No one asks."

"I’m asking."

Soren was quiet for a moment. The forest was still around them, the silence broken only by the distant rustle of leaves and the soft rhythm of their breathing.

"I’ll tell you on the way, we should keep moving," he said, standing abruptly. "The sun is still high, but it won’t be for long. We need to find shelter before nightfall."

Nyra nodded and let him pull her to her feet. His hand lingered on hers for just a moment longer than necessary.

He turned and started walking, and Nyra followed, her heart fuller than it had been in a very long time.