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  “Keep going!” Callie shouts. She struggles to dig in her coat for her weapon, but that's impossible while she's slumped over my shoulder. We need cover, like the crater that led to the pond—

  The ice.

  The thin ice, that a human can't see. If I can kill Alex without actually being the one to kill him—

  I make a sharp left, carrying myself farther from Cayden and Abigail. It pains me to leave him where the dark spirits can attack. Dread fills my body. But I push through it. I can't help Cayden if I don't help myself first.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks.

  “You'll see. Trust me.”

  I wait for the dark curtain to come down over me, but it stays away. This might work. I repeat the mantra in my head as I run. We're escaping. I won't kill a human. I'm good. It has to work. The ground slopes down ahead. Shelter.

  Alex fires. “Stay still! I'm giving you both a mercy!”

  “You don't want to do this!” Callie shouts.

  But Alex fires. I bank to the right, taking her with me, as the bolt misses us by inches. And then he fires again, but I'm at the pond. Callie screams as I run down the steep hill at full force, approaching the ice. My legs protest as I struggle to keep my balance. Callie's throwing me off. The ice ahead is several inches thick still, but a dark spot to the left reveals a weak area. Alex might not see it.

  “Do what I say,” I tell Callie. Reaching the bottom and the edge of the pond, I stop. It's a big pond, fifty feet across. I hope it's deep enough to swallow a man. Even I can't see through to the bottom.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks, pointing her crossbow at the top of the hill. “We need higher ground. Alex could snipe us.”

  “I need him down here,” I say. But Callie has a point I hadn't thought of. “I'll listen and point to his location. He'll try to circle if he's smart, and then when I say, you shoot him.”

  Callie trembles. “I don't want to do this. What did I get into?”

  I lower my voice to what I hope is a soothing tone. “Hey. I understand."

  She smiles at me. We'll go down fighting together. But then a new idea hits me. “I have to look weak and do something dangerous.”

  Even now, the Hunter's footsteps approach. As I predicted, he's circling the pond, staying well back. Alex wants to surprise us from the opposite angle. I turn and point, and Callie swings the crossbow in that direction. I wish her vision was as good as mine. Then we'd have a good chance.

  “What are you doing to do?” Callie asks.

  “Hide,” I order her. “Behind that boulder.” I spot one sticking out of the mud and melting snow beside the edge of the pond. The whole crater's made of them. “I'll lure him down. He has to get on the ice. It's the best chance we've got.”

  I hope Callie can hit him but I know the chances are slim. While Alex continues to circle, I walk out to the thin ice, knowing he could shoot me any second.

  The cold will have a hard time killing me. I hope. I shudder an anticipation of what I have to do. This has to look real. And I could die doing this. Cayden won't be able to bail me out, but it's my job to protect him, anyway.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks, but her tone tells me she already knows.

  I reach the dark spot. It reminds me of the darkness ready to consume me if I mess this up even a little. Alex has to kill himself. I can't take part. Not like I did with Mr. Hayde and Mr. Saffron.

  I jump on the ice. It cracks, sending deadly spider webs across the surface. I point my heels into it with my second jump, and the ice shifts under my feet. Water rises as chunks come apart like a deadly gate opening to an underworld.

  It takes everything I have not to jump out of the way. I could. But the ice opens, and the cold depths suck down my feet, stabbing into me like a thousand knives. I'm sinking into cold death and Cayden's not here to help. Callie has to watch. But she stays silent.

  I scream, hoping Alex hears.

  I plunge...plunge...my head goes underwater and the black and blue dark presses against my head, invading my ears with a demon-like gurgle. I kick, but I can't touch the bottom. The sun sparkles overhead, begging me to kick to the surface, but I hold my breath, hoping my body can withstand this. Cold stabs at me through every angle, seeping into my coat and covering my skin with pain. I thrash, trying to cast it away, but it's no use. Cayden screams in my head with worry. He knows I'm in danger. His panic flows into me. Mine flows to him. Closing my eyes for a second, I sense the wind from a chase. He's still pursuing Abigail.

  I wonder, for a second, if Romulus will come back after this.

  My fingers go numb. Warmth flees. The hole. I'm just two feet from it, and I can get out easily. It won't freeze over this late in the year. But I don't. Alex has to approach.

  And he is.

  Vibrations meet my ears, traveling through the ice and water, and I know he's running down the hill, salivating at his easy prize. Then his feet meet ice, and I spot a dark shadow approaching.

  My lungs start to burn.

  I might have the lung capacity of an Olympian, but no more. In a few minutes, I'll drown just like anyone else.

  Alex steps forward, slowing and using caution. I sense tension in his steps. He doesn't want to fall through, and that's what I'm counting on. Ten seconds pass. The burning makes me flinch. I can't do this. But I also can't leave Callie to deal with him on her own. My whole body starts going numb. If I don't drown, the cold will get me.

  He takes a single step forward. And stops again.

  I pump my legs, rising to the surface. The shimmering border waits, luring me to my death. Then I break it, gasping for breath, as Alex stands over me, stunned. His mouth drops open, but he's fast, and he raises his crossbow to point at my face.

  Chapter Twenty

  A bow clicks, and a bolt sails into Alex's chest. It impales leather and thunks into something hard. Alex is wearing a protective vest. He backpedals, glances at the bolt sticking out of his chest, and faces Callie's hiding spot.

  “Leave her alone!” Callie shouts. Her feet thud as she emerges from her hiding spot.

  “Callie!” I grip the ice, struggling to climb out, but even with my strength it's difficult. There's nothing to grasp. The ice continues to crack all around me. Everything blurs as I try to blink the cold water from my eyes.

  “Don't shoot her. We need the Noble Royals," Callie continues. She appears on my right, a pink and brown blob, aiming the crossbow at Alex's heart. Her expression is hardened. Confident.

  Alex steps forward, aiming at her in return. The air smells of adrenaline from them both. I scramble to get out of the ice, forgetting all about Romulus. Callie doesn't have a chance. More ice cracks, closer and closer to Alex, as his finger curls around the trigger of his crossbow. He screws up his face as if in pain. “Sorry,” Alex mutters, shaking.

  No.

  I splash frigid water on him. It pools around his feet. The distraction is enough to make Alex look down, and enough for me to throw my upper body down beside him. I'm trying to get out, I tell myself. Just trying to get out.

  The ground below Alex cracks.

  Callie shoots again. A second bolt lodges into his vest, and the force is enough to make him lose his balance. Alex goes down, and his fall finishes the job. The ice roars and breaks under us both.

  He goes down, flailing, and drops his crossbow.

  I'm just trying to get out.

  Alex splashes inches from me, leather coat billowing as he goes under. I kick and propel myself to the surface, to where Callie waits to help me out. My arms and legs have merged with the cold. I can no longer feel them. Behind me, Alex surfaces and splashes, his crossbow gone.

  “Callie. You don't know what you're doing,” he shouts, already hoarse.

  I reach up to her and she grabs my arms, pulling. Tears fill her eyes. She drops her own crossbow, which slides away as she digs fingernails into my arms. Pain comes to life. I'm still here. My leg cramps as I lift my knee out of the water and put
my shoe on the edge of the ice. It cracks more, but Callie doesn't leave. She refuses to abandon me.

  “Callie,” Alex says, but the hopelessness in his voice hits me in the core.

  I'm just trying to get out.

  The dark curtain falls as I rise from the cold depths, and pressure builds in my chest. Romulus laughs. Callie should let go. She should run.

  I don't want Alex to die.

  He's not a bad man. He's just trying to protect the Noble Order. The Hunter is just trying to do his job. Callie and I will help him get out.

  The pressure eases as I push Romulus back. “Hold on!” Callie shouts, shuddering as she backpedals on the ice.

  I push with my foot and rise from the water, flopping onto the ice. Nerves spring to life, poking and stabbing at me, as the world turns a whole rainbow of colors. I catch my breath. “We have to help Alex,” I force.

  The dark curtain snaps back in disappointment and rage. But it hovers somewhere above me, waiting.

  Callie nods to me but doesn't rise from her crouching position. “He still might die.” Her chin wobbles. Alex might still try to kill us even if we save him. He grasps at ice with gloved hands, losing his grip and sliding into the water again and again. He pants. Splashes. Each breath takes a vicious wheezing tone.

  If we don't get him out, Romulus will take over. And he'll kill Callie, the new pack members, and Cayden. And then he'll move on to Colling and beyond.

  Shivering, I crawl in a circle, onto sturdy ice. My body's recovering. The nerves in my hand come back to life. Warmth pushes back the numbness. "We have to get him out."

  Alex slips under again. His hat floats on the surface. My heart aches as he reaches onto the ice, kicks, and breaks the water again. Already he's weakening. The metallic scent of terror fills the air. Alex looks at me, death already fading the color of his eyes. He's already given up.

  “Alex, hold on." I crawl towards him as Callie drops beside me, spreading out her body weight to avoid breaking the ice. But this part of the pond is still sturdy. Still safe. Whatever I decide, she's on board.

  The ice cooperates and holds. Alex watches us, unfocused and already losing his senses. A human, even a strong one, isn't nearly as resistant to the cold as I am.

  “Grab on,” I puff, approaching. “Grab on and I'll pull you out.” I extend my arms, and as Alex grabs on, holding on for dear life, Romulus growls in rage. The sound reverberates through my head.

  I can't resist a smile.

  “What are you grinning about?” Alex manages.

  I didn't realize he had a sense of humor until now.

  "Grab my arm," Callie says, offering hers. Alex does as he's told, anchoring himself to both of us.

  Digging the toe of my shoes into tiny cracks in the ice, I pull myself backwards, inch by inch, and Alex comes with me. I do most of the work, but Callie helps. My strength's returning. I won't let him go.

  "I've got this," I tell Callie. "We'll need your jacket."

  Without a word, she releases Alex once he's halfway out of the water. Callie stands and removes her Hunter jacket, ready to offer her Uncle Alex a blanket. He's not out of danger yet.

  But at least he'll be in no shape to fight after this.

  He emerges from the water, legs struggling to bend, jacket dripping puddles all over the ice. Alex's beard sticks to his flesh. Ice crystals cling to his mustache, shorn off the edges of the ice. He shivers uncontrollably. At least he's still doing that.

  I let him lean on me as we stagger to shore, and by then Alex is with it enough to seethe in pain. He flops onto the muddy ground, where Callie waits to throw her coat over him. She stands in her waitress dress now, and a few silver daggers are stuffed into her pockets. I stand and remove my own coat, throwing it over Alex as well. With gray eyes, he surveys us both.

  “Why did you save me?”

  I step forward. “Because I'm Noble. Because Abigail is wrong about me. I'm not going to kill people and no heritage can make me.” The world lightens as I speak. Warmth blooms in my chest, more than I've ever felt, as if I've held a match to a bunch of kindling for the first time.

  "Now what?" Callie asks.

  “We need to get Alex to the hospital,” I say. “Tell them he was fishing and fell through. They don't need to know about this.” I face Callie as the warmth overtakes my whole body. It's pure light, but the protective spirits are still with Cayden. I don't understand. It's like the opposite of the Savage King—

  Remus.

  But with a blink, the feeling's gone, like the first Noble has returned to a centuries-long slumber.

  “Brie?” Callie asks, pulling out her cell phone. “Are you okay?”

  “I'm definitely okay,” I say. “Call an ambulance. Tell them we'll meet them in Colling. If Alex can walk, take him there. I have to find Cayden.” I'll explain it all to Callie later. Now's not the time. Alex still shivers and his teeth clack together. I don't know for sure if he'll leave us alone after this, but the chances are good. He looks at Callie with regret and even a hint of warmth.

  “I think I can walk,” Alex says.

  “Just stay bundled up. And lose the daggers,” Callie says. She helps him stand, and Alex leans on her for support. He's in no shape to fight. Callie's safe for now. “I'll take you back to town and get you help. Shouldn't take too long. Walk. Just move and get your blood flowing.” She smiles at me, bringing back a bit of the warmth.

  I can't wait to tell Leonora about this. She'll excuse me for being late to the meeting.

  But I can't now because I'm sure my phone is ruined.

  Instead, I dart through the woods, in the direction Cayden chased Abigail. My feet tingle as my nerves finish coming to life. Behind me, Alex and Callie climb the hill and out of the crater. Satisfied they made it out, I listen for Wolf feet and once I'm a few hundred feet from the pond, I hear them running towards me. A sniff confirms it's Cayden, racing towards me with worry. And Abigail's not chasing him.

  He emerges from the trees a few minutes later. The black Wolf runs through the sun, red highlights shining. He jumps, landing on me, and we both go down as Cayden licks my face. Though I can't hear his thoughts when we're not in same form, I know what he means all the same.

  “Hey,” I say when he's done. “I'll tell you what happened, but as you can see, I'm soaked and still cold. Plus my phone doesn't work.” I turn my head as Cayden subjects me to another round of Wolf kisses. Sounds like he has good news for me, too.

  Is Abigail dead?

  I rise and follow Cayden back towards his ripped clothes. Inside his jeans pocket (which have escaped pretty unscathed) his phone buzzes over and over. People are scared and texting us. I'd forgotten that Cayden told someone the deal. The black Wolf looks up at me, and I can read the worried expression in his hazel eyes.

  “I'll deal with the texts and calls,” I say, fishing out the phone. “You just change back so we can get back to town. Lawrence is still out there.” I sniff the air. “Abigail's gone. You drove her out of the territory, didn't you?”

  There's not much blood on Cayden's muzzle. Had he killed her, there would be more. He nods. Yes.

  Being driven out isn't something a single Wolf can come back from.

  But we still have Lawrence to worry about.

  In the distance, Alex struggles to walk, aided by Callie. I don't want to leave her alone with him, even if he's in no shape to fight. Regretting sparing his life might send me straight to the darkness. "We need to help Callie."

  Cayden eyes his ripped pants. This is going to be awkward, but necessary. He shifts back, hair retracting into his perfect form. Cayden stands bare before me, and though I've seen him before, his beauty isn't lost on me. He looks like one of those perfect Roman statues. But now's not the time to enjoy it.

  "Here we go," he says with a grimace. He pulls on his ripped pants, leaving the side of his thigh exposed, and his torn shirt, which has a matching tear down the same side. "We can joke about this later."

  Now
that I've taken a breath, I can sense the spirits around us, warring light and darkness. "How's the curse been?"

  "The pain got me a little a few times, but I managed." Cayden cups his hand over his ear and listens. "I hear a couple of people, but I can't smell them. Hunters, right?"

  "Callie's taking Alex to the hospital. He has hypothermia. Don't kill him, Cayden." I grab his arm and face him, drilling my order in. "I think I sensed Remus. It didn't last long, but I can't think of what else it could have been. And it happened when I spared Alex's life."

  "Brie, what?" Cayden's mouth falls open. His look of shock is adorable.

  "I'll tell you about it later. We need to give Callie a hand. I'll watch out for Lawrence. He's still out there in the woods."

  "Got it."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  We find Callie halfway back to Colling with Alex leaning on her shoulder. Both smell like pine now. Alex's special spray is still working despite his dip in the pond.

  I won't kill him. I'll show him mercy, even if he won't show me any. Alex looks at me with wonder as I appear by his side. And Callie looks to me with relief.

  "Let us give you a hand," I say, sniffing. I can tell a lot about a person's health from smell, and the pine spray makes it impossible. Alex still shivers which I guess is a good sign. His body hasn't given up. "Callie, let me and Cayden carry Alex. Call the ambulance right now and tell them to meet us in front of the restaurant. We can carry him a lot faster than you can."

  She nods and lets go of Alex. He stumbles, and there's nothing fake in his movements. I extend my hand and wrap it around his middle, despite the silver pieces decorating his hat and the fact that he still hides daggers under leather. I want to get him away from Cayden. My protective urges are still there.

  But the warmth of Remus doesn't return. I feel as if I've woken a thousand-year-old spirit who closed his eyes again.

  This is going to take work.