Chapter 0046
Theodore
I didn’t have to turn around to know that the leader of this merry band of rogues was probably perched on top of the carriage. I turned around before she could throw her dagger before the rogue could leap and let out a snarl that shook the air, filled with magic, and pulled out my chained dagger. Time seemed to slow as the wolf started to leap away, back toward the incline to escape- afraid, but not afraid enough. I hurled the dagger in my hand, aiming to ensnare him. The blade sliced through the air, looping around his neck and catching. I pulled the chain tight, cinching the loop. The hook in the dagger dug into his fur. The wolf howled in pain and thrashed in the air before hitting the ground. It pulled and clamped down on the chain but howled as the chain burned it.
I pulled, yanking it down, wrestling it closer, and retracting the chain. A howl went up around us. More rogues,, it seemed, but it sounded like a call for a retreat, a disbanding.
The rogue I’d captured snarled at me, glaring between me and Violet, who approached on my left, aiming her own daggers at him. The wolf lay on the ground, his body tense but breathing heavily from the fight. He glared up at us, still not resigned or surrendering. My guards encircled him, all tense and ready to take him out if necessary. Slowly, the anger in his eyes started to soften. The magic I sent along the chain was working to calm him. He blinked. I got close enough to smell the filth clinging to his fur, the scent of an infècted wound probably, or at least a sickness.
I knelt beside him. “If you shift, we can help you.”
He snarled and snapped his jaws at me. I tightened my grip on the chain.
“You’ll die if you don’t, and I don’t want to force it. Just… try…”
His eyes twitched, a low rumbling rattled through him, but slowly, he started to shift until a naked, thin man lay there in his place. The chain around his neck resized with him. I held out my hand, and someone placed a roll of bandages and antiseptic in it. My guards knew what I was planning to do they’d seen me do it often enough.
I offered my hand. He placed his arm in my hand, and Violet must have looked pretty fierce because he didn’t even look like he was considering trying to attack me. I started to treat the injury that had been festering.
“Why did you attack us?.”
His lips peeled back in a snarl, but he kept silent, eyes darting between me, Violet, and my warriors. The rogue’s silence irritated me, usually, if they could shift back, they could speak, but maybe this guy was too far gone.
“You didn’t attack us for no reason. Who sent you after us?”
Still, nothing. Just a smug smile. One of my guards growled, but I held up a hand.
1/2
Chapter 0046
25 BONUS
“Do you know who I am?”
He grinned, and his eyes sparkled. That was probably all the answer I was ever going to get.
I tilted my head towards Violet. “Do you know who she is?”
He glanced at Violet, and his lips twitched.
One of the guards snarled as I finished the bandage. Then, I removed the dagger and chain from around his neck.
“I’m letting you go this time, but next time…”
He turned on the spot, shifted, and bounded off into the trees and down into the mist that obscured how deep the incline was. I wanted to believe that it was just a test and that maybe he and his followers had heard about Midnight and were just seeking to figure out if they could be safe there, too, but the look in his eyes told a different story.
I glanced back at Violet. She met my gaze with a cool, assessing look.
“You’re not going to ask?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I often don’t.” She sheathed her daggers. “It’s not my territory… though I find it hard to believe a pack of rogues just happened to be waiting here. This stretch of road isn’t exactly prime territory for travelers, is it?”
She turned back toward where the carriage and the injured were and crouched down.
“Only someone who knew you were leaving Midnight and headed to the capital, knew enough about the terrain, would have arranged this. So either they were tipped off by someone in Midnight or the palace.”
“Or you,” one of the guards said, glaring at Violet. “How could you possibly know that this isn’t a frequently traveled road?”
