I woke up with one hell of a kidnapping hangover. Whatever Wearg had used on me had sent my stomach spiraling like I’d ingested one plate too many of the Banhar cooking. My head pounded like a jackhammer and my limbs were slow to respond. I even had trouble opening my eyelids, so droopy were they.

  I finally managed that tiny task and discovered I lay in a small bedroom. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of polished stone with rugs and tapestries to dampen the echo. A wooden dresser and a small round table with two chairs rounded out the furniture. The air was neither too warm nor too cold, but there was a chilly dampness that made me shiver.

  I rolled onto my stomach and eased myself onto my shaky arms. Even that small effort made my head spin and I gave myself a break. I discovered a wooden door nestled in the far corner of the room. The entrance sported a thick metal handle and large keyhole, and the hinges were likewise massive. The door wouldn’t be easy to bust down, even if I did have all my strength.

  I stiffened when I heard footsteps outside the door. They stopped at the entrance and a jingle of keys rang out. One of them was inserted into the lock and the door was opened. My heart pounded in my chest as Wearg stepped into the room. He pocketed the keys and shut the door behind himself.

  The wolf’s bright orange eyes stared only at me as he strolled over to the bed. I tried to scurry backward away from him but my wobbly arms and legs wouldn’t obey me. I ended up flopping around and falling onto my side.

  “There’s no need to panic, Lady Fei,” he mused as he set his hand on top of one of the short bed posts at the foot. “I’m not here to harm you.”

  I shot him a glare. “So you think kidnapping isn’t a problem?”

  A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “You’ll be safe so long as you give me what I want.”

  My heart thumped hard in my chest. “And what’s that?”

  “Answers.”

  My pounding head filled with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  He cocked his head to one side and examined me. “First, I would like to know your real name. I doubt your change in appearance was your only deceit.”

  My eyes widened as I recalled my bottle of pills. I’d put them in my pocket but I didn’t feel them.

  “Are you looking for these?” Wearg wondered as he reached into his pocket and drew out the bottle. He shook the container and the peas rattled around. “The most magically gifted among my people tell me these have powerful magic. What are they used for?” I clamped my mouth shut. The wolf sauntered along the foot of the bed and held the bottle at face height. “A pity to just throw away something so valuable, but I suppose if you won’t tell me what they are then I’ll have to dispose of something that might be dangerous to me. I’ll return in a moment.”

  He turned and strode toward the door.

  “Wait!” I shouted.

  Wearg paused and half-turned to me. “Did you want to tell me something?”

  My frantic mind couldn’t come up with any excuses that weren’t incredibly lame. I hung my head. “They’re for me. . .”

  He lifted an eyebrow and sauntered back to the foot of the bed. “For you to do what?”

  A heavy sigh escaped me. “To hide what I look like.”

  “Then you have silver hair and a fair complexion?”

  My eyes widened and I whipped my head up to find myself staring into the determined eyes of the wolf king. “How. . .how do you know what? Did you see me through the window?”

  Wearg took a seat on the edge of the bed and rolled the bottle over in his hand. “I’ve been watching you since you first came here with the princess. There’s not too many who are brave or stupid enough to venture across the Tianfeld just for a look at the border.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Memories flashed through my mind of my first trip to the feld. “You. . .you were in the bushes, weren’t you?”

  “My men were hiding in the brush and they passed on your description on to me.” He wrapped his hands around the bottle and stared directly at me. “It’s how I knew you were the same person when you cleared the Tianfeld of the dead.”

  I leaned back and blinked at him. “Cleared the feld? You mean when my friends and I were almost killed by them?”

  He tightened his grip on the bottle and narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to deny you had a hand in cleansing the field?”

  My lips dried up as I tried to think of a diplomatic answer. “I. . .I don’t know what happened there, okay? I just know one minute we were surrounded and the next, everything was falling into piles of dirt and rusty weapons.”

  He jumped to his feet and spun around to glare down at me. “Don’t try to deny it!”

  “I’m not denying anything! I really don’t know what went on there!” I insisted.

  “The others among your party are known to my people and they would have cleared the field ages ago if they had such power. Are you really trying to tell me you weren’t responsible for cleansing those souls?”

  I dropped my eyes to the bed cloth and bit my lower lip. “I. . .I think it was me who did it, but I don’t know how I did it.”

  He scoffed. “You don’t know how to use your magic? At your age?”

  I took a deep, shaky breath. “Look, even if I did know how to use my magic, which I don’t, why are you asking me about it?” I raised my eyes to him and it was my turn to look curious. “Why would you want to use it?”

  He lifted his chin slightly and a dark cloud settled on his brow. “You heard about my people being attacked. A whole village was wiped out in a single night.”

  My thoughts wandered back to the village Dadan and I had discovered, and it felt like someone squeezed my heart. “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want your condolences, I want your help. There was one survivor.” Wearg half-turned to the door and whistled.

  The door opened and one of the wolf men led a young boy of ten into the room. He was a handsome child with short brown hair and cherubic cheeks. His eyes, however, didn’t have the spry and mischievous glint one expected from such a boy. He was also hideously thin, with his shoulder bones sticking out of his shirt and his pants flapping against narrow legs.

  In fact, they were completely devoid of any emotion.

  My heart ached to see such apathy from someone so young. “What happened to him?”

  Wearg studied the young lad with pity. “We don’t know. He was perfectly normal before the attack but he was struck by some sort of sickness afterward. The illness has closed off his mind to us. We can barely get him to eat, much less react to our presence.” He knelt in front of me so our eyes met. “That’s why I brought you here. If you could cleanse the feld then you can cleanse whatever’s keeping this boy from talking.”

  My mouth dropped open. “But I can’t do that! I don’t know how!”

  His eyebrows crashed down. “Then you’ll stay here until you learn, and then my people can take revenge on whoever attacked us.”

  “This is nuts!” I insisted as I shook my head. “Why don’t you just tell the king of heaven or Prince Yushir about the boy? They might be able to help you!”

  He curled his lips back in a sneer. “They’ve had years to help us against our foe and they’ve done nothing. This is our battle now and they’ll either get out of the way or be thrown aside.”

  Hurried footsteps in the hall interrupted us and a fist frantically pounded against the door. “My king! I have news!”

  Wearg clenched his teeth and whipped his head toward the door. “What is it?”

  The door was swung open and one of his men took a step into the room. The soldier wore a sword on his belt and his face was pale. “My king, someone is crossing the Tianfeld and approaching the border!”

  Wearg scoffed. “Is that it?”

  “The scouts believe it’s Lord Eastwei!”

  My heart skipped a beat and I found the strength to sit up. “That means you’ll have to let me go.”

  Wearg studied me with a curious look in his eyes. “Interesting. If you mean that much to the former emperor then you must be prized indeed.” He leaned down so his face was even with mine and his voice was thick with determination. “Then means I won’t let you go without a fight. Bring the boy.”

  He turned and marched out of the room while his man led the boy out behind him. The door shut with an ominous slam behind them, leaving me alone.

  But not without hope.