☠ Crown of Shadows ☠ (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 4: Into the Wastelands

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Celyna cursed, looking at the unconscious Lycan Heir at her feet. Everything had happened so fast that she still didn't know where the goblins had come from. Even the lycans had been caught off guard. All she knew, was that Nox had saved her life while she had been trying to find ways to kill him.

     The sounds of battle echoed around her. As she looked up, she could see her sentries, as well as all the others, fighting against the filthy creatures that dropped from the trees and pushed themselves from the earth. Their small, crowlike eyes almost seemed to glow as they were cut down one by one. At least that gave her some satisfaction.

     The dying lycan before her, despite what she had always thought––despite what her mother had told her––not so much.

     She carefully touched his chest, feeling his heart beat slowly against her hand. Blood was still flowing from the wound, but she knew it was just a matter of minutes before it would start healing. Before that time, she needed to pull the arrow from his flesh. It would be less than pleasant if she waited too long.

     She was trying to figure out how she was going to keep Nox from bleeding out if she pulled the arrow from his torso, when a large, white wolf walked up to her in quick strides. Black, foul-smelling blood was dripping from his muzzle, but even though his blue eyes shone with deadly wildness, she wasn't afraid.

     In a blink of an eye, the feral wolf was gone and a blonde young man dressed in leather armor ran up to her. It was one of the two brothers she had overheard earlier. The small stumble on his chin told her he was the younger one. Rhys, if she wasn't mistaken. He let his eyes shift over the other lycan underneath Celyna's hands, observing the large bolt that was still lodged inside Nox's chest.

     "What happened?" he asked, his hands examining the still bleeding wound with trained precision. He pulled apart the strong, thick leather strapped around Nox's body and hissed at the sight of the mess underneath.

     "I don't know," she answered truthfully. She had been too focused on the game she was playing––the game her mother had taught her––that she hadn't paid attention to anything other than the Lycan Heir. She looked at the destroyed tree behind her, knowing what would have been left of her if Nox hadn't pulled her from her horse. He was paying a heavy price for his selfless action. It almost seemed like the Gods didn't want him to save her. Or perhaps the Gods had long since left these lands and darkness wanted them all dead. Celyna swallowed hard, before turning back to Rhys. "It all happened so fast. Is he going to be alright?"

     "Lycans are tough," Rhys said, pulling the arrow from Nox's chest in a swift motion. While Celyna had been hesitant, he showed no sign of uncertainty as he ripped part of his sleeve from his arm and pressed it against the frayed wound.

     Celyna had expected the Lycan Heir to open his eyes and scream in pain, but he remained still, his face alarmingly pale while his chest rose and fell ever so slowly.

     "Our Alpha more than most," Rhys continued, smelling the tip of the sharp metal before growling at it and throwing it several feet away into the shadows. "Wolfsbane," he spat on the ground, his voice low and infused with disgust. He lifted his gaze up to her for a moment, the clear anger and hatred set in his eyes making her shiver. "They knew we were coming. We have to leave this forest now. Tell your sentries to move quickly. Worse creatures might be on their way."