Chapter 2
Suddenly, I snatched the veil from the wall and wore it over my head. Another shriek echoed through the walls of the castle; this time it sounded achingly familiar. As I hurried out of the room and down the hallways, my nightgown tangled around my ankles. I thought of what could possibly be happening there right now. Another human slave about to be executed. My heart sank.
Upon reaching the throne room, the guards quickly opened the door.
Stepping inside, the noise immediately ceased as everyone turned to me. For a moment, I thought I was staring at a figment of my imagination. My lips parted in shock. Goosebumps crawled across my skin as I staggered forward. The shivers that went through my body were so intense I couldn't believe I wasn't hallucinating.
I found her kneeling on the floor with four others. Her face was swollen, her eyes red, and her lips were split. Blood dribbled down her face.
"Odessa, child…" The voice of my nursemaid was the only thing that made it believable that it was her. As I stepped closer, her body jolted forward but the guards abruptly pulled her back. She winced in pain.
"Let go of her!" I hurried toward her but suddenly froze at a deep, familiar voice.
"Go no further." The King's cold voice snapped my head toward him.
"Father?" I turned to him, bowing my head slightly.
"I didn't expect to see you, as this is a private meeting," he spoke.
"A private meeting that has my nursemaid roughly unrecognizable?" I asked.
"Sylvia has been found a traitor," he answered.
"A traitor?" I scoffed. When did Sylvia become a traitor?
"It sounds funny to you, doesn't it?" he queried. "It would absolutely astound you to find out that she's a spy."
My brows furrowed as I tried to process the words digging into my mind. "I don't understand."
"She is not who she portrays herself to be," he clarified. "She's a spy working for a group of rebels outside the castle."
I was aware of a group of rebels across the pack that had made several attempts at killing the king, but all were proven unsuccessful as the king had them put to death before they could act. Sylvia a rebel? It sounded absurd to me. I would never dream of Sylvia hurting even a fly.
"This must be a misunderstanding." I turned to her, but her eyes told me a different story.
"She has been working with these people for the past six months."
I stiffened.
"I know you might not be convinced, but the King is evil," Sylvia blurted. "You've seen him assassinate humans. He manipulates you into believing we're depraved."
The moment the words left her mouth, a guard dealt her face a heavy blow.
"You're hurting her!" I cried out.
"You speak to your king in that tone again and I will have your throat slit," he ordered, turning his gaze to me.
"She has been working with rebels who are planning to gather forces against me."
"That's not true."
The King snorted. "Is it? Why is it that your nursemaid is so busy at night? Do you know where she goes every night?"
As his words sank in, I began to remember. I remembered how Sylvia would be gone for a few days, and when I asked her what happened, she would tell me about her sick husband. But what if she was right? What if this was all a misunderstanding?
"She goes to her rebel friends and feeds them information about the castle."
"You branded me a traitor, but you are much worse than us," she spat. "You massacre us every day out of sheer malice."
"You mean corrupted humans who steal? Humans who assault their own kind?" At this, he turned to me with a look that said he was reminding me of my past.
"If their needs were met, do you think they would have committed theft?" she asked. "Poverty drove them."
Sylvia once told me a story that before werewolves became tyrants, they coexisted with humans. But over the years, humans established themselves high, and the werewolves grew envious of their success. When humans persevered in their claim to the land, werewolves fought and subdued them. They turned humans into slaves, and ensured that their connection and any rights to that land were forgotten.
"You know what amazes me about your kind?"
"Father," my voice came out faint, but I slowly forced myself to take a step forward.
The King glanced at me, fury burning in his eyes. Yet something about my expression touched him, and he relaxed.
"I don't blame you, child, for when I was your age I thought they were impeccable."
He speaks as if I wasn't a human myself. But when has father ever acknowledged my existence as a human? He would always regard me as a special creature he was still trying to unravel.
"We yearn for freedom," Sylvia snapped, pulling against the werewolves' grip. "You crushed us to build this pack with our sweat and blood. But you're wrong to assume we would not fight back. Regardless of whether you prevailed, we will never stop fighting until our land is reclaimed."
I took another step forward, gaze traveling between the King and Sylvia. The rage in his eyes flared as he let out a dark chuckle.
"Such brave words for a traitor about to die."
Sylvia turned to me. "Child, do not let the words of—"
The smile on her face slowly started melting away. Her brows tightened, hands going down, but her gaze never left me. I noticed something was wrong with her expression. As I followed her hand's movement to her stomach, I gasped. My eyes widened as I let out a scream. Hot tears stung my eyes. One moment my nursemaid was kneeling on the floor, and the next she was lying in a pool of her own blood with an arrow rooted inside her. When I turned to the King, he was on his feet with an arrow at his side.
"Sylvia?!" I took a step forward, hoping this was an act from Sylvia, that she would stand up soon, but nothing happened. I kept walking toward her until my legs gave out and I fell unconscious.