Ten days until the war

The Alignment was happening in a few hours and all I could do was pace around the Council room in the Grand Cabin. Izel, Fletcher, Caesaria, and Raydir sat around the table. Maps and crumpled papers were splayed across the table and the floor. We had made almost no progress in the last few days, and Fletcher had insisted on almost twenty-four hour training.

“Arwyn, if you keep pacing like that you’re going to give me a migraine,” Raydir said, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “We’re not gonna get any closer to doing anything like that.”

“Okay, fine.” I threw my hands into the air. “What other suggestions do you have? The Alignment is tonight and we need to find a way to not shift to our wolf forms when Randel turns human.”

“How do we even know that Randel is going to turn human? How do we know that that’s even possible?” Fletcher asked.

“I know he can turn human because I’ve seen it,” I said.

“Yeah, but even you have to admit that was only because you almost fell off the top of the waterfall,” Caesaria reminded me.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “That’s a technicality. But you told me that when you caused that naturalistic event you saw Randel as human.”

“I did.” Cae bit her lip, looking around. She hadn’t revealed what she’d learned to the rest of our friends yet.

“So then why are we still wondering? The image you told me about—flowers, leaves, and berries? What if that was a grave? If the Flower Moon connects us to our mates, well maybe it does the same for rogues.”

“And for Randel, that would be Delia,” Cae mused. “But if Delia died…” Her gaze traveled up and around to each of us at the table.

“Alright, so Randel will become human on the Alignment tonight,” Fletcher said. “And we know the two of you have to be there. But how do you plan not to shift?”

“That’s where I come in,” Raydir piped up.

All eyes turned to him.

“The healers and I have been working for a while on a wolf suppressor. We haven’t quite had the chance to test it out yet, but it is ready for use.”

“So you want to use it tonight?” I asked. “Isn’t that a little risky?”

“Do we really have any other option?” Izel added. She entwined her fingers with Raydir’s.

Caesaria nudged me with her foot.

“You’re staring,” she whispered.

I cleared my throat. “Okay, so this wolf suppressor. When does it need to be consumed?”

Raydir shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, and how much needs to be consumed?”

“I…don’t know.”

My hand slipped down my face in frustration. “So we have a wolf suppressor potion but we have absolutely no idea how to use it and”—I checked my watch—“four hours before the Alignment?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well then we’re just going to have to wing it.”

“What?! Arwyn, we can’t. It’s too dangerous,” Cae protested.

I glanced at Raydir. “If Ray says it’ll work, we have to try. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

The room fell silent as unspoken tensions between us rose. Caesaria was right; this was going to be dangerous. But we really had no other choice.

As I opened my mouth to say something else, the door to the Council room burst open and Bennett and Rosie walked in.

“What is going on in here?” Bennett demanded. “The Council room is for Council matters only.”

“This is a council matter,” Caesaria replied. “All of us here in this room are part of the Council. We are working out a strategy for tonight’s Alignment that will help us in the war against the dukedoms.”

“Oh well, by all means, if this were a Council meeting, then please continue,” Bennett retorted. “Caesaria, you know better than to let such ideas go without approval from higher leadership.”

“This isn’t Cae’s fault,” I protested. “This meeting was my idea, so if you want to be angry at someone, be angry with me. But Bennett, we were just trying to help move things along. Cae and I…we’ve come into some new knowledge recently.”

“What kind of knowledge?” Rosie asked, taking a seat. Her expression softened as we spoke.

“Caesaria and I believe that we need to get the rogues on our side,” I said. “They are just like us, we cannot outcast them the way we’ve been outcast from the dukedoms.”

“And why is that so important?” Bennett asked, narrowing his eyes. Out of the two, I knew Bennett would be the hardest to convince. “We can’t trust the rogues unless we know more about them. And the only time they seem to show up is to attack.”

“We can trust them.” I locked eyes with Caesaria. “I…I’ve had a run-in with one rogue who I have a connection with. We’ve communicated and he trusts me.”

“Arwyn, I need more than a ‘connection’ for a solid case of why we can trust the rogues.” Bennett crossed his arms over his chest. “So my answer right now has to be—”

“It is more than a connection,” Caesaria interjected, standing up. “The rogue that Arwyn is talking about…I’ve seen him too. And more than that, we’re related.”

Silence fell over the room and the golden glow of the sun shone through the windows.

“Cae, you don’t have to,” I whispered to her.

She squeezed my hand and just nodded. “Randel, the first wolf, is a rogue who still roams the Darqua valley. He’s the one who Arwyn has communicated with, and more than that, I have communicated with him too. The four elemental wielders are one of the keys to defeating the dukedoms, but the other key is Randel. We need to join forces with the rogues because we need Randel to help us defeat the dukedoms.”

“And what was your plan to get the rogues to agree to help?” Bennett asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Raydir beat me to it.

“A wolf suppressor,” he said. “Arwyn and Caesaria will each take a small amount of the concoction which will allow them to remain human when the Alignment happens tonight. They’ll meet with Randel and hopefully be able to convince him to convince the other rogues that we need their help.”

Bennett gave us an unconvincing look, but sighed and said, “Don’t draw any unwanted attention. And let us know first thing tomorrow the result of your encounter with Randel.”

“Ben—”

“Arwyn, you and I both lost Arabella when the carriage was attacked that day. But if there’s anything that living out here in the valley for three years has taught me, it’s that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do. So, finalize your plan then leave the Council room. And this meeting never happened.”

When our meeting adjourned, Raydir promised us that he’d have the wolf suppressor prepared with enough time that Caesaria and I could get up to the top of the waterfall and find Randel before the Alignment took full effect.

“Thank you for doing this,” I said. Ray and I had decided to stick around after the meeting and take a walk like old times.

“You don’t have to thank me. You know I’d do it in a heartbeat, no questions asked.” He stopped and turned to face me. His green eyes scanned over my face.

I blushed, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t peel my gaze away from him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Raydir’s mouth twitched up into a smile. “You haven’t looked at me like that in a while.”

I bumped his leg with mine. “No reason. Just…we’ve grown so much since coming out here, but we’ve also grown apart. And I know that’s my fault.”

“It’s not entirely your fault,” Raydir said. “I pulled away too. But I’m glad that we’ve both had the opportunity to get a second chance.”

“Me too.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance, a clear sign that the Alignment was on its way. And like a magnetic pull, something in the air had Raydir and I leaning in towards each other.

“What are you doing?” I murmured, our lips inches apart.

“I don’t know.”

“Then maybe we should stop.”

“Maybe.”

Neither of us moved. Raydir’s breath was warm against my skin and a part of me yearned for more, yearned for what I’d missed out on with him. Our hearts beat to the same rhythm. Neither of us wanted to let go. We stayed there on the edge of anticipation, secretly urging the other to give in and make the first move.

“What the hell are you two doing?”

Caesaria’s voice caught us off guard, and we jumped up away from each other immediately.

“Cae, it’s not what it looks like,” I said, brushing off my pants.

She narrowed her eyes. “We need to all remain professional here. That means no overt hand-holding and no close talking or whatever it was that you two were just up to right now.”

I nodded. “Right. Well, um. See you in a few? Meet us at the lake an hour before the Alignment. That should be enough time.”

Raydir flickered his gaze between me and Caesaria. “See you then.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Night fell over the valley much too quickly. There wasn’t much time to back out of our plan, which was good because this was our last chance—our only chance—to find out what Randel knew and convince him to help us get the rogues on our side.

“Okay, there is enough of the wolf suppressor in each of these bottles for you to repress the wolf for the majority of the Alignment. Drink it right before and you should be set.” Raydir instructed.

“Wait a minute—the majority?” I asked. “Not all of it?”

Raydir shifted uncomfortably. “We’re not sure. But you’ll want Randel in your sights before the Alignment takes full effect.”

“Which means we have to find Delia’s grave before then.”

He nodded.

“Then we better get going.” Cae looked up at the sky. “We’ll see you later, Ray.”

“Good luck.” He squeezed my hand and gave a small nod in Caesaria’s direction. Once he was gone, I brought us to the top of the waterfall with a shakier landing than usual.

“Arwyn, we’re going to be okay,” Cae tried to reassure me. It didn’t work very well.

“Tell me that once we’ve succeeded.” I brushed my fingers up and down my arm and let out a small whistle. “We have to find Delia’s grave. Do you think you can remember anything more from your interaction with Randel?”

“Not really. It just comes in flashes. But I think I’ll know it when I see it.”

We walked through the brush, the same way we had gone ten days earlier when Cae had met Randel for the first time. A twig snapped behind us and we turned.

“Randel,” I said, reaching out my hand.

He immediately recognized me, whining and letting me brush my fingers through his fur.

“Hey there,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to his. Luckily, there was no weird unnaturalistic event this time, which made me wonder if Cae’s connection to Randel stemmed from their ancestry.

“Arwyn, ask him to show us where we need to go,” Cae said impatiently.

“Cae!” I protested. “I can’t just ask him that!”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She turned to Randel who cocked his head as she approached.

“Randel,” she said. “That place you showed me—where is it?”

Randel whimpered and glanced at me.

“It’s ok,” I soothed him. “Please, Randel, it's important.”

He lowered his head and began to sulk away. Caesaria and I followed quickly behind. He led us past the familiar landmarks—low branches, a fallen tree trunk, the boysenberry bush—until he stopped at a small patch covered in daisies.

“This is it,” Caesaria said. She crouched down to touch the dirt in front of the grave. “This is where we need to be.”

I handed her one of the wolf suppressor bottles and on the count of three, we drank from them.

“Ugh!” I wrinkled my nose. “You would think the healers would know how to mask the taste of this stuff.” I forced the rest of it down, wincing as it burned my throat.

Randel grunted and panted next to us, pawing at the ground. His ear flattened and his fur grew out around them into long red hair.

“What’s happening?” My heartbeat quickened, and I could feel the wolf spirit inside trying to take hold but the suppressor was taking effect, keeping it at bay.

Randel whimpered, his paws clawing at the ground before they elongated into fingers. He doubled down on his haunches as the fur receded.

“He’s morphing!” Cae said with a mixture of disbelief and awe in her voice.

Cae and I stood there in shock, clinging to each other. Randel had finished his transformation and towered over us, his eyes wide.

“W…a…t…e…r,” he croaked out, crouching to the ground and coughing.

“Water, right yeah of course.” I flicked my wrist and summoned a stream from the waterfall. A large bubble of water floated through the air toward Randel. He thrust out his hand taking control of it.

I let go and he drew the water toward his mouth, swallowing and breathing a sigh of relief.

“Randel?”

“Arwyn. Caesaria.” He nodded to each of us in turn. “We don’t have much time, so you’ll have to keep this brief.”

“We need to ask you a question,” I said.

“How are you human right now? I didn’t think it was actually possible.” Caesaria asked, waving her arms wildly. “How are you…twenty-five? You’ve been dead for like a hundred years.”

“Cae!” I spluttered.

“What? I want to know,” she huffed.

I shook my head in disbelief. “Randel, we need to ask you if the rogues can assist us in the war against the dukedoms.”

“Oh.” He pursed his lips in thought. “That can be arranged. If there is anything the rogue clan likes least of all in this world, it’s the dukedoms.”

“You can talk to the other rogues?” I asked.

Randel nodded. “Yes. Come back tomorrow evening and I will have the answer for you. But I must warn you—some of the rogues will be less willing than others. They are afraid of being seen as monsters. Your leader, Bennett, makes them uncomfortable.”

“Well, someone did kill my sister—Bennett’s fiance—three years ago,” I said, staring at the ground. “You can understand why he’s hesitant to trust.”

“Yet you have no issues at all trusting me,” Randel replied, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re different. You saved my life that day at the top of the falls. Do you remember?”

Randel nodded. “Indeed. We had met before then, though. Out on the lake when you were with that blonde man.”

I tucked my hair behind my ears. “Yeah, that was my fiance.”

“And then again with the one you called Darius.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, my current boyfriend. We don’t have much more time, Randel.” I glanced at Caesaria. “Cae found a dagger that she claims once belonged to you. She said she saw it in whatever vision you showed—”

“Yeah, how did you do that by the way?” Caesaria interjected. “Arwyn said you did the same thing to her when you showed her memories of her past. Although she seemed unfamiliar with the unnaturalistic event that happened when you showed me a vision. But then when she gave you the water just now, you could also control that.”

“We don’t have time for that right now, Cae,” I said. “So, the dagger. What’s the significance?”

“You’re going to need it in the fight against the dukedoms,” Randel explained. “And you’re going to need me to wield it.”

“But—”

“Ah!” Randel cried out clutching his arm.

I whirled around and found Darius holding a bow and notching another arrow pointed straight at Randel’s heart.

“No!” I screamed.