"Only Elders can turn humans into shifters, Rem. You really weren’t paying attention sometimes, were you? We needed the Elders to do their work. Once turned and healthy enough for travel, we were ordered to take the Silvers. The queen here recognizes that with the witches joining the hunters, the shifters are going to lose, so she’s saving her and her pack’s hide," Mavis said, as if it were obvious.
Rem and the others stared at Mavis like she admitted to skinning the Alphas herself.
Mavis replied with, “Might want to tightenyourscrews, it seems.”
The Silvers in their wagon glared at Mavis. A few muttered under their breath, and a bound Katarina looked as if she might try to attack Mavis, even if it was just to bite her.
Rem glanced ahead to see the bridge was even closer.I can’t let Mavis get to me. I need to focus. What would a leader do?
She considered letting them carry her south, as eventually she’d be near Warden. But even then, Rem would never be able to navigate those lands. She could probably escape and survive off of raw meat, but she didn't know how to hunt, either.
Well, I’d obviously take Nia… She could help.Even then, she’d have to free her friend, who was on another carriage.
Was Rem capable of such an escape?
Did itmatterif she was? Rem couldn’t leave Scarlet. The hunters could be out in those lands, waiting for them. If she wanted to truly run for it, it would have to be from here, perhaps on the coastline. She had to travel somewhere the hunters weren’t expecting.
Somewhere that she was certain the wargs lived.
Rem thought her plan over in her head for before committing to it. Shia seemed to catch on, watching her carefully. Rem nodded to the driver, motioning moving towards him.
Shia nodded.
It was only one Silver, but enough to make Rem believe this was best for them.
They had to fight back.
Rem lunged at the human driver, punching him in the side of his head and hitting his jaw with abysmal form. It did the trick, though. Rem wasstrong, and humans were weak; his jaw shattered while her fist barely felt a thing. For a fraction of a second, she wanted to apologize to the man, but also knew she didn’t have time.
She grabbed the silver dagger from his holster, gripping it as he slumped over. She heard people cry out, a few shifters shouting angry words in Icelandic, but Rem ignored all of them as she grabbed the reins to slow the horse.
Shia reached over and helped with her bound hands.
Rem didn't like putting the other Silvers at risk, but she couldn't go out onto trails she didn't know. She had already been taken once with ease, and she would not provide these hunters that same luxury.
Quickly, the other carriages fell to the same attack as other Silvers stood up for themselves in succession. Once the carriages came to a halt, they were surrounded by shifters who had trailed on the side, many in their wolf form. Rem got out of the wooden wagon, her feet on solid cobblestone as the other Silvers surrounded her in defensive stances. All the drivers lost their silver weaponry, with at least half of the Silvers now wielding blades.
Only Mavis and Ashley remained in their wagons.
Rem surveyed the scene: the wagons had all stopped somewhere in the city proper, buildings surrounding them, although no citizen could be seen.
She also had absolutely no sense of direction.
One of the male shifters, in his wolf form, postured himself, biting at the air as his eyes glowed amber.
He lunged at them.
Jola shifted into a white wolf, the red robes absorbed into alabaster fur. She bit the male in the shoulder, and he clawed at her eye, to which Jola whimpered and released him, her clean fur stained vermilion.
“Rem, run for it!” Nia shouted, still on a wagon.
Rem forgot—Nia was bound with silver on her wrists and ankles as a means of mitigation.
How was she going to remove the silver chains from her?
Remdidrun, although towards her friend. A few of the shifters snapped and growled at Rem’s movement, although she heard a mention for them to wait for the queen.
“Nia, I am so sorry. I forgot. I cannot believe I forgot. I just, I justacted.”
