Other Elders came to collect blood from the Silvers by cutting their palms with steel blades. Rem was nervous, given her last encounter with blood magic, but the situation demanded obedience. They gave her a fresh strip of cloth to wrap around the fresh wound, Rem’s adrenaline too high to feel the sting of the metal or ache of her wound.
All at once, the Elders tossed the bloody weapons into the fire, the color of the flames turning gray.No, silver.
Howls erupted around them, like a chorus of smooth violins.
The Arch shouted something, and another Elder echoed it in English, “The Silvers will burn the hunters! They will be our cutting weapon!”
A chill swept over Rem, colder than any metal she could wear. The scene and words before her were full of energy—fire, smoke, magic, silver, and shifters.
They belonged to them now, as how could these shifters ever let the Silvers go?
With little pause, the Elders motioned for the Silvers to rise and were moved to the adjacent seating next to the sovereigns. Rem glanced to the supposed king and queen, eyeing their crystal crowns. The queen shot her a glare, and Rem quickly dropped her gaze to sit on the cold wooden chair. Even the metal chains on her body lost their heat, and she stared ahead as the fire slowly returned to its golden dance.
She searched for the Wardens, wishing she had Nia.This is all going wrong. I am not supposed to be a spectacle. I am supposed to just win Ronan over. This is complicating everything for me.
Keeping her lightly bandaged hand in her lap, she rapped her other fingers on the old wooden table, unable to see past the flames that marred her vision from the blinding light. The vibrations of drums echoed through the table. Shifters sang and danced as the pyre was restocked with more wood, the rumbling growing stronger. Dancers moved with a wild elegance to the tempo, the bare parts of their bodies glistening as if they were oiled.
The world around was so alive, and yet, she felt so drained. The ever-swelling moon cast a strong light, the torches filling in what the glow could not touch.
Rem stared with an empty gaze after a time, not really watching the show. She was too tired, and now growing cold, her mind weighed down by a thousand thoughts. She glanced over at Ronan’s area once more, able to faintly make out where he was, torches lit alongside him. He was speaking with Suna, who sat at his once vacant side.
It was too far to see who exactly he looked at, but it was clear he was looking at the Silvers as he spoke.
“Your Alpha is not happy,” said a quiet voice next to her.
Rem looked at the Silver next to her. She was a mousy thing with a round face, her silver hair braided into the tiniest knot at the back of her head, her hair almost too short for the look. Rem eyed a scar on her face that trailed down the side.I wonder if she got that here as I got mine.
“Perhaps he doesn’t like pyres.”
The Silver gave a faint smile, the fires around glinting off of her silver mesh. “I doubt that’s the reason. The Arch Elder, Tania, just said some important stuff.”
“You speak Icelandic?”
“Yes. I have been learning it for a few years now, as my parents always thought it useful. Turns out their intuition was incredibly correct.”
“Well, what did she say?”
Her bright blue eyes lit up, and she nearly whispered, “We might have some control over the wargs… Oh, and our powers will be transferred to our mate” —her lively expression dwindled like the pyre— “but she also just said that we belong to Scarlet now, not to the packs that brought us.”
Rem frowned, furrowing her brows. “What?”
The Silver nodded, reflecting the same shock. “That’s why we are staying in the townhouse, I imagine. That makes sense, now.”
“They can’t just do that.”
“Apparently, they can. None of the Alphas protested.”
Rem shook her head, her heart pounding.No, this is going all wrong.
"I’m Loral, by the way."
"Rem,” she quickly replied, swallowing thickly as she tried to process this news. She looked back up at Ronan, his gaze still locked on the Silvers.
Loral gently nodded. "I know."
"You do?"
"Mavis mentioned you."
