Chapter 12

  The shadow of the mountain

  (Kane)

  Outside the castle walls, far below the ventilation shafts, Kane emerged from a hidden crevice in the rock. He was panting, his royal tunic torn and dusted with soot. He had used the "Whisper Tunnels"—passageways built for the royal family to escape during a siege—tunnels Alexandra had forgotten in her grief and anger.

  He knew he couldn't go back for Celeste. Not yet. He had to find the only other wolf who could move through these woods without being caught.

  "Koa!" he called out into the dark forest, his voice strained. "Koa, if you're out here, I need you!"

  The forest was silent for a long moment, the moon hanging low over the Iron-Ridge. He almost walked away, he sighed, looking down. There's no way he’s even here.. Kane sighed, turning around. Then, the bushes rustled. Kane snapped back around, eyes peering into the brambles. His eyes met a pair of amber eyes that caught the light, and the unmistakable garnet-red glow of a sword hilt shimmered in the darkness.

  “Koa,” Kane breathed out, sighing almost, in relief.

  Koa stepped out, his fur bristling and his figure becoming fully visible under the moonlight. "Kane? Why are you alone? Where’s my sister?"

  Kane stepped toward him slowly, as if cautious of saying what he was saying. "It’s Onyx, it has to be.” Kane whispered out, watching as Koa’s jaw tensed and his face flickered with recognition. “Is he perhaps a dark grey wolf…” Koa asked carefully.

  “He is…How.? What happened?” Kane asked, eyebrow raising slightly.

  “I saw him…he was the one who ordered the guards to not let me in” He explained,

  “It’s bad,” Koa paced, “They’ve put her in the heavy chains, Kane. Alexandra... She's not herself. She’s listening to every lie he tells. She thinks we’re working with the Loners to take the throne."

  Kane froze. The red aura around his hilt didn't just flare; it pulsed like a dying heart. "Heavy chains?" he repeated, the words tasting like poison. “Yes…wait,” Koa said, now fully processing the information. "We read about those in the scrolls in the royal library! Those are for murderers! For monsters! My sister spent her life fighting to keep people out of chains, and now your sister puts her in them?" His face contorted with annoyance, clearly fighting back a lot of things he wanted to say.

  The emotions hit Koa like strong waves. He had seen Alexandra’s softness, the way he had felt the warmth of her spirit beside him in the lake. The sun wasn’t nearly bright enough compared to her. But now? To imagine her —cold, sitting on that jagged throne, sentencing Celeste to the deep dark—it felt like a physical blow to his chest. His knees buckled for a second before he caught himself. What had he done?

  "I snapped at her, Kane," Koa admitted, not looking up still, his voice cracking with a sudden, raw guilt. "In the caves... She was defending Evelyn. She wouldn't believe that her mother was a murderer. I called her a stranger. I walked away from her when she was vulnerable, and I think... I think I left her right in Onyx's path."

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  Kane looked at the ground, his heart heavy. "Onyx is a master of the 'void,' Koa. He waits for a person to feel alone, and then he fills that emptiness with lies. You didn't push her; he pulled her."

  Koa looked up, his amber eyes wet with unshed tears, reflecting the garnet glow of his sword. "There’s more. Something I didn't tell Celeste. Something I didn't even want to believe myself until I saw the look on that guard's face today."

  Koa took a shaky breath. "My father didn't die in a fair fight. He was poisoned. Quick yet agonizing. I was there. Celeste was there. She poisoned him in his sleep and when he woke up to try to fight….he passed.” Koa looked up at him. “She did it,” his voice cracked as a tear streamed down his face. “She made this scar,” He said, gesturing to his scar along his side.

  Kane went perfectly still. He thought of his mother’s cold hands, the way she never spoke of the Rogue King with anything but disgust. He thought of the vials Onyx used to carry around all the time as a pup. Everyone told him to mind his business (mainly one annoyed Onyx) and he never pressed. It made sense, it all made sense now. The puzzle pieces didn't just fit; they locked together with a sickening snap.

  "I believe you," Kane said, looking up and meeting Koa’s eyes

  The words were quiet, echoing off the mountains.

  Koa’s eyes widened slightly. "You do? Just like that? She’s your blood, Kane."

  "She was my blood," Kane corrected, his voice hardening with a resolve that matched the steel of his sword. "But she was a tyrant. I’ve spent my life making excuses for her 'strength,' but strength doesn't require poison. If my family’s legacy is built on the murder of yours, then that legacy ends with me. Right here. In this forest."

  “Right now,” Koa agreed, looking into his eyes.

  Kane reached out, placing his paw firmly on Koa’s shoulder. "We are the sons of two kings who wanted something better than this.”

  Koa nodded and Kane’s paw fell back to his side, his face now thinking and plotting what they were going to do next.

  Koa’s aura flared again, his face flashing protectively, the red light turning the surrounding ferns into a deep, bloody crimson. "We have to go back and get Celeste."

  "No," Kane said, grabbing Koa’s shoulder. "If we go back now, we're just two more prisoners. We have to prove Onyx is lying.”

  “How?!” Koa said, clearly exasperated, flopping onto the ground in front of Kane.

  “Well…That’s Tbd…” Kane muttered, looking away awkwardly.

  “Oh lovely” Koa said sarcastically, sitting up and rolling his eyes but a smile on his mouth betrayed him.

  Koa looked back toward the castle, the stone towers looming like dark giants against the sky. His heart ached for his sister, but he knew Kane was right. He couldn’t do this and charge in like he always did. They had to wait, despite how hard he didn’t want to.

  "Fine," Koa growled, the red aura of his sword intensifying. "But if a single hair on Celeste's head is harmed while we're gone, I'm burning that castle to the ground." he said, almost promising the demise of everyone within it as long as she was hurt.

  Kane’s face lit up.

  “You’ve got an idea” Koa said, catching his face.

  “Yup, do you know where the Iron-Ridge is?” Kane asked, facing him and he stopped pacing.

  “Isn’t it the mountain just due west?” Koa asked, pointing in the general west direction as Kane nodded.

  “We need to go there,” Kane said, looking in the direction of the mountain, the looming stone towering over them despite the moonlight.

  “What are we doing there? Who’s there?” Koa asked, looking where he was looking, eyeing the mountain suspiciously.

  “We’re going to find the loners. And we’re going to find the truth, even if it takes risking everything.”

  End of Chapter 12