The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

The sound of the war horn above us is deafening; it makes all of the walls in the room shake and my heart beat faster. Noah comes rushing to us.

"Take him up to the library. It's the last place where they'll look and it will give you two a chance to escape if it comes to it," Noah tells Elden, "Vera, I need you."

I look at Elden and he nods. I make my way to Noah and he grabs my hand, squeezing it as we hurriedly make our way to the front of the castle. As we pass some guards in front of the healing room,' as they call it, Noah approaches one of the guards, "That guard from the southern border, how is he?"

"He's conscious, your Highness, it seems his wounds were not severe."

"It figures. Take him to the dungeons," he says, not giving the guard a chance to respond as we speed away. I just hear him calling after us,

"Ye- yes your Highness."

"What was that about?" I ask.

"I'll explain in a minute."

When we get to the front, we climb up to the tower where we find Eli with his arms crossed.

"Well, you were right, they're coming from the east," Eli hands Noah a pair of binoculars. After a quick look, he hands them to me, "What was that I heard about a guard from the south?" Eli asks.

"Harriet," Noah simply states.

Eli growls lightly and so do I.

"That rat," he says.

"It's ok. She's taken care of."

"What, did you kill her? I wanted Vera to get the chance," Eli says, not hiding his amusement as he looks at me.

"I sent Liam for her. It's up to him if he wants to leave with her or kill her himself."

"Hmm... I much rather behead rats fast if I'm honest with you, but I get it, Liam is still your friend." Eli says.

I turn to Noah and he's clenching his jaw. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for him to tell his friend that his mate is the mole they had been looking for all along. Not that I'm surprised, but it still must be a hard pill to swallow for Liam. "How long do you think it'll take them to get here?" Noah asks.

"Maybe half an hour. It's quite an army he's got. Vera are you sure most of them are human?" Eli replies.

"Positive," I say, "he's keeping them in the back. The first lines are lycan, I'm assuming to intimidate us."

"You assume correctly. Well, this will be interesting." Eli says.

Eli is the quintessential lycan I have come to realize; abides by tradition, looks down upon other species, and more importantly, loves to fight.

"Shut the main gates!" Noah shouts down, "no one gets in or out without my express authorization!"

"I think you should send out another mole," I say.

They both look at me.

"Well, with those numbers it's a matter of time before they breach, but if we can insert a mole that will direct them to a secondary entry or one of the tunnels inside, something narrow, we can be ready for them when they breach." Noah and Eli look at me, then to each other. Noah shrugs,

"Got anybody else to send over?" He asks.

"Oh, absolutely. Let's do that secondary entry you used to sneak out of when you were younger."

He turns to leave, but before he does, he ruffles the top of my head. "Atta girl!" he says with a devilish grin.

I stay quiet for a moment as he leaves, processing what he just did.

I blink at Noah.

"Did he just pet me like a dog?" I ask him in disbelief.

Noah laughs and again looks out through the binoculars.

"They're moving slower than I thought. It might take them longer to get here," he pauses, "I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this. I think Alistair might have a few tricks up his sleeve." "Doesn't he always?" I say.This content © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

"Up until your vision, we didn't even know he had gathered an army of this magnitude. It makes me wonder what else we don't know."

"Even with his numbers we have the upper hand. This castle is basically impenetrable. Even if they manage to get in, they can't do it in great numbers unless they tear down the main entrance. In this scenario, the numbers are not that great of an advantage." "Exactly. Alistair is a coward but he's not an idiot."

"Maybe that's what he's counting on, to overwhelm us slowly. He has no regard for life, not lycan nor human, he doesn't care how many die in the attempt to take the castle."

Noah stays silent.

It's difficult to imagine what's going on in his head right now. Everything I know about war strategies and real life combat comes from books I read back in school, but Noah has lived through it; and now I'm about to live through it too.

Fear finally sinks in and my chest feels heavy. This could be the end for Noah and for me. Either of us could die any moment, or both of us. Alistair's army is massive, even if we do have the upper hand, there is no telling what Alistair is planning; he wouldn't be making a move without feeling confident that he could take the castle, but what's his plan? My heart sinks the more I think about what we're about to face.

"Well, I sent out another mole with very clear instructions," Eli says, stepping behind us.

"Do they seem to be moving normally to you?" Noah says, handing Eli the binoculars.

Eli takes a look for several seconds.

"How can they be moving so slow? They should be halfway here already."

Eli hands me the binoculars and I take a look.

Now that they're a little closer, I can see them clearly. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo bn ib.com. Visit Jo b nib.com to read the complete chapters for free. The soldiers seem to be walking with such lethargy, it makes no sense. They're not even keeping a normal-slow pace; they're straight up dragging their feet.

"They look... asleep," I point out, taking another look through the binoculars to double check.

Eli grunts,

"Most boring war I've ever been in. I might as well take a nap while we wait for them."

I stay looking through the binoculars while Eli and Noah chat in the background; I'm not paying any attention to them, all of my focus is going to the army ahead.

I slow down my heartbeat, controlling my breathing and concentrating with intention, just like my aunt taught me.

And then I hear it, that distinct, faint ringing in my ears; one that I have come to understand well.

It's the presence of magic.