The Princess's Revenge Chapter 29

Valencia’s POV

In the distance, I could hear screams. People were shouting, crying out in panic. My blood turned to ice. Delphine was still in the courtyard, watching Isaiah's performance. She could be hurt.

Another explosion, closer this time. The ground beneath our feet trembled slightly. Whatever was happening, it was moving toward the castle.

"What the hell—" Dorian began.

His words were cut off by a scream directly behind us. I spun around to see one of the guards who had been patrolling the perimeter. A massive black wolf had its jaws clamped around the man's throat, shaking him like a rag doll. Blood sprayed across the stone platform.

"ROGUES!" Dorian roared.

The darkness beyond the torchlight suddenly filled with glowing red eyes. My blood turned to ice as I realized what was happening.

Another attack. The rogues were back.

His command snapped everyone into action. In seconds, Dorian became a massive brown wolf and Amara shifted a white wolf. Xander shifted into a gray wolf with amber eyes that burned with rage.

I gripped my dagger tighter, the red handle slick with sweat from my palm. Dragon Claw felt heavier than before, but it was all I had. I was just a wolfless with a weapon, facing rogues that could tear me apart.

The black wolf that had killed the guard let out a bone-chilling howl, its muzzle dripping with blood. Behind it, more shapes emerged from the shadows - at least twenty of them. Huge, snarling beasts with foam dripping from their fangs.

"Fight!" Dorian's wolf voice was deeper now, more primal. "Protect the pack!"

The battle erupted around me. Wolves crashed into each other with snarls and snapping teeth. The sound of claws scraping against stone mixed with growls and yelps of pain. Blood sprayed across the training ground.

I pressed my back against the stone wall, trying to stay out of the main fight. But two black rogues broke away from the pack and came straight for me. Their red eyes fixed on me like I was prey.

The first one lunged. I rolled to the side, barely avoiding its snapping jaws. The second rogue was already moving, trying to cut off my escape. I slashed with my dagger, the blade catching the first wolf across the shoulder. It yelped but didn't slow down.

"Come on," I whispered to myself. "You fucking idiots."

The rogues circled me now, their movements coordinated like they had done this before. One feinted left while the other attacked from the right. I managed to dodge again, but barely. My chemise tore as claws raked across my left arm. Blood ran down to my elbow.

Pain shot through me, but I didn't have time to think about it. The wolves pressed their attack. One clamped its jaws around my leg, and I screamed as teeth pierced my skin. I drove my dagger down into its neck, and it released me with a howl.

The second wolf hit me in the back, sending me sprawling. My face scraped against the rough stone. I rolled over just in time to see massive jaws coming for my throat. I got my dagger up, holding the rogue back with the blade pressed against its chest.

Its weight crushed down on me. Saliva dripped from its fangs onto my face. I could smell the death on its breath. My arms shook with the effort of keeping it away from my neck.

"Get off me!" I grunted, trying to push it back.

The wolf I had stabbed was getting back up, blood matting its black fur. Both of them would be on me in seconds. I was trapped with nowhere to run.

I looked around desperately for help. Dorian was locked in combat with three rogues at once, his brown fur streaked with blood. Xander and Amara were fighting back-to-back against a pack of five. The other warriors were scattered across the training ground.

No one was coming to save me. I was going to die here.

The wounded rogue limped toward me while I struggled with the one pinning me down. My strength was failing. The dagger slipped in my grip. The wolf's jaws inched closer to my throat.

Desperation filled me. This couldn't be how it ended. Not after everything I had survived.

I don’t want to die now.

Something deep inside me stirred. It felt like anger, but stronger. It burned through my chest and spread to my limbs like fire in my veins.

"NO!" I screamed.

The rage exploded out of me. My muscles seemed to expand with power. My vision became clearer. Even my hearing improved.

I drove my dagger up with force I didn't know I possessed. The blade punched through the rogue's chest and out its back. Its eyes went wide with shock before the light faded from them. I yanked the blade out in one swift motion, blood splattering all over my face.

I threw the dead wolf off me and sprang to my feet. The second rogue charged, but I was ready. I moved faster than I should have been able to move, sidestepping its attack and slashing across its throat in one fluid motion. Blood sprayed across the stone as it collapsed.

I stood there breathing hard, staring at the two dead rogues at my feet. What had just happened to me? Where had that strength come from?

A massive howl cut through the night. I looked up to see Dorian’s wolf standing over several dead rogues. "Retreat to the stone building!" he commanded. "Fall back now!"

The warriors and guards were all dead, their bodies torn apart and blood splattered everywhere. The three wolves of Dorian, Xander, and Amara ran toward the stone hut.

I dragged my wounded body across the training ground, my left arm hanging useless at my side. Blood ran down my leg from the bite wound, leaving a trail behind me. Each step sent pain shooting through my body, but I forced myself to keep moving.

Behind me, I could hear the rogues destroying the torches. One by one, the lights went out until the training ground was plunged into darkness. But strangely, they didn't pursue us. They could have easily caught up to our wounded group.

I stumbled through the door of the stone building just as Dorian shifted back. His body was covered in cuts and bite marks. Blood ran from a gash on his forehead. Xander and Amara followed suit, both battered and bleeding.

Dorian's chest rose and fell rapidly as he leaned against the stone wall, trying to catch his breath.

The sound of footsteps grew fainter in the distance. "They're heading toward the castle," I said, my voice tight with fear.

Dorian's face was pale, blood trickling from a cut above his eyebrow. He pressed his hand against a deep wound on his side, trying to stem the bleeding. Despite his injuries, his voice was firm when he spoke.

"Xander, you're with me. We need to get to the castle and help defend our people." He turned to Amara, who was examining her own wounds. "Amara, you need to get to Ironwatch Border. Find Alpha Logan and tell him what's happening. Tell him to bring every warrior he can spare back here immediately."