Chapter 3: The Ambush Swapped

The signed treaty felt like a weight against my side, hidden under my leather armor. Lucius had signed it. I knew he was furious when he did it. He thought he was clever. I was not fooled. I could still see the anger in his eyes when he stamped his seal into the wax.

He thought that if I was dead I couldn't claim my land.. I was not going to die. Not this time.

"Commander, " Vance said quietly, breaking into my thoughts. His voice was barely louder than the wind blowing through the rocks. He stood beside me looking anxious as he peered over the edge of the cliff. "The men are in position in the passes of the canyon.. They are confused. They want to know why we left the road so soon after the King signed the treaty. The paths through these rocks are dangerous for the horses."

"A broken leg for a horse is better than a slit throat for a soldier, Vance," I said without looking at him. keeping my eyes locked on the empty dirt highway winding through the valley below us.

"Do you really think Lady Brenda would attack us tonight?" Vance asked with his hand on his sword. "We have a treaty now. If she breaks it, it means war with the court."

I let out a breath that misted in the cold air. Allies. What a joke.

"Lucius only signed the treaty because I forced him to, " I told Vance, turning to look at him. "He wanted my army to let their guard down.. He never planned to keep his promise. Brenda is just doing what Lucius told her to do."

I remembered what happened in my past life. I had marched down that road thinking Lucius really wanted me.. Brenda and her wolves had ambushed us, killing my men while they slept. I had barely escaped with my life.

"Brenda is there, " I said, pointing to the road. "She is waiting for us."

". How do you know that?" Vance asked, frowning. "Our scouts checked the road. Found nothing."

"The wolves don't hide where we look, " I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They hide in the shadows, where we can't see them. They are waiting for us."

Vance swallowed hard looking at the road then back at me. "If you are right we left our decoy wagons there with nothing but straw inside. If they attack they will know it's a trick."

"That's what I want, " I said quietly. "I want Brenda to know that I am not a fool."

then a low thud echoed from the upper ridges. It was our signal.

"They're moving, " I whispered.

I pulled my cloak tighter. Crawled closer to the edge of the cliff looking down. Vance dropped down beside me, his breath catching.

For a minute everything was still. The road was empty and quiet. Then our decoy wagons moved slowly down the track pulled by mules and driven by my most experienced riders. To anyone watching it looked like a convoy.

"I don't see anything, " Vance whispered after a while. "Maybe the scouts were right. Maybe Brenda is not coming."

"Watch the trees, " I said, pointing to a patch of pines. "The wind is blowing one way. The branches are moving the other way."

Vance squinted into the dark. Then his body went rigid.

A massive shadow detached itself from the trees. Then another.. Another. They were wolves moving silently and fast. They didn't howl. They moved like ghosts across the grass converging on the road.

"By the gods " Vance breathed, his hand gripping my arm tightly. "There are dozens of them. That's Brenda's pack. The Iron Fang vanguard."

"Seventy wolves, " I said, with a cold voice . "They brought seventy killers to wipe out my guard. Lucius wanted to make sure I didn't survive the night."

"We would have been killed, " Vance stammered, with a pale face "If we had stayed on that road Commander... We would all be dead."

"I know " I said softly remembering the horror of my life.. I pushed the memory away.

Below us the ambush erupted into chaos.

A giant grey wolf sprang from the rocks onto the wagon. It was Brenda. She slammed into the driver's seat, her jaws snapping.. The driver was not there. He had jumped clear just like I planned.

The other wolves swarmed the wagons tearing through the canvas tops and straw bundles. They expected to find sleeping soldiers. There was only straw.

The attack lasted less than a minute. Then the wolves realized something was wrong. There was no blood, no screams. Only the sound of ripping fabric and scattering grass.

The giant grey wolf leaped down from the wagon landing heavily in the road. Brenda began to shift her body changing from wolf to human. She stood in the middle of the wreckage, naked and furious.

She kicked a bundle of straw away, her chest heaving as she screamed into the night.

"Where is she?!" Brenda's voice echoed up the canyon walls. "Where is the rebel witch?"

Her soldiers shifted back, into form looking panicked and searching the woods.. They found nothing.

I stood up, stepping to the edge of the cliff. The wind caught my cloak making it snap like a flag. I knew Brenda couldn't see me clearly. I wanted her to feel my presence.

Vance stood up beside me drawing his sword with a ring.

"Should we tell the archers to get ready Commander?" Vance asked. He really wanted to fight back. We have the ground here. We can shoot arrows down at them now. We can finish Brenda tonight.

"No," a mean smile spread across my face as I looked down at the trap Brenda set for me that did not work. "Let her go back to Lucius and tell him she did not get me. I want to see the look on my fiancés face when he finds out I am still alive."

Down on the road Brenda stopped screaming all of a sudden. She felt something so she slowly looked up her yellow eyes looking up at the cliffs of the canyon.

Our eyes met across the vast, dark emptiness.

Brenda froze. The color completely drained from her face as she spotted our silhouettes standing tall against the moonlit sky, completely out of her reach. She realized instantly that she hadn't just missed her target, she had been completely outplayed. Her arrogant, vicious smirk completely vanished, replaced by a sudden, sickening look of pure terror.

Chapter 4:Den of Vipers

The massive black iron gates of the Fortress groaned as they swung open. I kept my chin high, as my boots continued clicking on the stone floor of the courtyard. The air inside these walls was different from the Red Valley. It smelled like stone, fancy perfume and blood.

"Keep your hand near your sword, Vance " I whispered with my lips barely moving.

"I haven't taken my fingers off it since we crossed the drawbridge, Commander," Vance whispered back. His voice was tense, vibrating with the natural panic of a human surrounded by a pack of pureblood wolves. "The way they are looking at us... it feels like we walked right into a slaughterhouse."

"It’s not a slaughterhouse yet," I said, looking straight ahead. "Right now, it’s just a theater. And we are the main act.”

All around the courtyard, royal guards in polished silver armor stood like statues, their yellow wolf eyes tracking my every move. They knew who I was. I was the rebel who had spent three years breaking their supply lines. But today, because of the paper tucked against my ribs, I was something else. I was the King's fiancé.

We walked up the grand stone stairs. Toward the big oak doors of the great feast hall. The sound of laughter, glasses clinking and loud music came through the wood. When the guards opened the doors the noise stopped.

The hall was huge. Hundreds of ranking wolves sat at long tables with roasted meat, wine and gold plates. At the end of the room Lucius sat on a raised platform. He wore a fancy dark velvet tunic with thread. He had a cup in his hand.

When he saw me walk in, his eyes flared with a dangerous, sharp light. He had expected Brenda to bring him my head in a sack this morning. Instead, I had walked through his front gates alive, untouched, and smiling.

"Ah the guest of honor has arrived!"

The voice cut through the quiet hall like a whip. It came from the center table.

Brenda stood up, a mocking smile plastered across her face. She was dressed in a sleek, dark gown that did nothing to hide the heavy muscles of a warrior. Her yellow eyes locked onto mine, burning with a mixture of lingering shock and pure hatred. She was still furious about the empty wagons in the canyon.

"Come in Commander Tiana, " Brenda called out. "We thought you had lost your way. Or maybe the journey was too scary for a human?"

Some of the lords chuckled. I didn't smile. I walked down the aisle. My eyes never left Lucius. He watched me quietly. He wanted to see how I would handle Brenda.

"The journey was nice, General Brenda, " I said. "The canyon paths are quiet at night. No distractions."

Brenda's face tightened. She knew what I meant.

"Well we must feed our ally " Brenda said. The word “ally” sounded like poison. She gestured toward a tiny, rickety wooden table placed at the very edge of the room, far away from the warmth of the roaring hearth and the high lords. It was a table meant for servants, or dogs.

Vance let out a breath. "Commander, this is an insult. They are treating you like an animal."

"Stay back Vance " I whispered.

Brenda leaned against the table grinning. "I hope the rebel appetite isn't too delicate. In the pack we eat according to our status.. Right now a human who sues for peace takes whatever scraps the wolves leave behind."

The lords laughed. They thought they were breaking my pride. They thought I would cry or start a fight.

I walked slowly to the table. I looked down at the bones. Then I looked at Brenda. Her face was close to mine. I turned my back on her.

I walked past the table. I marched up the stone steps of the raised platform. The royal guards stepped forward. Their spears blocked my path.

"Hold" Lucius commanded. The guards stopped. Lucius leaned forward. "Tiana. My general has provided a space for you. Why have you left it?"

"Because a general does not dictate the protocol of a kingdom, Lucius " I said. I used his name without his title. Some of the lords gasped.

"Careful human, " Lucius warned with a low and dangerous voice.

"I am not a guest, Lucius, " I said as I stepped closer. ". I am certainly not a servant to be fed scraps in the dark."

I pulled out the rolled parchment. The treaty.

I held it up high. The heavy golden wax of the seal caught the light.

"Three days ago the Alpha King signed this document " I announced. "This is not a surrender. This is a marriage contract. By the laws of the courts the moment the bloodline King puts his mark on this paper the woman named within it ceases to be an enemy."

I looked at Brenda. Her face was rigid with rage. Then I looked at Lucius.

"The woman named in this contract is the Luna of the Obsidian Court " I said. "She is the co-ruler of the Red Valley. She is the woman who will hold the keys to your fortresses by the end of the week."

Lucius didn't move. A small muscle twitched in his jaw. He knew I had him trapped.

"So I ask you, Alpha King, " I said. "Does the future Luna of this kingdom sit at the servants table?. Does she take the seat that is rightfully hers?"

Brenda marched up the steps. Her face was flushed with anger.

"Sire! Do not let this human disrespect your court! She is a rebel! She belongs in the dirt, not at the table!"

The lords began to shout.

"Throw her out!"

"Execute the human!"

"She has no right!"

The tension in the room snapped. Vance moved up to the base of the steps. His blade was out of its sheath. Brenda’s hand went to her dagger. Her wolf fangs lengthened. Her eyes turned yellow.

"Silence!" Lucius roared.

The power of his alpha voice slammed through the hall. The wooden rafters groaned. Some of the lords dropped their heads. Even Brenda stepped back.

Lucius slowly got up from his throne. He was a head taller than me. His big frame cast a shadow on my face as he walked around the oak table. He stepped down until he was standing in front of me. The air between us got really cold.

"You talk a lot about laws and seats, Tiana " Lucius said softly. His voice was low and scary. ". A seat at this table isn't given. You have to take it by being strong. You have a piece of paper.. You don't have the power to sit with wolves."

He smiled. It was a beautiful smile. It looked like he was promising something. He was daring me to move. He was waiting for me to be scared. He was waiting for me to realize that my body was no match for the monsters in the room.

I looked into Lucius's eyes. He was the man who had ordered my head to be cut off. I felt the coldness of the blade. I felt my own blood soaking the dirt. At that moment I wasn't scared anymore.

My hand moved fast. The wolves didn't even see it coming.

“THUD.”

A heavy silver dagger hit the King's table. It went three inches into the thick oak wood. The silver vibrated under the light as it made a metallic sound that echoed through the hall.

The dagger was an inch away from Lucius's cup.

Everyone in the room froze. Brenda gasped. She put her hand on her sword. Vance stopped breathing. No one had ever put a blade into the Kings table before. It was like saying I didn't care.

I kept my hand on the dagger, leaned over the table with my face inches away from Lucius's face.

"I didn't ask you if I could sit, Lucius, " I whispered. My voice was quiet and scary. It made his eyes widen in shock. "Move your general. I am taking my seat.”

Chapter 5: The Poisoned Lace

The heavy oak door of my quarters clicked shut, and the silence in the room was so loud it made my ears ring. I stood in front of the full-length mirror, staring at the girl looking back at me. Tiana. Same face, same dark skin, but the eyes? The eyes belonged to a woman who had already been to hell and bought a souvenir.

"Commander " Vance whispered. He was standing near the balcony. He looked like he hadn't slept for ages. "We do not have a lot of time. The court is already gathering for the evening assembly. Are you sure about this?"

"Vance, if you ask me if I am sure one more time I am going to get really angry " I said. I did not take my eyes off my reflection. I adjusted the collar of my leather tunic. "I know what I am doing. We played their game the last time and we got cheated. Not today."

"But the poison "

"I have the antidote here, " I said. I tapped the silver ring on my right middle finger. "I spent three hours this morning crushing ghost- roots. It tastes bad but it blocks the poison. I am fine."

There was a knock at the door. Vance's hand flew to his sword hilt and his body became rigid.

"Relax, " I said. "Act normal. Let Brenda in."

Vance took a breath and opened the door. Brenda was standing in the hallway with two set guards. She was dressed really nicely. Her eyes were still mean.

"Lady Brenda, " I said. I turned around slowly. I let my shoulders drop as i acted really meek. "Why are you here?"

Brenda stepped into the room. Looked around like he lost something."Tiana, I see you are adjusting to our hospitality. You look really tired. The mountain air can be tough on humans."

"I am managing, " I said. With a soft voice "It is different from the valley."

" Of course it is, " Brenda said. "I came to bring you a gift. The Alpha King is busy with merger and marriage preparation, I wanted to welcome you."

She signaled one of her guards. He gave her a small box. Brenda opened the box. Inside was a beautiful lace choker. It was made of silver threads and it had a deep-red stone in the center.

The moment the box opened the room filled with an aroma. It smelled like strawberries and rain.

Behind me, I heard Vance take a sharp breath. He didn't know what it was, but his warrior instincts were screaming. I knew exactly what it was. Wolfsbane-Rose. A highly restricted, slow-acting toxin. To a human, it didn't kill you right away. It just slowly ate away at your nervous system. First, your hands start shaking. Then, your vision blurs. Within a month, you're so weak you can barely stand up, let alone lead an army or swing a sword.

Brenda wanted to turn the fierce Rebel Commander into a helpless invalid before the wedding bells even rang.

"It is stunning, " I said. I acted really surprised. "I do not know what to say."

"You do not have to say anything, " Brenda said. She lifted the lace from the box. "It is a piece. Women of the court wear it to show their dedication."

Vance stepped forward. I stopped him. "Vance, back. Let Brenda put it on me."

Brenda put the choker on me. I felt the fine silver threads dig into my skin. The sweet scent of the Wolfsbane-Rose was overpowering.

Soon as the clasp locked into place I felt a numbness in my neck. It was like ice on my skin. My heart gave a thud.

"There it it " Brenda said. She stepped back. Clapped her hands. "Perfect. It suits you. You look compliant."

I turned around. Kept my face blank. "I appreciate it. I will wear it to the assembly tonight."

Brenda Left the room. Soon as she was gone Vance erupted.

"Tiana take that thing off!" he yelled. "I could smell the poison from across the room."

I stopped him. I stood still as the numbness was spreading up my neck. My tongue was feeling heavy.

"Back up Vance, " I said. "Do not touch it."

Vance was really angry. "You are letting them kill you! We need to leave this fortress."

I raised my hand. Pressed my thumb against the hidden mechanism on my silver ring. The small top flipped open. I scooped out the thick paste inside. I shoved it into my mouth. Swallowed it down.

The taste was really bad. It made me cough violently. I leaned against the war table. Gasped for air.

"Tiana, what did you just take?" Vance asked. He grabbed my shoulders to keep me steady.

"The cure, the antidote " I said. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. "The ghost-lily root is working. It is hunting down the toxin. Neutralizing it."

Slowly the numbness in my neck began to recede. It was replaced by a heat that flooded through my veins. My vision snapped back into focus. My hands stopped shaking.

I looked back in the mirror. The red stone was still resting against my skin. The venom it was pumping into me was being incinerated.

I whispered to myself a laugh coming out of my mouth. I fixed the lace around my neck making sure the necklace was easy to see. "She really thinks I am that naive " I said to myself.

Vance looked at me. "You risked your life just to prove this point?"

"I did not risk anything, Vance. I knew what she was trying to do." My voice was firm and calm. I turned to face him, my eyes burning with anger. "Brenda thinks she is the one winning here. She thinks she has control over me. Let her think that. Let Lucius think that. The more they think I am weak the less they will expect me to do something."

Vance said quietly "The meeting is starting. They are waiting for us."

" Let us go and give them a show." I said as we left my room. Walked down the dark corridors of the Obsidian Fortress. My boots made a noise on the stone floor. With every step I felt better and more angry.

When we got to the room the doors were open wide. The whole court was there. Many lords and ladies and warriors sitting in rows talking to each other. Lucius was standing in the middle of the room looking important and talking to his helpers.

Standing next to him was Brenda looking very happy with herself.

As I walked into the room everyone stopped talking. They all looked at me. I kept my head down as I walked slowly pretending to be weak. I did it well.

Brenda looked at my neck. Saw the dark silver lace and the red stone. She looked very happy and mean. She nudged the man next to her. Smiled. She thought she had won. She thought I was going to die

I walked up to the middle of the room. Stopped in front of the platform. I slowly raised my head pretending to struggle.. When I looked up, I did not look at the King. I looked straight at Brenda.

For a moment I looked weak. Then I looked her in the eye put my hand to my mouth and swallowed the rest of the medicine that was hidden under my tongue. My eyes flashed with strength and Brenda saw it.