Page 2 of Ashes

If I’m going to escape, now’s the time—before they start asking questions—because there’s no way a wolf can take a polar bear in a fight. I’ve only met one in my life, and it’s an experience I never intend to repeat.

I slide out of my chair, pull off my shoes, and leave them beneath the table as I tiptoe outside.Despite the cold, they’ve left the door open. Perhaps they thought the cool air would keep them awake. They must be more tired than they thought.

Just beyond the large kitchen windows, stone steps lead down to a large fountain. Beyond it, a cluster of pine trees.

I run, bare feet slickening with the moisture of the cold grass. When I reach the trees, I stop. My heart is pounding so loudly I can barely hear anything else, but I hear her.

Mother.

I weave through the trees. She’s calling me. I follow her scent. I’m about to shift when something stops me. An invisible shield hits me smack in the middle of my chest. The air shivers. I try to move forward but it won’t let me through. Like a pane of glass, the shield prevents me from leaving the grounds of the mansion.

They don’t want you to leave…Mother’s voice is in my head. I turn, searching for her, then see her pale eyes in the darkness.

She stops several feet in front of me.I can’t come closer.Spells. Powerful ones, she says.

She sits back on her haunches and stares up at me, tilting her head. Her fur is pure white, except for the dark scar that cuts down the side of her nose to the corner of her mouth. Her tail flicks and curls around her feet. It’s singed. A growl rumbles in my chest.

Nova did that to you?I ask, the witch’s name hot on my tongue.

Mother blinks at me.No. The fire mage.

I look back in the direction of the house. He hurt her. I should make him pay.

Nico…

I crouch in front of her.Where’s Eve? Can she get me out?

Mother looks down at her paws. She licks her lips nervously. After a long moment, she meets my eyes.Nico, Ragnor wishes for you to stay.

“Stay?” My voice is too loud. She growls at me, so I whisper. “Stay? Why? What possible reason is there? He wanted to provoke her. It worked. You’ve seen what she is, what she can do. So, get Eve, tell her to do her thing. Take the girl back. Kill her. Whatever. Just—”

Mother’s snarl makes me stop talking. I lower my head.

We need time to regroup. While we do, you’ll stay undercover. Tell us what’s happening inside the house. What spells they’ve used to defend this place. You’ll be our eyes and ears.Her tone softens.It won’t be for long, Nico. We’ll get you out soon. We just need time.

Fear swells in my chest. I’m not cut out for this.

Schmoozing other celebrities, breaking bread with government officials, and feeding back the occasional secret is different. It’s low risk. The way I prefer it.

It’s no different from what you’ve been doing your whole life,Mother says sternly.Watch, learn, report. That’s all.

I bite the inside of my cheek. “Report. Watch.” I nod and stand up, straightening my shoulders, trying not to feel the grating of my burned skin against my shirt.

As if she senses it, Mother asks,Does it hurt? What Eve did?

“It’s all right,” I tell her.

She healed them, Mother adds, blinking slowly.

“Yes,” I say. “She did.”

I don’t tell her that, while they mightlookhealed, the scars on my torso are as raw and painful as you’d expect from burns that were inflicted just a few short hours ago.

You did well, Nico. Ragnor will be proud.

I look down at my wrist. At the bird. I try to smile but, somehow, the idea of making Ragnor proud doesn’t feel quite the same as it did before.

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