N/B Dual POV Ahead.
RAFE POV
The council chamber erupted into noise.
Elders shouted over each other. "The Sacred Grove is forbidden!"
"The Seer has been hidden for generations!"
"He will bring the Goddess's wrath down on us all!"
I didn't care about their myths, but I cared about the look on Luca's face, he'd gone pale, his grey eyes wide with a fear I hadn't seen even when Caleb held a knife to him.
This was bigger. It was a story that could get us killed by every wolf on the continent.
I pulled him to his feet, my hand firm on his arm. "We need to talk, now."
Kael saw us moving and held up a hand, silencing the room. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Somewhere we can breathe." I shot back, not breaking my stride, I didn't wait for permission.
I led Luca out of the chamber and into a side tunnel I'd spotted earlier, it was narrow and dark, but it was empty.
As soon as we were around the corner, Luca sagged against the wall. "A plague." he whispered, staring at the stone floor.
"He's telling everyone I'm a disease."
"He's scared," I said, turning to face him. I put my hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at me.
"You're Luca Throne, you're powerful, and he can't control you, so he has to make everyone else hate you first. It's what cowards do."
"But the Goddess, Rafe... what if she is angry?" His voice was small. "What if I really am a mistake?"
"Then she can get in line," I said, my voice hard.
"But we're not waiting around for divine judgment or for Caleb's little show, we're getting out of here."
That snapped his head up. "What? The rogues are protecting us."
"Are they?" I glanced back down the tunnel toward the chamber. "They assess me, they make you a symbol."
"Kael's first loyalty is to his people. If the Goddess really does show up, or if enough packs threaten war, you think he'll stand with us? He'll hand us over to save the Kindred."
I saw the logic hit him. His shoulders slumped. "So we run. Again."
"We run to something," I corrected. "Caleb has the Seer, he's going to the Sacred Grove. We'll get there first."
"We find out the truth about you, about this 'judgment,' on our own terms, not as prisoners in a cave, not as pieces in someone else's game."
A spark lit in his eyes. The spark I loved. Defiance. "How? This place is a fortress."
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "I've been paying attention, the main tunnel to the east, the one that smells like wet leaves, that's the one their hunting parties use.
"The guards change at sunset, there's a minute, maybe two, where the post is empty."
"You want to just walk out the front door?"
"No we need a distraction, something that pulls every rogue toward the center of the caverns." I looked at him.
"Something only you can do."
Understanding dawned on his face, followed by worry. "My power, you want me to... cause a scene."
"A big one, make the stones glow, give them a spectacle that has nothing to do with Caleb, right here in their home, while they're all looking at you, I'll get to the tunnel."
He grabbed my wrist. "We split up? No please Rafe, let's stay together."
"It's the only way, Luca, I can move faster alone to secure the path, you follow the second you can break away."
"We will meet at the tunnel mouth." I cupped his face.
"It'll work. Trust me."
His eyes searched mine, I could feel his heart hammering.
"Okay," he breathed finally. "Okay."
We didn't have a plan, not a real one. We had a desperate idea. But it was ours.
I leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't soft or sweet. It was a fierce, hard press of lips, a silent promise.
A transfer of courage, I poured everything I had into it, my fear for him, my need to protect him, my absolute certainty that we were real.
He kissed me back just as fiercely, his fingers tangling in my hair, holding me to him like an anchor.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"Don't get caught." I said, my forehead pressed against his.
"Don't get lost." he shot back, a weak smile touching his lips.
I gave his shoulder one last squeeze, then turned and melted into the darkness of the tunnel, heading east, toward the smell of wet leaves and freedom.
---
LUCA POV
I watched Rafe disappear into the dark. The kiss still burned on my lips.
Okay. You can do this. Just... make a scene.
I took a deep breath and walked back toward the main cavern, the heart of the Kindred camp was bustling. Rogues cooked over fires, mended weapons, and talked in low groups.
The news from the scouts had spread, I could feel the tension in the air, a new wariness in the glances thrown my way.
I needed a stage. My eyes landed on the Stone Circle a flat, wide platform of natural rock in the very center of the cavern, used for announcements. Perfect.
I climbed onto it. A few rogues nearby stopped to watch, curious.
Feel the bonds, my mother had said. They are your anchor.
I closed my eyes, I blocked out the noise, the smells, the fear. I reached not for the wild, scary power, but for the bond.
I followed it in my mind, feeling it stretch away from me, through the mountain, toward the eastern tunnel. He was moving. He was safe.
The bond was my truth. My power was part of that truth.
I let the feeling of it, the rightness, the love, the defiance fill me up, I didn't force it. I just let it overflow.
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
I opened my eyes. A soft silver light was emanating from my skin, just like in the trial. It lit up the immediate area around me. I held out my hands, and the light pulsed, gentle and beautiful.
More rogues were gathering, pointing. I saw Kael push his way to the front, his expression unreadable.
Now, give them a show.
I thought of Caleb, of his smug face, his words calling me a plague. Anger, hot and clean, mixed with the love from the bond. I channeled it all.
The light flared brighter. It shot up from me in thin, radiant beams, like a miniature silver sun.
The cavern walls began to shimmer, the deep, ancient stones soaked in the lunar energy and started to glow a faint blue.
The effect was breathtaking. The entire vast cavern was slowly illuminating with ethereal light. Rogues were staring, jaws slack, some reaching out to touch the glowing walls.
A low hum filled the air, it was the sound of the mountain itself vibrating, but to the wolves around me, it felt like something else.
It felt like the pack bonds those faint connections between rogue and rogue tingling, warming, strengthening for a brief, beautiful moment.
I heard whispers. "The Gift..." "He's healing the stone..." "It's a blessing..."
I had them. Every eye was on me, full of wonder, not fear.
Now, Luca. While they're dazzled.
I let the light dim, just a little, as if I was tiring. I took a step back on the platform, pretending to sway. The crowd murmured in concern.
This was my chance. I could slip off the back of the platform, into a side tunnel, and run to meet Rafe.
I took another step back.
A rough hand clamped down on my shoulder from behind, fingers digging in like iron.
"Not so fast, little light-show."
I tried to twist away, but the grip was too strong, I stumbled, falling against a broad chest covered in leather.
I looked up into the face of a huge rogue I'd never seen before. He wasn't one of Kael's usual guards, his eyes were dull and hungry yellow.
"Kael wants to keep you in a box." the rogue growled, his breath hot on my face. He started dragging me backward, away from the crowd, toward a dark, narrow tunnel I knew led to the deeper prison cells.
"But others think you're too valuable to leave lying around, we've got different plans for you."
I struggled, kicking out, but he just laughed and shook me like a rag doll. I looked desperately toward Kael, but the crowd, still buzzing from the light show, blocked his view.
The rogue leaned close, his voice a foul whisper only I could hear.
"Caleb's not the only one who knows about the Grove, and he's not the only one who wants to see what you can really do."
He said and shoved me into the dark tunnel.
