Alaric POV
I fought hard to protect Sophie. The rogues circled us like vultures. I felt the heat of her breath. Her small hand gripped my tunic.
I swung my blade in arcs. Steel met flesh. I heard the wet sound of impacts. There were too many of them.
I saw Sophie's face. Her skin was pale. Her eyes rolled back. She headed for the ground. I caught her before she hit the dirt. My heart stopped.
"Sophie!" I roared.
She did not answer. She was limp in my arms. Seeing her fall changed something inside me.
A hot fire burned in my chest. My bones snapped. My skin stretched. I did not care about the pain of the change.
I became very angry. I shifted into my wolf form. My clothes tore. My vision turned red. I let out a howl that shook the trees.
I tore most of the rogues in pieces. I used my claws to rip through their bones. I used my teeth to crush throats. I moved with rage.
They came from every side. They tried to overshadow me. They wanted to reach for Sophie.
I stood over her body. I was like mountain. They would pass through me before they can get to her.
I snapped at the air. I felt the warm spray of blood on my muzzle. I killed three rogues in one lunging bite. Still, they kept coming. They were like a tide of shadows.
Soon they were too many. I was tired. My wounds bled. I looked at Sophie. I prepared to die here to keep her safe. Then the air changed.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
I just kept hearing arrows flying in the sky. They whistled through the leaves. Many of the rogues fell to the ground.
The arrows were precise. They were palace grade. Most of the rogues were on the ground now. The remaining few turned to run. They were cut down before they reached the brush.
"Your Majesty! Sorry I am late!" Cassian shouted.
He rode a black horse. He led a line of palace guards. Their armor gleamed.
They jumped from their horses. They drew their swords to finish the fight. Cassian jumped down before his horse fully stopped. He ran toward me.
"You came just in time." I said.
I shifted back to my human form. The transition was fast. I did not care about my nakedness.
A guard brought me my tunic. I wore my tunic. I was a king again. I grabbed one of the rogues still breathing. I pinned him against a tree. His eyes were wide with terror.
"Who sent you?" I asked.
My voice a growl.
"Who ordered the hit on the chef?"
The rogue did not speak. He looked at me with hate. He brought out a hidden dagger. He cut his own throat before I could stop him. He slumped to the ground.
"These are trained assassins." Cassian said.
"They would rather die than spill the truth."
He looked at the bodies. "They are professionals. This was not a random attack."
"But who would have sent them against Sophie?" I asked.
"She is a chef. She is not a politician. Why do they want her dead?"
"Someone wants to win the competition by all means." Cassian said.
"They targeted her specifically." I said. "They ignored my throat to reach for hers."
"And how do you know we are in danger?" I asked him.
"Silas and Martha, the palace chefs came to me." Cassian explained.
"They had a rare message. It was a blank paper. It required the heat of a candle light to see the writing. When I saw the write up: The Chief Royal Chef is in trouble. That is what the message said. I knew I had to move. I left the palace at night so no one would notice. I gathered the fastest riders."
"Who gave them the message?" I asked.
"They don't know. They said the man dressed like an assassin. He covered all his body. They couldn't recognize him." Cassian said.
"He risked his life to send the word."
"You have done well, Cassian." I said.
I turned back to Sophie. I grabbed her in my hands. I sat on the ground. I pulled her head to my chest. I felt a sob rise in my throat. I did not care that my guards were watching. I did not care about my dignity. I began to weep.
"What happened to her?" Cassian asked.
He sounded really concerned.
He knelt beside us. He looked at her pale face. He reached out to check her pulse.
It seemed like he had grown to love Sophie. He never liked Elara like this. He treated Elara with duty. He treated Sophie with genuine care.
"I don't know." I said.
My voice shook.
"She just fell to the ground during the fight. I think the stress was too much on her. She hasn't slept. She hasn't eaten properly."
"She has been stressed for a while because of this competition." Cassian said.
"She has been working for days."
"She is the strongest woman I know." I whispered.
"She is." Cassian agreed.
"But even steel breaks under too much heat."
"I am the one who caused this." I said.
I looked at the satchel of herbs beside her.
"I brought her here. I put this burden on her shoulders."
"You gave her a chance, Alaric." Cassian said.
"She took it."
"I gave her a death sentence." I said.
"It is almost time." Cassian said.
He looked at the sun.
"They might start the competition without us. The Elders will be restless. They would be whispering by now."
"I don't care about any competition." I said.
I stroked Sophie's hair.
"Let them take the land. Let them take the crown. I just want her to wake up."
"The kingdom needs its King." Cassian said.
"The King needs his heart." I replied.
Ahem-kough. Kough-kough.
Sophie coughed. Her eyelids fluttered. I grabbed her hand. I squeezed it gently. Her fingers were cold.
"Ouch." She whispered.
She raised her hands to her head. She winced.
"My head hurts." She said.
"What happened?" She asked.
"You went unconscious." I said.
"You fainted while I was fighting."
"Oh Alaric." She said.
She looked at me. Her eyes were glassy.
"I am still here. I thought I had died. I thought I returned to my home."
My heart felt a cold squeeze. I could not hear her say she returned back. The thought of her leaving this world was worse than the thought of her dying. I gripped her tighter.
"No." I said.
"You are still here. You are still in Blackwood. You are here with me."
"It was so quiet there." She whispered.
"Stay in the noise with me." I said.
"I thought you would not be able to fight them all." Sophie said.
She looked at the bodies in the clearing. "There were so many. You were so good with the sword."
"Cassian came in time to help me." I said.
She looked around. She saw Cassian. She saw the palace guards in their capes. She saw the horses. Her eyes went wide. She realized the time.
"The pressure cooker!" Sophie jumped to her feet.
She stumbled. I caught her.
"Easy." I said.
"You are weak."
"Where is it?" She asked.
She was in a panic. Her eyes searched the dirt.
"Is it broken? Is the iron cracked?"
"It is here." I said.
I pointed to the iron vessel.
"It is intact. It did not break. The impact did not dent it."
"What about the cover?" She asked.
"The lid is the most important part."
"Kaelen said he would bring it in time." I replied.
"He is a man of his words. I believe he will do as he has said. He will meet us at the palace."
"We cannot cook without the lid." She said.
"The pressure will not build."
"Trust him, Sophie." I said.
"Where is Thomas and Roland?" Sophie asked.
She looked at the forest edge.
"Sire! We are here!" Roland shouted.
He emerged from the trees. Thomas was limping. He held Thomas by the shoulder. Thomas had a deep gash on his leg. His tunic was soaked in blood. Roland looked tired. His face was covered in soot.
"Ahhh! They are alive!" Sophie said.
Joy lit up her face.
She tried to run to them. I held her arm to keep her steady.
"What about the competition?" Sophie asked.
She looked at the sun.
"The sun is up. It is almost the Fifteenth Hour. We cannot get to the palace in time before they start. We are miles away."
"Forget about the competition." I said.
"I have to make sure you are well, Sophie. You can barely stand."
"And what if we lose?" she asked.
"I will bear the responsibility of my failure." I said.
"I caused this. I gave you limited time. I gave you a task that should take weeks to prepare for. I am the King. The blame is mine."
"We haven't lost yet." Sophie said.
"You can't even walk straight." I replied.
"I can cook sitting down if I have to." She said.
Thomas and Roland reached us now. They collapsed on a log.
"Thank goodness you are well, Sophie." Roland said.
He looked at Thomas. He punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"If not for me, this idiot would be dead." Roland said.
He was gesturing to Thomas. He was teasing him to hide his own fear. Thomas looked at him and rolled his eyes.
"Will you shut up?" Thomas asked.
"Is it not because I was trying to save you, this weak man, that I got injured?"
"Hahahaha!" Roland laughed.
"You were trying to save me? I am not hurt. You are hurt. Your leg is a mess. Who saved who?"
"I saved your life three times." Thomas said.
"I only count twice." Roland replied.
"The third was when I didn't let you eat those poisonous berries." Thomas said.
They continued to mock each other. We just stood there and laughed at them. The tension broke for a moment. It felt like we were a family.
Cassian moved to Roland. He brought out a leather kit. He began to treat the wound on Thomas's leg. He indeed knew what we were going through. He had prepared for every injury.
I checked Sophie again. I looked for any signs of the assassins' blades. I saw a thin red line on her palm.
"Sophie, your hands are wounded." I said.
"You are more injured than I am." She replied.
She pointed to my shoulder. The deep cut was still oozing blood. I looked at the scratches on my chest.
"I am a wolf." I said.
"I can heal. I will be fine. You are human. You need treatment. You need rest."
"The kingdom needs that harvest." She said.
"The kingdom needs a chef."
"Can you still compete?" I asked.
"I can call off the whole thing. I can tell the Elders there was an assassination attempt. They will have to delay."
"No." Sophie said.
She gripped the iron cooker.
"If you call it off, they win. They will say you made up the attack to cover for my failure. I will compete. In fact, I think we should leave now. We can meet them halfway."
"Are you sure, Sophie?" Cassian asked.
"I am sure." She said.
Cassian stood up. He whistled.
"I brought enough horses to carry us all." Cassian said.
"We do not have to trek back to the palace. If we ride hard, we might make it."
I took one horse. It was a sturdy brown stallion. I mounted it. I reached down and pulled Sophie up. I carried her on my horse. I placed her in front of me. She felt small. She felt fragile. I wrapped my arms around her to reach the reins.
"Is everyone mounted?" I asked.
"Yes, Sire." The guard captain said.
Cassian carried Roland. Thomas followed one of the guards on another horse. The rest of the guards formed a circle around us.
I looked at Sophie in front of me. She sat on the saddle. She held the pressure cooker so tight. She did not look at the blood on the ground. She looked at the road ahead.
"I am so sorry for putting you through all this." I said in my heart.
I leaned forward. I kissed the top of her head. She leaned back against my chest.
"Hold on." I whispered.
"I'm holding." She said.
We rode to the palace as fast as possible. We pushed the horses. We ignored everything. We ignored the pain in our limbs.
We reached the palace borders. I saw the towers. I heard the sound of the people.
"We are too late." Sophie whispered.
"Not yet." I said.
We reached the palace gates. The palace was a sea of faces. I saw everyone. I saw the High Elders raising their hands.
"It is time!" An elder shouted.
The guards were about to hit the Great Bell. The hammer was inches from the bronze.
The bell would signify that the competition starts. It would signify our forfeit.
"Don't you dare hit that bell!" I shouted.
