The Traitor by A. Lombardo (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

This is not your fight, Alpha, Kai said to the wolf’s mind. I will not let you fight for me, not this time.

He gleaned the woods, allowing his mind to wind through the trees to see his old friend one last time. Snow-covered branches gleamed with his magic, giving the gloomy day a much-needed brightness. Stopped in a thicket, the Alpha stood proudly with his pack. They heeded his request, but they did not leave.

Stay hidden, he told them. I must speak with the other humans.

Kai’s thoughts betrayed him, and he knew his true desire was to run away and start over.

Come with us, Beastmaster, and we can show you places no human ever treads.

Tempted by the thought, Kai took a few steps back into the forest, still clutching Rayna’s hand. Then a rustling sound brought Kai’s mind back to his body. Twisting his head around, he searched for the sound again. Rayna jutted her chin to the right. He raised his hands, ready to fight his attacker.

“You are off your game, boy,” a familiar voice shouted.

The tension level in Kai’s neck and shoulders relaxed, but only a little, when he heard his friend’s voice.

“Sabastian?” He craned his head to see around the tall snowy pines. His friend stepped out of the shadows with another familiar face. Kai could not believe his eyes. “Kendra? You both came.”

They were alone, so he assumed the worst, but hope still lingered. “Did you find Iver’s body?” he asked and knew the answer from the sadness Kendra could not hide.

“I am sorry.” Kendra took Rayna’s hand in hers, keeping her gaze on Kai. “Every rickety shack, abandoned farm, and cemetery between here and Black Bear Fort has turned up nothing. I questioned many travelers, even a few Katori, but nobody saw anyone trying to hide or dispose of a body. If you searched from here to Port Anahita; there is no place left to look. Whoever took Iver is simply—gone.”

Not wanting to be ungrateful, he looked away as he asked, “So, what are you doing here?” He hated saying it, but he did not want more people to suffer because of his mistake. “There is nothing left you can do for me. Being here could put you both in danger. I am not sure I can stop what is coming.”

“Sabastian and Kendra are here for the same reason we are,” Yulia called through the gloom. “We stand with you. You are our family.”

Kai turned to find Yulia and Riome trudging through the snow. A lump caught in his throat. Riome had warned him not to come back. What could he say to her? As she neared, he saw her expression held its own burden. Did she blame herself for not saving Iver? They both let the moment pass with a slight nod.

“Thank you for coming.” Kai's eyes wandered to the gloomy sky, and he asked Yulia, “Any chance you could make my last day sunny?”

She laughed and rolled her hands in a familiar motion. “Who do you think has been making all this snow?” Kai felt Yulia pull fiercely at the energy around them. “It is exhausting work; every few hours I stoke the clouds with new moisture. If proving your innocence meant coming back to Diu, I knew you would need cover. Your silver dragon shines in the moonlight, and I have made it snow nearly every day since I heard you broke out of prison, from here south to Port Anahita and west to Henley. My storm spread like none I have ever created.”

The clouds parted, and the afternoon sunshine warmed Kai’s face, making him almost feel hot with his thick cloak. “I do not suppose you were able to discover any clues about what happened to Iver’s body?”

Yulia shook her head. “My network did report your father Keegan came to Diu with six Beastmasters and two Kodama, and left carrying you from the city. The woman who witnessed your abduction did not interfere because your father has the reputation of a madman willing to murder anyone who gets in his way. Even we Katori avoid engaging with anything he does. She reported no other signs of anyone else being suspicious.”

“As best I can tell,” Riome said next, “your father never left the palace. He never left his bed. There is no blood trail—not one drop of blood around his bedchamber. Sure, I found stains on the rug next to the bed, supposedly the spot where his murderer stood and withdrew the blade. There were a few drops on the tile leading to the hallway, and a large spot where Nola fell and dropped the blade.”

Riome’s clinical response left Kai cold as he thought about standing in that very spot. He could almost feel the bloodstain on his hand, and he tried to wipe it away once more. “But how is that possible? There was so much blood. Maybe they wrapped him up in a cloth?” More questions bubbled up in his throat, too many to verbalize.

“The real question is: if Iver bled to death, where did all the blood go? Not into the bed. There was not enough to convince me he died in his bed, so where did he go?” She glanced around the group as if giving them time to soak up her conclusions. “Instead, I found singe marks on the canopy fringe. Silk burns slowly and recoils from fire, leaving behind a dark bead of gritty ash on the edge. There was a fire in that room—a small, controlled fire.”

Theories swirled around the group like a tornado. They had more questions than answers and no time. Kai interrupted the speculation. “So, we have all searched Diu and the surrounding towns and found no evidence of Iver leaving the city, so you would have us