Chapter 329
Ellie’s POV
I plucked the Ghost’s Whisper carefully from the base of the tree and tucked it into the waistband of my pants, hidden beneath the tunic. My bodyguard hadn’t seen it. He was too busy kicking at a log, bored out of his mind.
“Got what you need?” he asked as I stood, walking over to him.
“Almost,” I said. I grabbed a few random plants nearby, enough to make it believable, and held them up for him to see. “These will help too.”
He grunted and gestured for me to move. We headed back toward the camp in silence. I hoped he couldn’t hear my heart pounding the entire way.
By the time we returned, the sun was already dipping below its zenith. The camp was buzzing with activity; people were stringing up torches, hauling out drums, setting up what looked like an altar in the center of the clearing.
Gareth was waiting for me at the entrance to the longhouse. He looked pleased to see that I had returned without a fuss.
“Did you find what you needed?” he asked.
“I did,” I said, holding up the decoy plants.
“Good.” He gestured toward the longhouse. “Go inside. The women will prepare you for the ceremony.”
I walked past him and into the building. The moment I was inside, three women surrounded me. Mira was one of them.
“Come,” she said, taking my arm. “We don’t have much time.”
They led me to a smaller room off to the side where a basin of water and various jars of paint had been set out. One of the women started undressing me while another began mixing the paints. I pulled the Ghost’s Whisper out and set it on the vanity.
Mira glanced at the flowers. “What is that?” she asked, reaching for them. “They’re beautiful.”
I slapped her hand away. “It’s a ceremonial flower for fertility,” I said. “Not to be touched by anyone but the Queen.”
Mira nodded, not bothering to ask more questions.
I stood there as they stripped me down to nothing, then began applying the paint to my skin. It was cold and thick, and it smelled like herbs and ash. They painted patterns across my chest, down my arms, along my stomach. Spirals and lines and symbols that all curved into one another. It was honestly beautiful. I might have spent more time appreciating it had my mind not been racing with escape plans.
By the time they were finished, my skin was covered in white and red paint, and my hair had been braided with flowers and beads woven throughout. They dressed me in a thin white dress that seemed to be made of the same sheer fabric that the first dress had been made of.
Lastly, I slipped the Ghost’s Whisper petals into my hair. Amongst the other flowers, they looked perfectly
normal.
“Beautiful,” Mira said, stepping back. “Are you ready?”
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Chapter 420
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I wasn’t. But I nodded anyway.
They led me out of the longhouse and toward the center of the camp. The sun had set completely by now, and the torches cast everything in flickering orange light. The drums had started to play a low, steady beat that seemed to vibrate through my chest.
My throat bobbed as we approached the altar, where the entire tribe had gathered to watch. A priestess with feathers in her hair and a mask that looked like the face of an owl was standing there, praying quietly. Gareth was waiting for me as well. He was shirtless, his chest painted similarly to mine. He smiled when he saw me and extended his hand.
“My Queen,” he said.
I took his hand. His palm was rough and calloused, and his grip was too tight.
He led me to the center of the circle. The drums grew louder as the priestess began to chant in a language I didn’t understand. The crowd joined in, their voices rising and falling in time with the drums.
Gareth turned to face me. His one good eye was gleaming in the torchlight.
“Tonight,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “we begin a new era. Tonight, the bloodline of the Lycans returns to our people. Tonight, we will take the first step toward glory.”
The crowd roared their approval.
The priestess stepped closer and raised her hands. She dipped her fingers into a bowl of something dark and bloody-looking, and smeared it across Gareth’s forehead, then mine.
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. I needed to time this perfectly. Too soon, and the invisibility would wear off before I could make it far, allowing them to catch me. Too late, and Gareth would mark me, and I would be bound to him forever.
The priestess continued her chanting. Gareth took my hands in his and pulled me closer.
“Are you ready?” he asked quietly.
I nodded.
He leaned in, his mouth moving toward the spot on my neck where Dominic had marked me all those months ago. I could feel his breath against my skin, hot and damp.
Shutting my eyes, I reached up, pretending to adjust one of the flowers in my hair. My fingers closed around one of the Ghost’s Whisper petals. I pulled it free and slipped it into my mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing.
It tasted bitter and made me want to gag, but I forced it down.
Gareth’s teeth grazed my neck.
Nothing happened.
Panic shot through me. What if the plant didn’t work? What if I’d picked the wrong one? What if-
Suddenly, a tingling sensation spread through my body, starting at my fingertips and radiating outward. My skin felt strange, like it was buzzing. The world around me seemed to shift, colors bleeding together and sounds growing muffled.
Gareth pulled back suddenly. His eye went wide.
Chapter 329
+25 Bonus
“What-” he started to say, but the words died in his throat.
He was staring right through me. Not at me. Through me.
I looked down at my hands. They were gone. Or rather, I knew they were still there, but I could barely see them. They looked like they were made of the clearest glass I’d ever seen.
The crowd gasped, and the drums stopped.
Gareth spun around, his eye darting frantically across the clearing. “My Queen!” he roared. “Where are you?”
I didn’t wait to see what happened next. I turned and ran.
The crowd was in chaos. People were shouting, pushing, running in circles as Gareth barked orders. I slipped between them easily, invisible and silent.
I made it to the edge of the clearing and plunged into the forest.
Branches whipped at me, reopening the wounds that had barely had time to close since yesterday. Behind me, I heard Gareth’s voice bellowing through the forest. “Find her! Search the forest! She can’t have gone far-”
Suddenly, his voice cut off as a howl sliced through the air. More and more howls followed it, immediately chased by the sound of more shouts and snarls.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t look back.I pushed myself harder, running faster than I’d ever run in my life. The forest was dark and thick, and I had no idea where I was going.
I just knew I had to keep moving.
