Children of Night and Snow

40. The Dead Queen

We waited until the crowd dispersed, the atmosphere so tense we could cut it. But finally, we had an opportunity to approach the wall and look at what was clearly a writing on the wall. The smell of blood which was used to write it was horrible. Clearly not fresh. And I was mildly disturbed by the fact that I knew that now. But the message it conveyed somehow seemed even more menacing.

"Time is up. Your lives in ignorance are over." Demi read out loud. "Quite dramatic," she added with a smirk, possibly to ease the tension we all felt.

"They killed another wolf to do this. Is it really the words you find dramatic here, sis?" Devan replied dryly, earning a few chuckles. I felt sick at the thought though. And glad that my earlier shower helped me sober up a little because I wasn't sure my stomach would handle it otherwise.

"I remember father telling us about the last time this happened. It's like they follow the pattern," Demi ignored her brother and kept inspecting the writing instead.

"We might not have much time left to get ready then," Connor said while making himself comfortable on the now abandoned bench.

"We are as ready as we can be. The main thing now is for alpha to not underestimate the situation. They are literally repeating the same pattern from five decades ago. The town should be ready this time," Nolan replied, his arms sneaking around my waist and pulling me closer. Between our high body heat and my leathers, it seemed impossible to feel the freezing temperature surrounding us. The idea that I was once out here freezing nearly to death was a very distant memory.

"I don't know. I don't like this. Why repeat such a pattern unless you're confident you'll succeed?" Connor's words were somewhat haunting, like he knew what he was talking about, like whatever he remembered when he said this wasn't anything good at all. They made me feel strange, almost sad for him. There was something about my fellow thief, something dark. Like a shadow hanging over him. A shadow of the past I was curious about yet felt like I shouldn't ask.

"Being confident doesn't guarantee you anything. They are still nothing but sewer rats. And everyone knows where those crawl from. Now let's go home, Freya had questions," Devan dismissed him and started to walk away.

"Yeah, some of us also know where to find them and get them to do their dirty work," Connor hissed as he got up and walked straight past Devan, hitting the taller man with his shoulder. It was an unexpected display of anger which clearly caught Devan by surprise even if he barely showed it. Demi gave him an angry look and shook her head before she followed Connor. I was confused, but said nothing as we all began our silent walk back home. Was he just defending my honor to Devan? No, it had to be something else. I may have been a rogue for my first few weeks here, but was hardly one of the local ones. In fact, I had an issue to even survive on my own let alone help with whatever grand plan they had.

We got home shortly after and Nolan, Lucia and Connor went to take their turns in the shower. I took my cloak off and went straight into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea only to find Az doing the same already. Upon seeing me, he pulled a second mug out of the shelf and made some for both of us while I stood there leaning against the doorway, watching his moves in silence. I wanted to talk to him, but at the same time I didn't know how, or about what. He was a man of very few words. So, when he finished our drinks and wordlessly handed me my tea, I gave him a smile instead. And I felt like the corner of his mouth twitched upwards too. Just once, for a very brief moment, but it did.

"So, what's the deal with all this? You said Duskfall has a history with rogue attacks?" I asked when Az and I joined Demi, Devan and Aaron on the living room couch.

"Yeah, quite a rich one. Because of the market and the tunnels beneath, this place is even more prone to random rogue attacks. Especially during the times when there is only one monarch on the Ice Throne," Demi said.

"You said before that the queen is dead," I remembered our discussion about the curses and blessings surrounding the necklace I stole mere hours ago.

"She is. Has been for months. Which means a big part of the army cannot leave the Midnight City unless there is a major threat to the whole country, since there is no monarch to lead it into battle. Those units that do leave rarely reach this border as the major cities in the North are a priority for protection," Aaron explained.

"What about the king?" I asked.

"He can't leave the capital. There must always be a monarch in Midnight City. That's why the future royal couple must pass all the trials together. You can't just become the king and queen of this land. You have to pass all the tests, meet all the conditions. And then bind yourself to the Midnight City by ancient magic, which keeps it safe. This means that both king and queen are also the highest ranking army generals." The royal couple were equals here. It was a strange idea. Back in Summerlands, the wolf society relied on male heirs. The alpha was always considered a male, a successor of his father. There was no such thing as female alpha.

"So when one royal dies..." I began, my mind slowly connecting the dots.

"The other has to remain in the capital until he or she is replaced by the new royal couple. This leaves the cities vulnerable to rogue attacks because unless the threat is extended to an entire empire, a big part of the army stays put protecting the Midnight City and the remaining monarch. For we can't lose both. If both died, the walls of the Midnight City would crumble and our society would be in danger," Aaron finished the sentence for me.

 "And the last time this happened, the rogues attacked Duskfall?" I tried to focus on the topic at hand, not thinking about what it must be like to tie your life to something so important as the whole city, whole country.

"Yes. It was about fifty years ago. They caused quite a mess, but were eventually pushed back where they came from. The warning signs were the same though. A broken wall, writing in blood and then there was the dead body of one of the merchants," Nolan spoke as he approached us coming straight from the shower. He sat down behind me, allowing me to lean against his chest and get comfortable while he stole a sip of my tea.

"And now they are doing the exact same thing? Seems kinda like they are laughing at us all," I said, wondering what was now being done in order to prevent this.

"It's a stupid game of cat and mouse that our alpha is playing if you ask me. But if that bastard gets himself killed, I won't mourn him one bit. There is a whole crowd of hungry wolves to replace him anyway. All we can do is be ready and just wait this attack out," Devan shrugged like the possibility of a rogue attack didn't phase him at all. In fact, none of them seemed to care much. Other than Connor whose behavior took a drastic turn over the past couple of hours. And I couldn't help but wonder why. Maybe it was worth asking. Especially since nobody else in the group seemed to care much.

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Hi guys! We are now successfully 40 chapters in and with 33 more left to go! How do you like the story so far? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as it does keep me going to finish this story for you all!