Chapter 4 The Stone Speaks

The Council didn't disperse. It rearranged itself. The bonfire threw a spark into the sky, as if it wanted to join the conversation.

"They want to frighten us," said the white-haired man. "Or test us."

"Or announce that he's coming to claim what he believes is his," added the young man.

Everyone looked at Kael. He, for the first time since I'd met him, smiled. It wasn't a toothy grin. It was a brief smile that showed not joy, but resolve.

"Good. At noon we'll register the request for protection. By sunset, if they haven't crossed, we'll send a delegation. If they cross before then, I'll receive them at the stone."

The stone was the place of oaths and truths that admit no nuance. There, one speaks the truth.

"Lía," Kael turned to me. "I won't ask you to be at the stone if he comes. But if you want, you can."

My mouth went dry.

"I want to."

It wasn't that I wanted to see his face. Or hear that unbearable laugh again. It was that I had spent too many hours of my life in silence. And the stone didn't forgive silence.

"Then I'll prepare you," Kael said.

We left the circle. The camp had changed: guards in high positions, corridors, women carrying children to safety. No one shouted. No one disturbed the morning. The sun barely illuminated the rooftops.

"What will you do if he says he rescued you after your parents died?" Kael asked, now on the path, without looking at me, as if speaking to thin air.

"I'll say he locked me in a kitchen. That he took my name. That he used me as an example."

"Now. What will you do if he cites the custom of receiving alpha blood as an honor?"

"I'll ask where that honor was when he beat me. Where it was when he forbade me from training."

Kael turned his head once.

"What if he challenges me to a duel for you?"

"I'll ask if he recognizes me. If he sees me. If not, he has no claim."

"Good," he said. He stopped abruptly and looked at me. "What if he begs for forgiveness in exchange for letting you return in peace?"

My wolf laughed, truly. A laugh that bared my teeth and tongue.

"I'll tell him that peace doesn't live in a kitchen, but in a clean bed and an open window, in freedom."

The sun climbed higher in the sky. The camp smelled of flour and tempered metal. Mikel approached with a wide leather strap.

"So you don't strain your arm."

He helped me put it on.

At noon, the stone burned. Irene read aloud my name, the time, and the place of the shelter.

Everyone signed with their symbols. I left my mark with my good hand.

As evening fell, the first howl drew near. Mikel clenched his jaw. Eidan spat to the side. Ares swallowed and held his ground.

"They're coming," someone said.

I saw them before I smelled them. They positioned themselves along the line of trees, black and ochre. Argon stood in the center, tall with a broad back, smiling. I recognized that curve; I'd dreamt of it on my most sordid nights.

"Kael, they say you took something that belongs to me."

Kael took a step toward the stone. I stood to his left. The camp behind us. The forest, the stage, and my wolf with me.

"Sometimes," Kael replied, "you think you have something in your hands. And it turns out what you have is proof of your shame."

Argon laughed humorlessly.

"Give it back, King. And perhaps I'll forget your audacity."

Kael didn't look at me; there was no need.

"You speak of her as if she were an object," he retorted. "But here, people look each other in the eye. Lia."

My name, the stone beneath my feet. My wolf's laughter.

"I am not yours. And I never was."

The forest fell silent.

Argon's smile vanished.

"Then let's speak in the language you understand."

He unbuttoned his cloak and let it fall. His eyes parted, hungry for a show. Ours remained motionless.

Kael lowered his hands to his sides. He didn't assume a fighting stance. He assumed an oath-taking stance.

"On the stone," he declared.

And the world stopped.

The circle closed.

Argon offered a half-smile.

"According to the law, an Alpha can claim what he raised under his roof."

The stone trembled. I hadn't expected it; a warmth crept up my heels.

The Council woman stepped forward.

"According to the law, a claim without acknowledgment is worthless. Here, we speak the truth."

Kael bowed his head without leaving my side.

The air shifted. Like when a storm is brewing. The stone at my feet grew warm.

"Call witnesses," the woman requested.

"Me," I said without thinking.

Argon chuckled briefly.

"The girl who doesn't scream. Come forward, child."

I stepped a little further into the circle.

"Name."

"Lía, daughter of Helena and Íñigo, Luna and Alpha of the Valley."

There was a hushed murmur. Argon stopped playing with his cloak. "Do you recognize Argon as the one who gave you shelter, care, and honor?" the woman asked, using the ancient formula.

"He gave me work in the kitchen. He gave me the floor to sleep on." He took my name and struck me.

The stone beneath my feet ignited in approval.

"I do not acknowledge it as an honor. I do not acknowledge it as a caretaker. I do not acknowledge it as anything of mine."

Argon leaned forward, his eyes cold.

"I picked her up when she was bleeding," he replied. "I saved her life."

The stone threw off a spark. The entire Council looked at their feet, and I knew they felt it too.

"It's an incomplete truth," said the white-haired man. "Go on."

"You picked me up," I nodded, "and locked me up. You didn't train me. You used me so no one would forget that your hand was the only one in charge. If I'm alive today, it's because I ran."

My wolf tore through the silence with a short, proud breath.