Blood of the Wolf: The Crown (Mackenzie Grey Book 11), Karina Espinosa [top 10 ebook reader txt] 📗

I was swiftly approaching the ground when I was suddenly snatched from the sky with a lurch that rattled my bones. Instead of falling down, I was being lifted into the sky. I opened my eyes and found Raven cradling me in her arms, her golden wings beating hard against the wind.

She grinned as she flew across the sky. “Hey there, baby mama.”

I sighed. “I’ve never been so happy to see you.” I rested my head on her shoulder. “Also, I think I might puke.”

“Oh, hell no.” She jerked her shoulder for me to move my head. “Wait until we land, or I’ll personally kill you. Baby or not.”

We flew for about fifteen minutes before landing deep in the forest where Fenrir and a group of Valkyries were waiting. Raven landed gently and placed me on my feet. I stumbled and wobbled a bit before I ran to a bush and unloaded everything that was in my stomach.

It wasn’t one of my finer moments.

When I was done, one of the Valkyries handed me a canteen with water. I hesitantly accepted, though I made sure not to put my mouth on the rim.

“Are you okay, little wolf?” Fenrir asked.

I turned around to face him. “I’ve had better days,” I croaked. My voice was scratchy, and I rubbed at my throat where I knew a bruise would be blossoming shortly. “Were you up the hill?”

He shook his head. “We scouted the place, but there was nowhere we could hide that he couldn’t sense us. We had to take to the skies.”

I nodded. “He probably knows anyway,” I mused. “It might be why he threw me over the cliff … because he knew someone would catch me.”

“We’ve been very careful. There’s no way.” Raven looked at Fenrir for confirmation.

He scratched his scruff and looked at me thoughtfully. “We can’t underestimate Abaddon. You might be right. Did he tell you what he wants?”

I swallowed. I couldn’t tell them that Abaddon wanted my son. I didn’t know how they would react. Would they take the information and decide to sacrifice him themselves to be rid of the demon’s menace? I hoped not, but I still didn’t trust them enough to be certain of the answer.

“No,” I lied. “He didn’t tell me.”

Fenrir growled. “Then what the hell did he want?”

I looked between Fenrir and Raven, trying to come up with an excuse, but my brain was scrambled and I felt lightheaded. I was too tired to think. I craned my neck, stretching it, and felt the world spin for a moment. I was hot in my sweater and I pulled the front of it to let in the breeze.

“Little wolf! Are you listening? What did he want?” Fenrir demanded, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

“Fen,” Raven whispered. “I don’t think she’s feeling well.”

“What time is it?” Fen asked. There was a pause.

“Three in the morning,” Raven answered. “She needs to rest. The baby needs to rest. She’s done too much.”

Fenrir sighed. “Take her to the temple.”

I wanted to protest and ask them to take me back to the castle instead, but my knees picked that moment to give out and I dropped to the ground like a bag of rocks. My eyes slowly closed. I wasn’t passing out, but I was becoming unbearably sleepy. It was as if my battery had finally drained itself.

Raven squatted beside me and held me close. “I got you,” she murmured.

I didn’t hear another word before falling asleep in her arms.

A chill passed through my body and I grabbed the scratchy blanket that covered me and brought it over my shoulder. I tried to bury myself further within its woolen comfort, but I couldn’t fight the cold.

“Get me another blanket, please.” I heard Bobby Wu’s voice, which made me crack open an eye.

I realized with a start I wasn’t in the castle. I was in a small, cramped room, lying on a single cot. I should have known I wasn’t in the castle from the material of the blanket. It felt like I was covering myself with Brillo pads.

On a stool beside the cot sat the infamous warlock Bobby Wu. I opened both eyes and cleared my throat. “Where am I?”

He looked down at me and smiled brightly. “Well, good morning, Princess!”

“Where am I?” I repeated.

Bobby rolled his eyes. “No manners. You’re at the temple for the Sisters of the Sight.”

“Why am I here?” I tried to sit up, but ended up accepting Bobby’s help when I found I was too weak to manage it on my own.

“You were too exhausted last night to make the trip back. We thought maybe Ophelia could take a look at you here before you returned to the castle.”

I frowned. “Why?”

Bobby looked away and bit his lip, keeping silent.

“Spill it, warlock, or I’ll squeeze it out of you.” My threat sounded weak, even to me.

He snorted. “You can barely squeeze a sponge right about now.”

“Try me,” I growled as I slid out my claws.

Bobby looked down at my hand and rolled his eyes again. “All right, all right. Calm down before you get a hernia.” He pushed me back on the bed to lay down. “Fen wants to see if Ophelia can help you have a vision now that you know what Abaddon looks like and you’ve spoken to him. He’s desperate to know what the demon is after.”

I froze in bed. Bobby didn’t even notice my reaction as he continued to ramble on, but I was freaking out on the inside. Fenrir wasn’t going to give up. He wanted to know what Abaddon was after and he wouldn’t accept my flimsy answer that I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure what Ophelia had told him, but hopefully she kept quiet.

Fenrir was persistent, I’d give him that. But he couldn’t keep me there indefinitely. If I wanted to go, he couldn’t stop me. Now that the full moon had passed and I’d regained some strength, I could make the trek back