Queen of the Lycan, Karina Espinosa [accelerated reader books .TXT] 📗

“Tell me, child. What did ye see?” she asked eagerly.

I wasn’t surprised she already knew I’d had a vision.

“I think I saw a vision of the past,” I started. “I haven’t been able to see anything in almost a year … maybe longer. Why now?”

She tapped my hand. “Because it was something ye must see.”

“There have been many times over the past couple years where I could have used a vision and never got one,” I muttered bitterly.

“Aye,” she mused. “You may have wanted one … but did ye really need one?”

I frowned at her logic. It sure felt like I needed it at the time, but I always ended up surviving without it. So the real question was, did I actually need it now?

“Tell me, Mackenzie, what was yer vision?”

I repeated everything about who and what I saw, then explained the situation going on with Fenrir and the Valkyries, particularly what they were after. I didn’t have to go into detail about what happened at the coronation reception since she was there, but I gave her the full rundown on everything else from the first moment I met Fenrir until now. By the time I finished at least forty-five minutes had passed, but Ophelia’s attention never wavered, and she listened intently to every word.

“Hmm … Mackenzie, did I ever tell ye about yer mothers’ special talent?” Ophelia teased; both Ranulf and I leaned closer.

I shook my head. “No one’s told me much about her. Most of what I’ve learned, I learned on my own.” Which was true. I did most of my digging through the archivist back home.

“Aye, well, Adaline had a special skill. She heard the whispers of the gods. It’s an extremely rare gift,” Ophelia emphasized. “Those whispers came to her as visions sometimes, or as actual whispers in her ears. It kept her up late at night and almost drove her mad until she learned how to control them and tune them out.”

“What are ye trying to say, Ophelia?” Ranulf asked what I was wondering.

“I believe ye have inherited this skill as well. That vision ye had was nae a vision at all, but rather the whispers of Fenrir, the first wolf,” she declared matter-of-factly.

When I first went to the archivist of New York City and looked up Adaline in the oracle registry, I learned about her ability to hear the whispers of the gods but didn’t put too much stock into it. I didn’t think it was real because I didn’t believe in multiple gods. Now that Fenrir was in the picture … well, it put things into perspective.

Could she have passed this trait down to me? If that was the case …

“Is there any way for me to hear more?” I asked.

“Are ye mad?” Ranulf spat. “Ye don know what yer doing, Yer Majesty!”

I placed a hand on Ranulf’s tense arm, practically vibrating with unease. “But he mentioned something is coming, Ranulf. Something big. I need to find out what it is so we can prepare,” I urged. “We can’t stay in the dark. If Fenrir knows something, we have to find out what it is before it’s too late!”

Ranulf shot up from the bleacher and started to pace, running a hand through his dark hair. “Hells bells, Yer Majesty,” he grumbled. “This is madness.”

“Relax, Ranulf,” Ophelia eased him. “Mackenzie cannae go searching for them; they have to come to her.”

I deflated. That wasn’t the answer I was looking for. If I couldn’t go searching for Fenrir myself, I at least wanted to try searching through his memories. Anything to get a clue or an inkling to what he’d been talking about with Raven.

“Ye cannae stay in the dark any longer, Mackenzie. It is time I start training ye. Yer oracle abilities will only grow from here,” Ophelia added as she squeezed my hands reassuringly.

She was right, I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was imperative that I learn how to use my oracle abilities, and it might as well be now. Now that I was in Scotland with full access to the sisters, I didn’t have any more excuses. It was time I learned more about my abilities.

“Did you see anything else about the new ruler of the Lycan that you can share?” I asked Ophelia without replying to her statement.

“Everything in due time, Mackenzie.” She released my hand. “I’ll come to the castle at the end of the week to start yer training so ye don have to come to the temple.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

After saying our goodbyes, Ranulf escorted me out of the temple and the guards surrounded us as one, leading the way back into the forest. Once we were deep into Caledonian and away from the Sisters of the Sight, we began tracking the Highlanders in hopes of finding one of them. It wouldn’t be easy. The light-footed Highlanders were careful not to leave any traces of their presence behind, which meant we were mainly wandering the forest blindly.

Two guards shifted into wolves and ran ahead of us to get a further look while the rest of us continued to walk and search the area with no luck.

“Why are they in hiding?” I murmured as I scanned the forest, looking up at the canopies that partially obscured the clear blue sky. “It’s very unlike them.”

“They must have had an encounter with the wolf,” Ranulf grunted, not mentioning Fenrir by name. “The Highlanders have never been reliable.”

I didn’t believe it. I had to — more like I wanted to — trust Ailios. I had to believe she wouldn’t turn on me.

A howl deep in the forest erupted, freezing us in place.

“It’s our scouts, Jeremy and Douglas!” Ranulf said, taking off in their direction. “Stay with the Queen!” he ordered the others, but I followed him anyway.

He should have known by now that I wouldn’t stay behind.

The guards ran along with me as I followed Ranulf in the direction of the howls. The sound sent us off the