Later that night, as shadows blanketed the mountains, Cain slipped through the side halls of the fortress and descended into the abandoned war crypts beneath the keep.
Only a few trusted wolves followed.
Among them was Rurik, a former soldier stripped of rank by Rayne’s father long ago, and Elda, a healer exiled for poisoning a rival's mate years prior.
“She’s winning them over,” Rurik whispered. “Most of the council members seem impressed.”
“She has fire,” Cain admitted, lighting a torch. “But fire burns too fast when it’s not tempered by stone.”
He led them into the inner chamber, where old relics and forbidden scrolls lay untouched. Dust curled around his boots like ghosts of the past.
“She wants to make us warriors again,” Cain continued. “But a queen who leads without fear… is a
