and wolves began, lasted, ended. And he probably wouldn’t care. I’d be his trophy. A frozen glass doll.
I fell to my knees. Exhaustion swept over me. Alex snorted and nudged my shoulder. I closed my eyes, reaching blindly up to touch his nose.
“If I ride you, I’ll just fall off,” I said.
Maybe it would be safe to stop. The other wolves had done a fine job of keeping the werewolves away so far. Before her war started, the werewolves would have to deal with the regular wolves and half-wolves first. The thought eased me slightly. Alex lay down beside me. He made an impressive buck with his massive rack of antlers and flawless hide. I patted his side in what I hoped was a reassuring way.
“Just a little bit,” I told him.
And then I passed out.
I knew it was a dream the same way all people know they’re in a dream.
I sat in the prison cell of the fortress, except the cell was outside, in the forest and without doors. Outside, howls came from all directions. I tried to howl back, but only succeeded in crying pitifully. Then I looked at the ground.
Two pulsing chunks of meat lay there, blood oozing out around them. My heart, torn in two. I picked up the pieces, one in each hand, and watched the blood drip around my fingers.
I set them down again and turned around. Behind me in the cell wall was a roaring hearth. I took up a hammer and pulled two bands of metal from the fire, red and glowing. Then I struck them with all my might. I smashed them and forged them and bent them to my will. When they were ready, I picked up my heart again and put it back together. It beat harder than before. I held it in place as I pieced together the metal bands. The muscle sizzled and seared under their heat. Pain stabbed into my chest but I ignored it. I held the bands in place until they fused together. Eventually they cooled, and I examined my work. It would do.
Someone snorted, and I looked up to see Wolf standing in the open doorway. He stared hungrily at my heart.
“Let me have some of that.”
I stared back at him, unmoving. “I’ve already given you enough.”
Around us the air moved, yet it didn’t. Not wind, words. The old witch.
“Reach so high until you are burning up. Burning so brightly as you reach for the stars.”
This was my heart. Broken, but still strong. And I wasn’t going to hide in the dark, waiting for someone to look for me.
“You will reach for the stars. You will try so long and so hard, you will forget all those around you. And you will burn up once you touch them.”
Yes. I will burn.
Chapter 19
I awoke with a start, kicking up a few leaves as I bolted upright.
“Calm down dear, it’s just a dream.”
It took my brain several seconds to register what was in front of my face. A fire burned between me and an old woman. Alex lay docilely beside me, unperturbed by the woman’s presence. It took a few moments for my brain to register that she was the old witch who gave me the necklace and Alex his Sentry uniform. She prodded at the fire, sending a shower of orange sparks into the air.
“That’s what Henry did,” she said.
“Who?” was all I could manage.
“Henry. The servant to Prince Gerald, long ago when the Prince was transformed into a frog.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. My head pounded. How long had I slept?
“I’m sorry,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “What did he do?”
“When Prince Gerald was cursed to become a frog, his manservant Henry was so distraught he had to band his heart so it wouldn’t break.”
I warmed myself by the fire, but kept my eyes on the old woman. Strange. She didn’t seem quite as old as before.
“Who are you?” I finally asked.
She gave me a grandmotherly smile. “Now that is a good question.”
I waited. She continued to poke at the fire. It reminded me of Wolf. I quickly banished the thought from my mind.
“Well?”
“Wolves were not always bad.”
Okay, not an answer to my question. But I let her go on. I didn’t have the energy or the desire to try arguing with a witch.
“In fact, there was great peace between them and the people here. True, the occasional sheep or cow would go missing, but there was never any cause for