A Queen Named Victory

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Son of a bitch!"

I recoiled from the shooting pain burning my knuckles. I made a decent dent, but my newly gained strength did not break through the mountain wall. Cracks webbed the center of the stone where I punched. Lupa's slow claps mocked me.

"You won't have your full strength until you complete the shift."

"Why did you not tell me that sooner?"

She shrugged. "I assumed you were hard-headed, like your mother."

I rubbed the soreness out of my hand. "How long will it take me to finish the shift?" My aunt shrugged again and scratched her ear with her pinky. Then she flicked the earwax onto the dirt.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I asked with growing frustration.

"Stop fighting change and let go. You are the one holding yourself back. That's the best answer I can give you."

Her best answer was as good as no answer at all. Ingrid and Ulf were out there, and my body failed me when I needed it most. I growled as I repeatedly punched the wall.

"I...don't...have...time...to...waste."

The ground rolled. Montver shook with each painful blow, and the cracks deepened. Lupa grabbed my bloodied hands, shouting, "What in the moon are you doing?! You're useless with broken hands. Ugh. Let me do it." She lightly flicked the stone surface yet sent boulders flying into the opposite side of the mountain. That was the Vanatyr's full power.

She used her magic to reverse the damage made on the mountain before the guards reached us. As soon as I turned around, there were hundreds of glowing stars flickering throughout the shadowy forest. No, not stars. They were eyes. Vanatyrs howled and barked at the sight of their lost heir. Lupa joined the celebratory cries before she started kneeling.

"Thank you, all. I, Sigrid: Daughter of Ylva, vow to uphold my responsibilities as your leader." Their search for me ended, but I needed their help to find my siblings.

"Lead the way, Wolfsbane Heir," Lupa winked.

The best trackers, twins named Anur and Heim, used Ingrid's letter to find her with their powerful magic. We still had time. Lupa pulled me onto her back in her wolf form. She was an unnaturally large creature with canines the size of grown men and hair as tough as stone. Her paw prints alone were big enough to make ponds once a rainy day rolled through the forest. The rest of the Vanatyrs varied in size. Some were as small as foxes. Most were just a bit larger than average wolves. Those tied to the royal bloodline were the largest. I spit out another tooth in my clawed hand. Sharp throbs agitated my gums while a sharper fang replaced the dull tooth. It felt unreal. More unreal than marrying a Dimikyr.

Twisting pain in my abdomen struck while my vision in my normal eye blurred. I noticed objects as small as a falling tansy flower petal a mile away when it returned. I chuckled to myself. I spent my entire childhood resenting my eyes because they were not the same color as my mother's.

Cold shudders tickled my back, and I leaned into Lupa, saying, "We have to hurry. I can feel him on our trail."

She responded with an ear flick and picked up her pace. A blanket of thick fog covered our paths. Vanatyrs bobbed and weaved around scattered trunks covered in ferns. Anur's howls let us know of our target's location. I slid off Lupa when I saw the group of white-winged fairies under a pine tree. She steadied me with her arm when my knee gave in, and my left ankle bone cracked.

"I don't need to hear it," I grumbled from the searing pain from my re-adjusting bones.

"Yes, you do." She released her grip on me.

I stumbled a bit but continued on the path to the frost fairies. "We aren't like your Dimikyr vassals. Any of those women can strip you of your status if they think you are too weak. Get it together," she advised, preparing her spears for battle.

She sent many of the pack members to guard our backs. She claimed she did it to keep them away from seeing me in such a weak state. There was also the possibility that she had ulterior motives I had yet to consider. That was another problem to add to the list for future me. Until then, I enjoyed bliss ignorance.

Together, we crouched under the fog's cover. Ulf and Ingrid sat beside a fire. Thirty guards armed with crossbows circled them. They talked in private conversations, unbothered by the chilly air and thickening fog. Luckily, they also did not notice the whirring shadows stalking them. The tallest and most decorated frost fairy sat beside my sister. I tightened my grip on my short blade.

Fucking Ivar: the sibling thief.

"How do you want to do this?"

I pushed aside the desire of maiming the ice fey in favor of retrieving my siblings. There was not enough time to do that with my husband near anyway. The Vanatyrs were welcome to hit Dovre for a celebratory carnage spree. But for this moment, we needed to get in and out without bloodshed.

"How's your illusions?"

"It'll get us in," she answered.

I crawled closer to the camp without being too close to the surrounding fey. Ulf's head perked when he heard my imitation of the red-throated pipit. I sang the birdsong again, and my brother looked around for the source of the echoing sound that I often used when dinner was ready.

"Um, I have to pee!" Ulf said nervously.

Calm down, brother. Lies rarely escaped his mouth unnoticed, but this time it worked. The icy king was more interested in Ingrid's attention than whatever tricks my brother had up his cotton sleeves. Two fairies guided Ulf further into the forest, where I waited. We took them into a chokehold from behind. My fairy's glowing wings wildly slapped my thighs as I tightened my grip along her neck and covered her mouth to muddle her screams. Lupa's victim collapsed into unconsciousness long before mine.

"What? I'm rusty," I whispered before she lectured again about the gains of a completed shift.

"Siggy? Is that you?" Ulf's voice quivered.

"Such a smart little wolf," I beamed as I gripped him in a bear hug. "You have to get away from here."

"I thought you said we could visit the frost kingdom. I brought my warmest cloak too. I want to play with the king's snow bear, Bjorn, and the penguins."

"You weren't supposed to go with those fairies, but I have a surprise waiting for you in Montver. I'm sure you'll both love it."

"Who's that?" He inquired with a curious gaze at Lupa.

"Your worst nightmare," she bared her fangs and laughed at my brother's widened eyes. I sighed and explained with haste, "Ulf, this is our aunt Lupa. Lupa, this is my brother, Ulf. We'll get to spend more time with each other when we all return to Montver. Hurry now, brother, or you'll miss my surprise."

"Really?!" His eyes lit for a brief moment before he looked at me with a worried expression, "Are you ok? Your eyes look kinda funny."

"I'm fine! Go on," I said quickly, ushering him into Anur's arms. My magic faded once the misty wall engulfed them.

"One down," said my aunt.

One left to go.