They rode out of Ashbane before dawn.
No banners. No escort. Just Fin, Aeron, Jax, Meredith, and the unconscious girl they refused to name.
Shadowclaw officers rode behind them in silence.
Fin exhaled only after they crossed the border.
He opened a mindlink.
Fin:We make peace with our enemies, not our friends. And this journey showed Ashbane was no friend.
Aeron: The princess may not be a complete disaster. People raised in vipers' nests sometimes only learn to hiss. Give her time. Or don't. It will be educational either way.
Jax snorted into the mindlink, dry as sand.
Jax:Let's see how she behaves once we're out of range of Ashbane scouts. I have my bets. They're not flattering.
The mist thickened as they rode deeper into the forest, Ashbane fading behind them like a bruise disappearing under fresh light.
Nova rode in Jax's arms, a cloak wrapped around her. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on and couldn't stop.
And that was a problem.
Finric said nothing. He kept his expression impassive as his Gamma adjusted Nova's limp form in the saddle.
It shouldn't bother him.
She's not your business.
You agreed to take Meredith.
But the growl curling in his chest disagreed.
Finric clenched his jaw, doing his best to ignore Princess Meredith, who had insisted on riding with him and now sat stiffly in front of him. Her scent clung to the air — grass and leather — but it was wrong. His body recoiled from it, instinctively repulsed. Every time the breeze shifted, it carried something else beneath it… a ghost of vanilla and moonlight. Nova.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her smile slow and practiced. "You're quiet, King Finric."
"Should I be entertaining you?" he asked, voice flat.
She laughed, soft and sweet. "No. But I've heard stories. I wanted to know if they were true."
"Which ones?"
"That you're cold," she said, "but easily warmed with the right touch."
She twisted slightly in the saddle, her leg brushing against his.
He didn't react. Not to her fingers on the edge of his cloak. Not to the way she leaned in just enough for her rose smelling perfume to smother the clean forest air.
"Oh. You brought that," Meredith said, her tone politely disinterested, like noticing mildew on stone.
She followed his gaze to the unconscious girl in Jax's arms and sighed.
"Shadowclaw must have different philosophies. Someone like her requires careful containment. Or removal, if she becomes inconvenient again."
Aeron's gaze flicked over, sharp, but Meredith didn't notice.
"Mother wanted her executed years ago. Right after Father died. But Riven insisted on keeping her," she added lightly. "She's been rotting in that tower seven years."
"She is a complication. Nothing more. A problem someone with a spine should have eliminated years ago."
Fin's voice cut, cold. "Isn't she your sister?"
Meredith blinked, surprised he would ask something so irrelevant. Her smile reformed.
"She isn't family, Finric. She isn't anything. She's a mistake someone weak failed to correct."
Her eyes slid to Nova.
"She is a stain someone forgot to scrub out. And stains are meant to be removed."
Fin turned his head just enough to look at her.
"No," he said calmly. "Complications should be managed. Cruelty is what gets removed."
Meredith froze and her smile faltered, just a flicker.
Fin's wolf Xeon growled approval.
He mindlinked Jax and Aeron.
Fin: Aeron.
The mage trotted up beside them, robes wrapped tightly against the wind.
Fin: Knock her out. Gods.
Jax laughed from the back.
Jax: You seem thrilled that she is your chosen mate
Meredith's smile faltered. "What?"
Before she could blink, Aeron reached forward and pressed two fingers to her forehead.
The spell was near-invisible. A whisper of golden light. Her eyes fluttered, and her body went slack in the saddle.
Finric sighed.
"Let's blindfold her. I don't want to take any chances."
Jax tossed him a strip of black cloth, amused. "At least she's quiet now. Honestly, you could have led with that spell at dinner."
Fin ignored him and tied the cloth over Meredith's eyes with efficient, unbothered precision. Her breathing deepened under the enchantment—silent at last.
"Fascinating. Turns out the solution to her personality was unconsciousness." Aeron said under his breath.
Jax snorted.
Fin didn't disagree.
Aeron reached into his satchel and removed a small obsidian disk, etched with unfamiliar runes. He whispered something low, and the air in front of them trembled.
A ripple. A shimmer.
Then it split.
A glowing portal yawned open in the air — a window to a different land. The path beyond was silver-edged and endless.
Jax whistled low under his breath. "I'll never get used to that."
"You're not supposed to," Aeron muttered.
Fin didn't answer. He tightened his grip on the reins, then nudged the horse forward.
One by one, they passed through.
They emerged in a private courtyard of Shadowclaw Castle. Mist curled along the flagstones.
Fin dismounted, handing Meredith's unconscious form to a waiting omega — a woman in her forties with calm eyes.
"Put her in a guest suite in the main castle. Away from my private wing." he said.
"Yes, Alpha."
He turned to speak to Jax and froze.
Jax was still holding Nova, looking down at her with concern.
She was pressed close to his chest, silver hair falling over his shoulder, her face tucked against the crook of his neck. His grip was careful. Protective.
Something ugly twisted in Finric's gut.
He cleared his throat.
"Take her to the infirmary. Have the healers look at her. Then…" Finric paused. The words stuck in his throat like they knew they didn't belong there.
"…assign her omega quarters. Lowest rank. She is to tend to Meredith. That is the agreement."
Jax's frown cut sharp. He glanced down at the unconscious girl, expression tightening.
"She's not—"
"She is an omega," Finric said. The words came out sharper than he intended.
Jax studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Understood, Alpha."
Fin turned away and didn't look back as Jax carried her off.
The regret came anyway.