Chapter 809

Lies Within the Carriage

The chaos had become absolute.

Warriors screamed as they swung their swords wildly through the empty air, their movements frantic and completely uncoordinated. Some struck the thick trunks of the ancient trees, sending showers of snow crashing down upon themselves. Others slashed at nothing at all, their blades carving useless arcs through the relentless blizzard.

The storm had swallowed everything. The forest had become a world of endless white, where the wind howled without mercy and every shadow looked like an enemy.

One Enclave warrior spun in a circle, his sword raised high above his head.

“Stay back!” he screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. “Show yourselves, cowards! Fight us like warriors!”

No one answered him. There was only snow. Only wind. Only silence broken by distant screams.

He swung his sword again, breathing harder with every passing second. His boots slipped across the frozen ground before his foot caught against something rapidly disappearing beneath the snow.

He stumbled. His body crashed heavily onto the ground. His palms landed in something warm and wet.

He frowned.

Blood?

Slowly, he lifted his trembling hands. They were stained red. His breathing quickened as he scrambled backward, the snow spraying beneath his boots.

Only then did he see what he had fallen onto.

Two bodies. They were not ordinary warriorslike he was. Captain Cam, Alpha Cindy. Their eyes remained open, staring blankly toward the sky above. Snow had already begun settling across their faces while blood continued spreading beneath them.

The warrior’s face drained of colour. His mouth opened.

“Alpha Cindy!” he screamed. “Captain Cam…!”

His voice never finished. An arrow buried itself into his neck. His words became nothing more than a wet gurgle as dark veins rapidly spread beneath his skin. He collapsed beside the two leaders.

Another warrior caught sight of the other body.

“Alpha J—”

An arrow pierced straight through his open mouth before he could finish shouting. His body dropped beside the others.

—

Gloria stepped down from her carriage with her sword already drawn. Snow immediately collected upon her shoulders as the wind whipped her dark hair around her face. Her sharp eyes swept across the battlefield.

Bodies. Blood. Fear. Everywhere she looked, warriors were falling.

“Stop panicking!” she roared, her voice cutting through the storm with commanding authority. “The enemy is using the blizzard as cover! They are not ghosts! They are warriors! Find them! Fight them!”

Several warriors attempted to obey. They formed defensive circles, backs pressed together as they scanned the endless white around them. It accomplished nothing. One disappeared beneath the snow with a scream. Another suddenly jerked backward as an arrow pierced through his eye. A third barely managed to lift his shield before a blade burst upward beneath him.

Gloria clenched her teeth. She hated fighting blind. Every instinct she possessed told her this battlefield no longer belonged to them. The North had become the enemy itself. The wind. The snow. The forest. Everything seemed to favour Nightshade.

She swung her sword at movement beside her. Only snow scattered beneath the blade. Whoever had been there was already gone.

—

Meanwhile, Samuel forced his way toward Victoria’s carriage. His sword remained drawn, his knuckles white around the hilt. His eyes constantly swept across the battlefield.

Every Alpha had joined the fighting. Philip was somewhere deeper within the forest. Gloria was desperately trying to reorganize the warriors. Even the lesser Alphas had entered the battle.

Everyone except Victoria.

She remained inside her carriage. The woman who had convinced them victory was certain. The woman who had assured everyone the North would crumble. Now their warriors were dying around them and she still refused to fight.

Samuel climbed into the carriage. Warm air immediately greeted him. The scent of incense lingered inside.

His eyes landed upon Victoria. Then they shifted. His entire body froze.

“Selith…?”

The old woman looked up slowly. A thin smile spread across her cracked lips. “Alpha.”

Samuel stared at her. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “How are you here? You’re supposed to be back at the pack compound.”

Victoria answered before Selith could. “Selith is doing exactly what she’s supposed to be doing.”

Samuel’s sword immediately shifted toward Victoria. “How?” he demanded, his voice becoming noticeably colder. “How did you make the priestess of my pack work for you?”

Victoria laughed softly. “You really know nothing, Samuel.”

“Tell me.”

Victoria leaned back comfortably against her seat. “Selith isn’t your priestess.” She smiled. “She has always been one of mine.”

Samuel’s expression darkened. “I know every member of my pack.” His voice remained steady despite the anger building inside him. “I know my priestess. You’re lying.”

Victoria slowly shook her head. “I never lie, Samuel.”

The two simply stared at one another. Neither looked away.

Finally Victoria chuckled. “Very well.” She crossed one leg over the other. “Selith came to me shortly before this war began.” Her smile widened. “She begged to join us. She said she was tired of wasting her life inside a shrine doing nothing useful.”

Selith remained completely silent. Her clouded eyes never left the table before her.

Samuel looked from the old woman back toward Victoria. “I don’t believe you. Selith would rather spend the rest of her life inside the shrine than leave it.”

Victoria only laughed. “You truly think you know your own people.” She tilted her head slightly. “But you’ve forgotten something. The North has affected every single one of us. Because of that pack in the North… we’ve all suffered.” She spread her hands. “So why wouldn’t she join us? Why wouldn’t she finally decide to fight?”

Samuel remained silent. His mind raced. Nothing about this conversation felt right. Nothing about the carriage felt right. His eyes drifted toward the table beside Selith. Glass jars. Dark powders. Strange herbs. Liquids that shimmered beneath the lantern light. It looked less like the work of a priestess and more like something else entirely.

His instincts screamed that Victoria was lying. Every word. Every smile. Every explanation.

But revealing that now would accomplish nothing.

Slowly, he lowered his sword. He stepped back. His expression became carefully blank.

“Fine,” he said.