**Rosalie’s POV
I hadn’t been in the cabin long at all when I got the feeling I was being watched. I felt like I needed to move on, and I had just gathered my baby up into my arms, preparing to leave, when suddenly, that sensation went away.
It was dusk. I went to the window to look out to see if anyone was standing out there. My fingers trembled slightly as I went to pull the curtains back to peer outside. Studying the long shadows cast by the trees, I attempted to see if anyone was standing there. My concentration was fully on the scene before when a noise behind had jumping, spinning around, ready to protect myself.
“Seraphine!” I shouted, collapsing onto the couch I had been leaning over. “Goddess! You scared to death!”
“Sorry, Rosalie,” she said. “I had it on good authority that you were here. I didn’t an to frighten you. I knocked lightly before I ca in, but I didn’t hear you say anything, and I thought you might be sleeping.”
“It’s okay,” I said, patting my boy’s little head. He was still asleep. “I thought soone was out front.”
She frowned. “I didn’t see anyone...”
“It doesn’t matter now. That feeling is gone. It could be just so random travelers passing here. I was probably being over sensitive.” I assured her.
“No, let’s not risk it. We should get going.”
I understood that she was right, but this cabin had two comfortable beds, and I had been looking forward to sleeping for a few hours.
Still, if she thought it was best to keep going now, then that’s what we should do.
As we were about to leave, In the distance, we heard loud howling and growls. My eyes went to Seraphine’s face. “What is that?”
She cocked an ear and listened for a few monts. “It sounds like the rogues may have been intercepted...”
“Are we that close to your pack—our pack?” I asked. It was taking so getting used to, thinking of this place we were traveling to as being my ho as well.
Seraphine shrugged. “We are about six hours’ distance from there, but if they ca further south, it is possible that they are near enough for us to hear them. “
“Are you certain it wouldn’t be best for us to travel during the dayti?” It wasn’t just that I was tired, I didn’t want to go out at night with a bunch of wolves in the shadows when I couldn’t shift.
Seraphine considered my words before she slowly nodded. “All right. We’ll go at first light.”
***
The next morning, after a few hours of restless sleep, we got up to travel north. Almost from the beginning of our trip, it was clear that whatever battle had gone on the night before had been fairly large and destructive. Blood coated the grass and sides of trees. Tufts of fur littered the ground, and debris was scattered everywhere.
Every once in a while, we’d co across a dead body. Despite the frostiness of the morning, the dawn’s first rays of light had already begun to decay the corpses, and the odor was pungent enough that we could sll them well before we reached the place where they fell.
In death, it was impossible to tell whether they were from the east, the west, or the north. They were simply dead wolves—soone’s sons or daughters, husbands or wives, brothers or sisters. Soone who wouldn’t be returning ho. They laid out there with a sheen of frost covering their fur, their eyes open to the sky as the sun began to climb across the horizon.
The thought made sick to my stomach.
We moved on past the battle scene and further north where it grew colder, and I had to wrap my baby up tighter. By the ti it was early afternoon, we were on the outskirts of a village, and it was clear that sothing was going on here, sothing that had everyone in an uproar, and it wasn’t my arrival.
“What’s going on?” I asked Seraphine.
“I’m not sure,” she said, “but I think it might have sothing to do with that battle.”
“But it was so far south,” I said as she rushed off in the direction that many of the others were headed to.
“Perhaps another one, then. Normally, when people are hurrying this quickly, it’s because others are hurt.” Seraphine picked up speed, and I followed, holding my son close against my chest.
We entered a great hall where several fallen soldiers were lying on cots, all of them in their human forms, and none of them looking very good. I quickly counted seven of them, with twice as many won tending to them. Their dical supplies seed to be depleted from what I could tell. Carts of bandages with very few rolls of white left on them sat in the middle of the aisle, and shelves of dicine across the way were also nearly empty.
“What’s going on?” Seraphine asked a woman with long hair the sa color as hers.
“Our warriors are dying,” the woman said, “and we’re out of dicine to save them. The rogues attacked our village again last night, for the fifth ti in two weeks. We haven’t been able to get supplies for months because of the war between the east and west. We are doing everything we can, but without the proper dication and supplies....” She slowly shook her head.
“Seraphine?” a woman from across the room said. “Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s , Daphne.” The older woman ca across the room to hug Seraphine. It was clear that everyone here recognized Seraphine as one of their own, but this woman actually knew her.
“It’s good to have a skilled dicine woman here when we need her, but... I don’t know what else to do,” Daphne said, once she let Seraphine go. “They’re in so much pain, and we don’t even have any dication for them.”
“Seraphine, I want to help...” I said gently.
They were suffering, and they needed help.
On the way here, Seraphine had already told about the specialty healing power of my blood. If that was the case, I wished I could do sothing.
“But Rosalie,” Seraphine frowned. As she moved away, Daphne finally realized my existence.
It was then that the others looked up at , and a hush fell across the room—except for one bowl of water that soone dropped that clattered to the floor.
As soon as they were over their shock, the won dropped to the floor in the sa manner that Seraphine had. Even so of the injured warriors tried to do that. I could only stand there, my hands pressed to my mouth, shaking my head, willing them to stop.
Daphne looked up at . “It’s you... the princess!”
“Please,” I finally said, “please... don’t. It’s really not necessary.”
Another woman shouted, “Luna Willa’s daughter is here!”
My eyes widened. “Yes, I am Willa’s daughter, but... I’m nothing special.”
Seraphine turned to . “Princess Rosalie, you are special. These people recognize you. They see you for who you are. You are not only powerful here, you are the ruler.”
I slowly shook my head. I wasn’t used to that sort of attention. I wasn’t sure how to process it. All of my life, I’d helped others, not relied on other people to serve . I wouldn’t even know where to begin....
“Seraphine, what do I need to do to help these warriors?” I tried to switch their attention from to the wounded. I looked at their faces. Many of them were gritting their teeth in pain while others were near passing out.
“Are you sure? You...” Seraphine hesitated.
I looked at her seriously and nodded my head in confirmation. “Yes, I’m sure. Please, let help. You told my blood has healing qualities.”
“Your kindness would forever be appreciated, Princess!” Seraphine bowed to again and said, “If we can draw so blood, we can give it to these warriors, and it will heal them. It will only take a few drops for each of them to be feeling much better in no ti at all.”
“That’s it?” I felt like perhaps I hadn’t heard her correctly. It seed too easy. “Really?”
Seraphine nodded. “That’s right. I know it sounds strange, but it’s true.”
“All right,” I told her, right away. “Please do it.”
Daphne took to an empty bed right away, and within monts, they had hooked up and were taking blood from my arm. I held my sleeping baby the whole ti. It only took a few monts, and then other ladies ca to distribute my blood to the warriors.
“Now, just lay back and rest,” Daphne said. Seraphine was off helping the others. “I’ll get you sothing to eat to help your blood sugar.” She patted my hand, and I thought I was going to like this woman. She seed sweet, like a grandmother.
She ca back a few monts later with a chocolate chip cookie and a small glass of milk. “We are so happy you’re here,” Daphne told . “I rember your mother when she was a little girl. You have her eyes.”
I took a bit of the cookie and swallowed it down, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I had only vague mories of my mother.
“We thought... you were all gone,” I told her.
Daphne nodded. “It hasn’t been easy, living up here, hidden from the world. But we’ve been waiting for your return. All of the evil that took over when your mother passed, well, it had no place in our lands. Now that you’re here, all of that will be over, and our land will flourish again.”
I felt an awful lot of responsibility on my shoulders. What if I wasn’t the magical person they thought I was? What if my blood did nothing?”
Daphne patted my son on the back and smiled. “He’s precious.”
“Thank you,” I said, hoping she didn’t ask about his father.
She didn’t. But she did ask sothing else. “You have a friend nad Georgia, yes?”
My eyes widened. “How did you... how did you know that?”
She grinned at . “Communication between our villages is important to make sure that we are safe. She is near, and she has been instruntal in fighting the rogues. You will see her soon.”
“How did you know that she is my friend?” I asked her, excitent building at the chance of seeing Georgia, even though it made nervous that Ethan might find us.
“She was carrying a book, one that contains our legends.” Daphne patted my arm lovingly. “We will thank the Moon Goddess tonight that you are here with a grand celebration and let the others know that they should rejoice as well.”
“But what if—” I began, but before I could finish asking her what she would do if they were wrong, and I had no magical qualities, she interrupted .
“Look!” she said, gesturing at the room.
All around , I saw the warriors getting up off of their beds, fully healed, ready to go back out onto the battlefields and fight again as if they’d never been hurt at all.
I couldn’t believe it. They were all perfectly fine now.
“Your blood did that,” Daphne said. “You are the princess.” She smiled at . “You are the one we have been waiting for.”
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