Marrying a Warhound (Cassian) novel Chapter 107 read online

ATASHA’S POV

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I heard one of Reina’s soldiers bark a laugh, but the pain drowned it out. My hands shook as I slid my fingers under the lid and lifted.

The box opened with a dull scrape.

Pressure exploded outward. It hit me so hard my vision went white. My stomach lurched, my legs buckled. I clung to the cot to keep from dropping the box. The air thickened as if the tent had lost all its air in a heartbeat.

But I wasn’t the only one who felt it this time. Gasps snapped around me, Reina’s, the soldiers‘, even Grace’s. I wasn’t the only one who felt it. The weight pressed on all of us. I heard someone swore. Another muffled a

cry.

Grace moved, but she didn’t step aside. She planted herself between me and the door, sword raised, chest heaving against the invisible crush. “Stay back,” she warned. I was already having a hard time breathing.

“She’s doing it!” Reina shouted, pointing at me. “Whatever she’s doing, she’s trying to kill us all!”

Boots pounded outside. More soldiers pushed through the flap, spears lifted, eyes wide and unfocused as the pressure rolled over them too. Reina let out a harsh laugh and lifted her chin. “Even if you’re a strong wolf, Lieutenant, you can’t hold all of us. Hand her over.”

“Councilman Halden!” Grace shouted, cutting across her. “You-”

“I came as soon as I could,” Halden called, forcing his way into the tent with two guards at his back. He blinked, fighting the same weight pinning the rest of us. “What is going on?”

Reina didn’t wait. She jabbed a finger at me. “Can’t you see? That woman is a witch! She’s killing us!”

Halden’s eyes snapped to her. “What are you doing, Reina? That is the Consort.” He looked straight through the pulsing haze and frowned as if the opened box weren’t there at all. “I’ve already told you, she’s not a witch. Stop this. Now.”

“Father, can’t you see?” Reina’s voice cracked. “Matron Yara was right, this woman is hiding something.”

Halden’s expression shifted. “Matron Yara?” His gaze sharpened. “Is that why you insisted on coming here? You put everyone in danger because the Matron told you the Consort is a witch?”

“Wake up!” Reina snapped, stepping closer. “Have you been bewitched too?” She didn’t wait for his answer. In one fast motion she drew a thin blade from her sleeve and drove it into Halden’s forearm.

He staggered, eyes going wide as the steel punched through flesh. For a heartbeat he only stared at her, stunned. Blood ran in a steady line down his wrist and dripped from his fingertips.

“Don’t worry,” Reina said, voice icy. “It will heal. But the pain should be enough to clear your

head.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Halden snarled, clutching his arm. “She is not a witch!”

9:59 Sat, Sep 20

Chapter 107

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Around us, the tent tightened with panic. I could feel soldiers shifting, knuckles whitening on spear shafts, eyes cutting between Reina’s blade and Grace’s dagger. The pressure from the box surged again, a heavy throb that made my ears ring.

I forced my gaze down. Inside the box lay a stone the size of a fist, slick with mud and scored with thin lines that crawled across its surface like veins. The closer my hands came, the stronger the ache behind my eyes

grew.

“Put it down,” Reina ordered, edging past her soldiers. “Now.”