Destined for Greatness ✔️

Chapter 14

Ryleigh was no longer sure whether it was a good thing that Paige had nursed her back to health. On the plus-side, it meant she would survive more silver. On the downside, it meant she would survive more silver.

She had about two seconds to decide whether or not to use her magic. If she did, she could confuse the guards standing around her long enough to get away, but she had little doubt that she would have been apprehended by others before she'd even turned the corner. By her estimation, there were at least three dozen werewolves near, all ready to catch her. She wouldn't be able to influence all of them at once, which meant that using her magic would ultimately result in a big failure, and when it did the guards would beat her senseless for her troubles.

The guards who had caught her wasted no time. She had hardly decided against using her magic, when they jerked her up and slapped her in silver-lined cuffs. She hissed when her skin burned, but pulled her face back into neutrality as fast as she could, until she realised that the cuffs weren't just silver-infused, but magic-repellent. Her powers rushed to silence inside of her and she cursed under her breath. Now even if she wanted to use her magic, she couldn't.

"Walk." A guard roughly pushed against her back so that she stumbled forwards and nearly fell face-first on the muddy cobblestones. She wished she still had her eggs so she could throw them at his head, though that was arguably as stupid an idea as using her magic had been. Something pricked in her lower back and she snapped her head to the side to see another guard press a long-bladed dagger to her ribs.

"One wrong move, and I will stab you. Mind you, the blade's silvered."

"I'll come peacefully," she said. "No need for weapons." Truth was, if they had only cuffed her hands in front of her instead of behind her back, she might have fought them, even though, again, that would have been a terrible idea. Alas, with her hands bound behind her, there was little she could do but resign to her fate.

They led her down some streets, but Ryleigh didn't pay close attention. All the houses looked the same anyway, and she was too busy trying not to make any wrong moves. She pungently remembered how much Royal Wolf soldiers liked their blades.

"Park, they got me," she linked.

"You have to figure out where you are, Ry. I can get you out of there, but you need to tell me where you are." He talked fast, his voice a higher pitch than its usual depth. He was panicking. He probably should be.

"I just don't know, Park. It all looks the same, and I can't see any street names either. I think we're close to the harbour, but I can't narrow it down more than that. Nor should you come. There's too many of them. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Get hurt? Ry, do you have any idea what they'll do to you? They'll torture and kill you."

"I'll be fine. I know too much for them to kill me."

"But they'll silver you."

She grimaced at the prospect. "I can take it."

They stopped and she staggered to a halt, feeling the knife prick dangerously into her side. The metal had little issue pricking through the thin fabric of her shirt, and she could already feel the stinging of silver.

"Take us to the designated holding cell," one of the guards who had apprehended her said to someone who smelt like a human. She guessed he was a teleporter. The man nodded and approached. Before she knew it, the world was exploding and rearranging around her, and when the fog cleared, they were deep in the woods.

"Parker?"

There was no answer and she knew she was out of reach. Wherever they'd taken her, it was far away from Hightower. She guessed it was Royal Wolf territory, but they weren't anywhere near the prison.