The Warrior’s Broken Mate novel Chapter 115

The silence that followed the storm of shadows was deafening. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, as if the world itself was holding its breath. I leaned against Elias, still trembling, but not just from the fight–my mind was a whirl of betrayal, revelation, and the raw, unfiltered rage that came from knowing someone I had trusted had been orchestrating this all along.

“We can’t stay here.” Elias muttered, his voice low but steady, snapping me out of my spiral. He scanned the horizon, muscles tensed, as if the land itself might erupt with another threat at any moment. “We need to regroup, heal, and plan our next move. They won’t wait for us to be ready.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. Every instinct screamed for vengeance, I didn’t know who against just yet, but I knew he was right. Right now, survival came first. “Where do we even start?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

Elias’s eyes narrowed. “We have to find him–the sorcerer. Whoever he is, he’s behind all of this. If we don’t stop him, there will be more shadows, more chaos, more death… it’ll never end.”

The thought made my stomach twist. The Ash Queen’s court had always been a place of mystery. Never knowing who was there or why they were there. What they were doing for her. I never even heard of her having any allies. But there were always people hanging around that I was unsure about. People that looked like peasants in the village where we were staying with Arthur.

People that were staying in the other camps with our warriors. Luke had told us of a few people that our warriors were a little concerned about but it was nothing that they couldn’t handle. They didn’t want us getting involved unless it was absolutely necessary. But now, the true predator was revealed–not a faceless army, not even Arthur, but someone closer, someone who had known our names and used them like knives. I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. The wolf in me growled low, a warning that it didn’t forgotten, hadn’t forgiven.

And I was more sure now than ever that he was from the village that we were staying in. I was pretty sure who he was. The one that was always hanging around. I could sense power in that village but I never knew where it was coming from. Arthur didn’t have any so it had to be someone else in that village.

But this is a strange realm where the simplest of people can have power while the Kings and Queens don’t. Which is why I didn’t really pay too much attention to it.

“First.” Elias said, breaking my thoughts, “we heal. Then we strike. We take the fight to them, before they can strike at us again.”

I felt the bond between us thrum–a pulse that had never been so alive, so intense. The bond wasn’t just connection; it was power. Shared strength. Shared purpose. And in that moment, the rage that had nearly consumed me transformed into something sharper, more focused. A promise.

“I’m ready.” I said, voice steady now, though my heart still pounded. “We take them down. Every last one.”

Elias nodded, and for a brief moment, we simply stood there together, the night sky stretching endlessly above, the remnants of shadow curling like smoke around our feet. Then, as if the world had heard our vow, the first faint glimmer of dawn broke over the horizon, brushing the wasteland in muted gold and crimson.

A new day. A new fight. And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I felt the stirrings of hope.

But deep in the back of my mind, the warning echoed, relentless and insistent: the sorcerer was waiting. Watching. And when he made his move, it wouldn’t be shadows that came for us. It would be everything he had been saving… and we had no idea what that truly meant.

I let out a long, shuddering breath, feeling the last of the adrenaline ebb from my veins.

“We need to find shelter.” Elias said.

“There used to be a village in this direction. We can see if it’s still there.” I said.

“Yeah. Hopefully no one is living there. Everyone around here seems to want us dead.” He said.

“This feels too good to be true.” Elias said, laying down.

“I know. You get some rest.” I said.

“What are you going to do?” He asked.

“We can’t both sleep at the same time. You know that. We don’t know when he’s going to attack. So, you get some rest and I’ll be sitting here waiting.” I said, pulling out my quiver and I sat on a chair.

I started looking at the arrows that I had left, and a sinking feeling hit me–I was running out of them faster than I had expected. I knew that I always had weapons attached to my hands whenever my claws came out, which offered some reassurance, but I still preferred having a backup, just in case. With that in mind, I got up carefully and began walking around the hut, examining the arrows and considering what I could do with them to make the most of what I had.

I could tell that Elias didn’t really want to go to sleep while I was still sitting up and moving around, his eyes flicking toward me every so often, but it didn’t really matter. He passed out pretty quickly anyway, and that allowed me to quietly stand at the door of the hut, alert and watchful, scanning the empty plains and making sure nothing–or no one–was sneaking up on us.

My stomach started rumbling, telling me that I was long overdue for food, and my mouth felt painfully dry. But this village only had one water supply, and it looked com etely dried up, cracked and lifeless under the harsh sun. I had no choice but to stand he.e and wait until we were on the move again before I could even think about satisfying my hunger. I forced myself to ignore it, to push the thought away. Instead, I focused on the dangers that surely awaited us ahead, letting images of snarling beasts and hidden traps occupy my mind. Thinking about those threats distracted me almost immediately, and the pangs of hunger receded, at least for the moment, under the weight of looming peril.