The scent of pine and wet stone clung to the air as I strode behind the prince, boots echoing through the glass corridor above the snow-laden city. My earpiece crackled with the soft code-switching of the wolf guards, their watchful eyes never leaving the silver-haired figure I shadowed. Prince Adrien walked tall, even graceful, but tonight his gait faltered. A tremor shivered through his posture, subtle enough that only an outsider might notice.
We were halfway between the embassy’s negotiation hall and the private clan chambers when he stopped. His hand brushed the glass balustrade, fingertips seeking the world beyond it, eyes fixed on the white-lit city below. I caught the slight curl of his lip—confusion or irritation—before he flicked a glance back at me. Usually, Adrien’s senses would have warned him of the approaching footfalls, the scent of new snow, even my own heartbeat. Instead, his next step was hesitant, as if some invisible tether had snapped.
“Is something wrong, Highness?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral but ready. The wolf guards tensed. My right to question him was written in my contract, but the air thickened with their silent challenge.
He blinked. “Everything’s… muffled.” A pause. “I can’t—my senses won’t focus.”
The world outside pressed in: the muffled thrum of traffic, the wild edge of forest just beyond the city’s radiant towers. But here, in this suspended walkway, something far more dangerous had crept in. The prince—the sharpest danger detector in the city—was suddenly, inexplicably dulled.
I scanned the corridor, eyes flicking to the distant shimmer of wolf insignia on guard jackets, to the last trace of a catering cart vanishing around a corner. Panic threatened at the edges of my mind, but I forced it back. Adrien’s very life—maybe all the fragile peace these talks represented—now depended on my mundane, human vigilance.
I stepped forward, placing myself squarely between Adrien and the next intersection. His guards bristled. I felt every gaze burning into me, daring me to act without wolfish approval. But none could override my judgment—not when it came to his immediate safety.
I drew a slow breath, heart pounding. If there was a toxin, a traitor, or even a subtle magic at work, I’d have to see what the prince could not. Which meant acting fast—and exposing just how vulnerable both of us were in this glass and steel palace.
I glanced at Adrien, searching his face for any clue. His jaw worked, frustration flickering in those pale eyes just for me.
The wolf prince, the city, and maybe the future of both our peoples—all balanced on what I did next.