The Raven Wolf King: Wolfless novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

~Valeria~

Father stares at Mother. “Meryl?” His voice breaks. “Is she… saying the truth?”

“NO! No! She is a horrible girl! She is lying!” Mother looks crazed.

I slowly shake my head. “I am not. You know I am not.”

Father stands, leaving Mother on the ground. “I know when you lie, Meryl.”

“Nooo!” Mother covers her face and begins to cry.

Father slowly lifts his face to look at me. He is breaking, and in that moment, I wish I had never told him.

“This is why she’s always hated me,” I tell him.

He takes a deep breath. “But I never did,” he says. “I never hated you. As a fool, I put my work above you. But you are my daughter, and you will always be.” He gets close, hugs me, and kisses my head. “Now, please, give me a moment with your mother.”

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I leave the room and head downstairs in search of Raphael. It takes me a while, but I manage to find him.

“We need to talk,” I tell him.

“Now is not a good time, Valeria.”

“It will have to be.” He sees how serious I am.

Looking both ways down the hall, he pulls me through a door into an empty living room—one of many in the castle.

“Is this about your friend?”

“Yes, and about me. I need to see him.”

“Valeria, you can’t,” he warns.

“I have to.”

“I know you trust him, but do you really know him? Can you say that you truly believe, full-heartedly, that he’s innocent?”

“Yes!” My answer is straight and confident.

He takes a deep breath. “I can’t risk you. If you’re seen with him

He is my brother!”

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I sing, “I’m an old soul.”

That makes him smile.

Once we’re in front of the doors that lead to the dungeon, the guards don’t even look at us twice before moving aside. Obviously, if not for Raphael, I’d never be allowed in.

We descend the dark, narrow stairs and pass rows of cells, each holding men and women. The place is lit well enough, but the walls and air carry a dingy stench.

“Why so many?” I mutter.

“These are the men and women who just attacked us— that survived. Some still escaped.”

One cell in particular holds a woman I know.

I gasp. “Grimm’s mom?! Why?!”

-the ones

“My father’s orders. She needs to be questioned,” Raphael says.

The lady rushes to the bars when she sees me. “You! Save him! Save Grimm! Please! He’s a good boy!”

“I will! I’ll do everything I can. I promise you!”

Raphael leads me away.

18:45

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< Chapter 49

“Oh, yeah. I was told the killer was caught.”

“It’s not him,” I tell him.

Slowly, Finn nods. “I had my suspicions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they told me it was your friend. That boy you’re always with. But he was with you that night, right? You both saved me.”

“Yes! Exactly. And that’s why we’re here. We’re trying to prove his innocence-because apparently my word doesn’t count.” I glare at Raphael.

Finn begins, his voice low. “That night, I heard branches breaking. But now, thinking back, it didn’t sound natural. It wasn’t branches breaking.”

“Bones breaking? Someone shifting?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s a noise I’ve heard before. Sorry, I don’t know how to explain it. It was just odd. But it was Dorian who pointed out the noises, and then the ravens came swooping down on us. That’s all I

remember.”

Finn’s words trail off, leaving us with nothing more. The silence that follows is heavy. We’re left with the same questions, 18:45

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