They Called My Father a Traitor, So I Learned Every Secret They Buried novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: The Kennel Was Never Empty

Corvin stood in the kennel doorway and told me my mother and I were losing our room before nightfall.

The sick patrol wolf beside him sagged against Hadley's shoulder. Blood had soaked through his coat from the east passage. Elder Prewitt waited behind them in his white office cord, while Oswin held a leather case beneath one arm.

'You will leave the clinic today,' Corvin said. 'Your mother will report to the border kennels. The cottage is reassigned.'

Senn's knees gave way.

Hadley lowered him onto the examination table. His coat fell open at the shoulder. The wound beneath it had been packed with a dirty strip of linen, and blood had already reached his ribs.

'He was brought for treatment,' Hadley said. 'If you want him alive, let Wynn work.'

Corvin's gaze moved to my hands. 'You have until the order is read.'

I cut Senn's shirt away and pressed both palms flat against the torn muscle.

Silver lines opened beneath my skin.

They branched from the wound in thin, bright paths, crossing Senn's shoulder and sinking toward his ribs. The pattern showed the split, the pressure, and the second cut driven inward after the first had already crippled him. Anyone watching could follow the injury's shape under my hands.

The room went still around the light.

Senn made a rough sound through his teeth. 'That came from inside the passage.'

'You knew,' Corvin said.

'I know now.' I traced the lowest branch with my thumb. 'The blade entered from behind. The first cut was meant to make it look like a border attack.'

Prewitt's face stayed smooth. His hand closed over the white cord at his chest.

Corvin watched the silver fade beneath my palms. He had known what my hands could do to a wound. He had never understood what they could prove.

I packed Senn's shoulder and tied the bandage tight enough to hold. Hadley took his weight when he sat up. The patrol wolf kept his eyes on Corvin.

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