Chapter 45 The New Forest Keeper
Alberto’s eyes snapped open to the dim glow of moonstone. Pain still throbbed in every limb, but it was distant now, muffled by the new strength humming under his skin. He rolled off the stone bed and stumbled the three steps to where Fernando lay.
“Fernando!” he cried, voice cracking. He grabbed Fernando’s shoulders and shook him hard. “Wake up! Do not die on me! Please, wake up!”
Tears spilled hot down his cheeks. “I crossed the forest for you! Do not leave me now!”
Fernando groaned, one hand rising to clutch his head. “Too loud. You will split my skull.”
Alberto froze. “You are alive?”
Fernando opened his eyes, gold and clear, and before Alberto could speak again he yanked him down into a crushing hug. Arms like iron bands locked around Alberto’s back, pressing them chest to chest.
“I have you,” Fernando rasped against his hair. “I have you.”
Alberto buried his face in Fernando’s neck and sobbed once, a broken sound of pure relief.
The chamber door creaked. Mira stepped in, then immediately coughed into her sleeve, loud and deliberate.
Fernando loosened his hold but did not let go entirely. Alberto pulled back just enough to wipe his face.
“Mira,” Alberto said, voice thick. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Better than both of you combined. Now tell me what in the name of the moon you were doing in the Thornwood.”
Alberto sat on the edge of the bed, still half in Fernando’s arms. “I dreamed. I saw the keep burning. Black-clad wolves pouring through the eastern gate. Fernando bleeding out from poison Mira could not see. A woman who looked like me told me I had less than a day to reach him or he would die.”
Mira’s face went pale. “You had a true seeing and walked into the Thornwood because of a dream?”
“It was not just a dream,” Alberto said quietly. “I felt his heart stopping. I had to be sure.”
Fernando’s grip tightened. “You could have died.”
“I would have died happy if it meant you lived,” Alberto answered.
Mira exhaled slowly. “And you are certain he is safe now?”
“Look at him,” Alberto said. “He is stronger than before. The bond is whole.”
Fernando sat up fully, color returning to his face. “I need to return to the pack. Now.”
Mira shook her head. “Three days by the ridge road. If your dream is true, the keep will already be under attack.”
Alberto stood. “We take the Thornwood.”
Mira stared. “You bound yourself to the forest keeper when you survived. The keeper claimed you as its own. Only you can walk that path and live. In saving yourself, you became the new keeper.”
Fernando’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
“The Thornwood never releases what it takes,” Mira said. “Alberto carries its mark now. He commands the paths. He decides who enters and who leaves. He can open the way for all of us.”
Alberto’s hand went to his chest where the claiming bite still glowed faintly. “Then I open it.”
“There is a price,” Mira warned. “To free every soul the forest has ever claimed, you must give it something equal. A life. A memory. A piece of your soul. Something it values.”
Alberto did not hesitate. “Take whatever it wants.”
Fernando rose from the bed, steady and strong. “We leave at once.”
He strode to the door and flung it open. “Kael!”
The guard snapped to attention outside. “Alpha!”
“Bring the signal flare. The red one.”
Kael returned moments later with a thick bronze tube sealed with wax. Fernando took it, cracked the seal, and stepped into the courtyard. He aimed the tube skyward and struck the base.
A blinding crimson star shot high above the valley, bursting into a blooming flower of red fire that hung in the night for long seconds before fading.
Alberto watched it rise. “What was that?”
Fernando’s smile was sharp as a blade. “I never leave anything to chance. Secret cohorts. Elite units hidden in caves, forests, mountain passes. Every corner of our territory and beyond. They live off the land. They answer only to that flare. When they see red fire in the sky, they move. They strike. They do not ask questions.”
Mira’s eyes widened. “How many?”
“Enough,” Fernando said. “If the keep is under attack, they are already marching.”
Alberto looked toward the dark wall of the Thornwood. “Then we meet them halfway.”
Fernando turned to him. “Open the path.”
Alberto closed his eyes. The new bond thrummed in his chest, and beneath it something older, wilder, answered. The forest stirred at the edge of his awareness, waiting.
“I am coming,” he whispered to the trees. “Let my people pass.”
The wind shifted. Somewhere deep in the Thornwood, ancient branches parted.
The way was open.
A path cleared, branches pulling back with a groan of wood. The black stream appeared, bubbling softly.
Fernando dismounted. “We walk from here. Horses stay with two guards.”
The others followed suit, tying the animals to rocks. The six remaining guards fell in behind.
Alberto led, Fernando at his side, Mira close behind. “Stay close to the water,” Alberto said. “Do not touch the trees.”
Fernando kept one hand on his sword hilt. “How long until the other side?”
Alberto replied. “Hours if the forest allows. Days if it does not.”
Mira scanned the darkness. “The air feels heavy. Like it is watching.”
Alberto nodded. “It is. But I am the keeper now. It listens.”
The path narrowed. Thorns scraped boots and cloaks. A guard hissed as one caught his arm.
“Do not pull it,” Alberto warned. “Let it fall away.”
The guard obeyed. The thorn dropped of its own accord.
Fernando asked. “How do you know?”
Alberto touched his chest. “I feel it. The forest is part of me now.”
They walked on. Whispers started.
“Turn back,” a voice hissed from the branches. “The Alpha dies without you.”
Fernando’s hand tightened on his sword. “Ignore it.”
Another voice, soft as leaves. “Your mate stays. He belongs to us.”
Alberto stopped. “Silence. You have no claim on him.”
The whispers faded.
Mira looked at Alberto. “You command it.”
Alberto nodded. “For now.”
A root snaked across the path. A guard tripped and fell, thorns punching into his palms.
“Up,” Fernando ordered. “Do not touch the ground long.”
The guard rose, blood dripping. “It moved.”
Alberto knelt and pressed his hand to the root. “Let us pass. No harm.”
The root withdrew.
They continued. The stream turned red for twenty paces, as though bleeding.
Fernando asked. “What is this?”
Alberto replied. “The forest’s memory. Ignore it.”
A child’s cry echoed from the left. “Help me.”
Mira tensed. “A trick.”
Alberto said. “Keep to the stream.”
The cries grew louder, then cut off.
The old keeper appeared without warning.
He rose from the earth in the path ahead, a weak shadow of the monster Alberto had faced. Bark cracked and flaking, green eyes dim, branches drooping like broken limbs. He bowed low to Alberto, roots creaking.
“Master,” the keeper said. “You have returned.”
Fernando drew his sword. “Step aside.”
The keeper ignored him. “One cannot leave. The new keeper must stay. I am dying. The forest needs you.”
Fernando stepped forward. “We will find a way. Release him.”
The keeper cut him off. “The forest does not bargain with outsiders.”
Alberto held up a hand. “Clear the way for my friends. I will stay.”
Fernando screamed. “No! I cannot lose you now! Not after everything!”
Mira touched Fernando’s arm. “Fernando, wait.”
Fernando shook her off. “I will not leave him!”
Alberto smiled at them. “Clear the path. They go. I stay.”
The keeper bowed again. “As the master commands.”
The forest parted, thorns retracting, path widening.
Fernando grabbed Alberto’s arm. “We fight it. Together.”
Alberto shook his head. “The forest needs a keeper. I am bound to it now. Go. Save the pack.”
Fernando’s voice broke. “I cannot leave you.”
Alberto hugged him tight. “You must. I am safe here. Not dead. The forest is me now.”
Mira pulled Fernando gently. “He is right. At least we know he lives. The pack needs you.”
Fernando resisted. “I will come back for you.”
Alberto nodded. “I know.”
Fernando released him, tears in his eyes. “Stay alive.”
Alberto smiled. “I will.”
The group moved past, leaving Alberto with the keeper.
Fernando looked back once. “I love you.”
Alberto replied. “I know.”
The forest closed behind them.