Chapter 6

The chosen ones.

I don't dare move; the wolf is huge-at least three meters long and has wide, pointed claws. In the short time I was a huntsman, I killed many animals, but none like this one. There's something strange and unusual about it. The animal growls viciously, circling around me. I'm his prey and he won't hesitate to tear me apart. Saliva drips down from his enormous mouth and I swallow hard, knowing my options are pretty limited.

My inner dragon screams to be unleashed, and suddenly it's clear someone must have enhanced this beast with deadly magic. I can see my refection in his yellow eyes.

"All right, you're a good boy, a very good boy," I say, sounding stupid, but I have no idea what to do or say to calm the beast before me.

The wolf bends his legs, bristling his shiny fur, snarling even louder. Okay, so my strategy isn't really working and my Pixies just disappeared.

"Hey, you big, furry arsehole. You won't catch us!" Lenin shouts, unexpectedly appearing behind the beast. Jetli's waving her hand and sticking her tongue out. They're both trying to direct attention away from me.

The wolf turns around, snarls louder and vanishes into the bushes, leaping after the Pixies, before I have a chance to react. I start running as fast as I can, hoping Lenin knows what he's doing. A split second later an inhuman roars spreads through the forest and I stop dead in my tracks. Birds fly from the nearest tree and I finally remember my new ability. I don't know why I haven't thought about it before now. I feel the new power rising within my core and focus on not being seen. A familiar rush of vulnerability courses through my veins until I see my hands and legs disappear. I'm free-I wrap myself in a cloak of invisibility and launch into the nearest, wide-set tree when I see the beast appear not too far from me.

He growls, while circling around the bushes, trying to jump over the tree. The beast can't see me, but it can still sense me. Lenin disappeared somewhere, and I can only hope he's all right. I remove my blade from its sheath attached to my back and take a few deep breaths. Jetli appears next to me and sits on my arm, looking scared. My heart's jackhammering in my chest, and in the distance, I spot one of the other contestants sneaking around the bushes. He has his back to me, so I don't know who he is. The wolf sniffs him and shortly after, decides to abandon chasing after me.

A few minutes later, I hear the shifter screaming out in pain. The beast must have attacked him. For a moment, I only hear vicious gnashing of sharp teeth which can only mean one thing-the wolf's tearing the poor man apart. I push my palms to my ears and close my eyes. The shifter doesn't stand a chance. I can only hope he'll live through the attack or find a way to fight back. Jorgen must have sent the wolf to make this task more difficult for everyone-to see if any of us will return unharmed. After a few, long minutes pass, the forest is quiet with the exception of my heart beating frantically in my chest.

I get down on my knees and start moving around the bushes again, spotting the shifter's blood everywhere. Jorgen created this competition to discover real talent-someone who isn't afraid of challenges and won't back down from a threat. I'm not sure many realise just how dangerous this task is beyond the surface.

I allow my cloak of invisibility to fall, feeling my magic hum from head to toe, becoming visible once more. I begin moving around the trees, when Lenin appears. I'm so relieved he's unharmed. If he weren't so tiny, I'd squeeze him.

"The tall shifter's in bad shape. He killed the wolf, but he's bleeding awfully bad, walking towards town now. It was all pretty gross," Lenin says, looking positively freaked out.

"That could've been me out there. I should've known Jorgen was planning something like this-he's sadistic. He must have charmed more than one wolf. Did you see the size of that thing?"

"Yeah, it was magic. I think you should find the herb and get back to the castle," Lenin says and I can't help but agree.

The smell of blood twists my stomach, but I drop to my knees again, telling myself I've killed many wild animals in the past. I can't allow this to be any different. Otherwise, I won't be able to go on. Lenin's right: I need to locate the hemlock root and head back to the castle before additional enchanted animals cross my path again.

Hearing the river in the background, I know I'm in the right place. My inner dragon thrives on excitement, craving the adventure, but this isn't the time to let her go wild.

"Are you sure the shifter doesn't need my help?" I ask Lenin.

"No, Astri, he's going to be fine. You shouldn't be worried about your competition," the Pixies remind me.

The ground's muddy, and I have to be careful not to step on the root; otherwise the toxins will blind me. I've come across it in the forest only a few times before, so I know the root can disappear in one place and appear in another. I always enjoyed biology lessons, so it was only natural for me to get involved with herbs and other plants. Emilia's only a few of many witches in town who know anything about magical spells and potions. She's been studying it most of her life.

"Jetli says you look funny crawling on the ground," Lenin chuckles.

"Lenin, if you really want me to take you with me, then stop making jokes and help me. You know what the hemlock's root looks like, right?" I ask, aware that soon I'm going to be covered in mud from head to toe.

The Pixie agrees and disappears behind the bushes, mumbling incoherent words to himself. I smell the plant before I see it, holding my hand only inches away from the poisonous spikes of the hemlock's root. It has a similar smell to pine and liquorice, but overall it's not pleasant. Lenin managed to distract me-one wrong move and I could've been blinded or worse! If I didn't love him..."

"Jetli, there's a red liquid in my pocket. Sprinkle some of your dust on the root. We have only a few minutes before it disappears to another part of the forest," I whisper, aware my hand is getting numb.

This is an awkward position to be in and I know Jetli's struggling to take the small flask out of my pocket. Where the hell is Lenin when I need him?

Eventually, Jetli manages to pull the red liquid out and hand it to me. Moments later, she sprinkles her Pixie dust over the plant and sits on a leaf.

"You found it, great. Now we can go back," Lenin says, startling me again and I nearly drop the flask.

I take a deep breath and steadily pour the contents onto the root. The spikes disappear and I safely pull out the roots and shove them inside my pocket.

It feels good to finally get up and stretch my neck. I start running through the forest again, making my way back to the castle grounds. It's not long before I hear music playing, so I pick up my pace, wondering if any of the other contestants returned before me.

The Pixies are back behind my collar; for now they need to stay hidden. Most of the time, I run or hunt in the forest, fetching things for Emilia. This day shouldn't be any different, but pressure's rising in my gut all the same.

After an hour passes, I reach Rivenna and have to walk through the human part of the city. My clothes are muddy and I must look odd, with my blackened face and bow hanging over my shoulder. The sun slowly begins to disappear behind the horizon, and I'm aware I don't have much time left. I need to hurry.

I cross the road and enter the castle grounds five minutes later. The crowd's cheering, and it looks like other shifters succeeded as well. People stare at me when I appear. Jorgen's castle stretches behind the field. The flag of Rivenna's waving on its mast.

My heart skips a beat when I see four contestants in front of the stage. Two others are lying on the ground wounded. Doctors and nurses are tending to them. Megan is there too, crying over an unconscious Damian. He isn't dead, but his energy is weak. A cold shiver crawls over my spine, as the smell of blood and flesh makes me nauseous. The wolf must have surprised at least a few shifters in the forest.

Jorgen appears on the stage, but I can't read anything from his expression. I wipe the sweat from my brow and walk up to one of the contestants.

"What's going on? Where's everyone else?" I ask the shifter who has burn marks all over his arms and face. I recognise hemlock's root poisoning. I'm surprised he didn't lose his sight. It looks like he was lucky.

"That's it, only five of us came back with the root. Three are severely injured and the rest must have given up. Apparently, they were attacked by a giant wolf," the shifter explains. Despite his burns, he's quite handsome.

I sit on the grass, trying to catch my breath and wait to see what's going to happen next. Jorgen's watching me from a distance. Some of the tension ekes out of his frame. It'll take me a long time to be fully comfortable with seeing him on a regular basis.

One of the guards walks around and I grab a bottle of water. All the contestants look pretty battered, even the giant shifter who left the group first. I bet none of them expected to be chased around the forest by a giant, vicious wolf. The Black Forest is filled with numerous other secrets and traps many of them are yet to experience.

"May I take the hemlock root?" asks a voice above me. I look up and see a mage dressed in a red cloak. He must be one of the duke's advisors, because he has the same Rivenna symbol on his chest.

I nod, taking the root out of my bag and placing it next to the other two. The mage smiles. He has pleasant, green eyes and a white moustache.

"You obviously knew how to pull it out without getting burned. Well done," the mage mutters, and gives me a mysterious smile as he walks away. Out of the blue, I decide I don't like playing this game anymore. Jorgen's lucky no one was killed, but his intentions are becoming quite clear. He was never planning to make this competition clear-cut for anyone. He wanted to see who came back the strongest, lost lives be damned.

The older mage makes his way to the other contestants, collecting the poisonous plant. In the distance, I spot a table with refreshments and head over there, passing Megan who's talking to the doctor.

I see Emilia; she looks concerned too, trying to comfort another female shifter who keeps looking out, probably for her husband who hasn't returned from the forest yet.

Unfortunately, I miss the opportunity to have a drink, because the guards start calling me back toward the stage. The duke's just about to address the crowd. I glance around at the other contestants, and they're no longer wearing their masks or silly outfits. I feel the tension bleeding out of me. I'm not ready to reveal who I really am, not until the duke announces who goes through to the next round.

"Dear people of Rivenna," he begins with his booming, confident voice. "Three brave shifters have been injured during the first task, and I regret to inform you one of them lost his vision. The hemlock's root is one of the most dangerous plants that grows in the Black Forest. My instructions were pretty clear. I warned all of you; this competition was never meant for the faint of heart. The hemlock's root was just the beginning. The subsequent tasks that follow will be even more dangerous and all participants will be tested to their limits. Many participants have dropped out or disqualified, failing to return with the plant as the task required."

I grind my teeth, clenching my fists until I feel nails gouging my palms. Jorgen didn't admit he sent the wolf, but I know the truth.

Snippets and whispers move through the crowd. Various shifters aren't happy with the way things turned out. Megan holds her head in her hands, crying harder. I hope the doctors can put Damian back together. I'm not ready to die for Jorgen-but I'll do what it takes to win this contest.

"Now, let's meet the shifters who came back successfully, completing the first task," Jorgen adds, looking at me and the other four shifters. Warmth crawls across my face when the duke rests his eyes on mine. I shouldn't feel anything, and yet his presence fills me with heat. The man's a killer and he's the reason my life was filled with misery, so why do I feel so calm being this close to him? None of it makes any sense.

"My name is Alun and I'm a wood cutter," starts the first shifter. He's short and some of his clothes look torn. Three of the shifters on my right fought with the wolf-I can see scratches and bits of dried blood on their bodies.

My panic becomes real. This is definitely unexpected. I thought the duke would take us back to his castle to be introduced properly.

"Lenin, I need you. Jetli has to change my appearance again," I say, turning my head to the right while the other contestant talks about his construction business.

"Sorry, Astri, but Jetli can't change the existing spell. She can only remove her charm," the Pixie replies, rising from my collar.

"Young man. Tell us a little bit about yourself?" the duke now asks, referring to a shifter standing next to me.

"I'm Elijah, my lord. I work as a carpenter in the city, but I always wanted to join the royal guards. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember," says the tall, good-looking shifter I spoke to earlier on. I learn that amongst us there's Christopher, Mario and, Sebastian, who seems to think he's better than everyone else.

My turn comes around and I'm not sure what to do. My face is still covered with black paste and I'm absolutely filthy. To most shifters in Rivenna, I'm invisible. They only notice the scar, but most of them don't know anything about me. I'm not ready to come out of my cocoon yet, however it seems I have no choice. It's now or never.

The duke turns to look at me and I drag my hand through my hair trying to remove bits of dirt stuck to my head. Everyone begins staring at me, awaiting my response, and nervousness causes my belly to tremble loudly.

"So, young man? I think it's your turn. I hope you don't need an invitation," the duke chuckles and a few people in the audience laugh.

"Jetli, I need you," I hiss and my two Pixies fly out of my collar. I wipe the black paste off my face and Jetli reverses her charms. The colour of my hair is properly back to platinum blond. Sebastian lets out a wolf whistle and a shimmer passes through the crowd. No one can doubt now I'm actually a woman.

"My name is Astri Harald and I'm a huntsman," I say, lifting my head, meeting the eyes of my enemy.