GOTP Chapter 32

Velmir didn't remember leaving the camp. One moment he was outside her tent, the next he was just… gone. Flying. Higher, faster, away from her voice, away from her scent. Just wanted to be away.

He didn't know how long he had been in the air. Hours? A full day? Didn't matter. The sky changed from gold to gray, and gray to black again. The world below passed like a blur- rivers, hills, villages, more smoke. Always smoke.

By the time he came to his senses, the night had fallen dark. And there it was beneath him-  two towers, tall and narrow, joined by a bridge of stone. The Twins.

Something twisted in his chest when he saw them. He couldn't explain it. A pull, sharp and ugly. Anger? Maybe. It made his wings twitch, his claws itch for something to kill.

He circled once, twice. The urge didn't fade. His claws flexed in the air. Before he knew it, he was gliding down toward the bridge.

Inside the tower, Lord Walder Frey was climbing the last set of steps, wheezing like an old bellows. He leaned on the shoulder of a girl no older than his grandchildren- new wed maid, poor thing.

"Slow, girl! These knees," he muttered, spitting the words like he spat everything else. "I could command a battle in my youth, now I can barely climb to bed. Hah."

The girl said nothing, just helped him up, eyes fixed anywhere but his face.

When they reached his chamber, he waved her off with a grin that made her flinch."Go fetch the one they promised me," he said. "Tell her Lord Frey's waiting. Naked, if she's lucky."

She left in a hurry, half-running down the stairs.

Walder undressed slowly, joints creaking, and dropped himself onto the bed. The mattress sank under him."Where's that girl?" he muttered, frowning toward the door. "Gods damn it, I said bring her quick."

Nothing. Just the sound of wind outside the shutters.

Then came a soft creak. Not from the door, from the window latch.

He squinted. "What's that now?"

A sharp gust blew through, slamming the shutters wide. The lock splintered against the wall.

"Bloody wind," he snapped, trying to sit up. "Close the-"

He didn't finish.

Something moved in the dark- fast, silent. He saw only the blur, the faint orange glow that shouldn't be there.

A weight hit him before he could breathe.

Claws. Pressure. A flash of pain.

And then he wasn't in his bed anymore.

The last thing Lord Walder Frey saw was the sky spinning and the cold wind biting his face. His body hit the mud outside the tower with a wet thud. The river ran slow beside him, dark and indifferent.

When the maid returned, she froze in the doorway. The window was open. The bed was empty.

Outside, she heard the faintest sound - a rush of wind cutting through the night.

And that was that.

Lord Walder Frey was gone.