Chapter 24 Kaidan
TWENTY-FOUR
KAIDAN
Kaidan pulled his Jeep onto a narrow shoulder carved into the cliff face when they were about a mile from the top. The tire tracks they'd been following continued upward, but the path ahead narrowed dangerously.
"We go on foot from here," he said, cutting the engine. The sudden silence felt ominous, broken only by the whistle of wind through the ice formations. "Magnus wants us to find him, but he probably thinks I'll be coming in hot."
Tessa's face had gone pale, but her green eyes held that fierce determination he'd fallen absolutely in love with. Through their newly completed mate bond, he felt her fear warring with resolve, her analytical mind clearly calculating angles and probabilities to save Eli.
My beautiful, brave mate. The thought filled him with both pride and terror. She was everything he could want in a queen—intelligent, courageous, and willing to fight for those she cared about. But that same courage might get her killed today.
"You realize this is exactly what he wants," Tessa whispered as they climbed out into the bitter Arctic air. "Magnus has orchestrated this entire scenario. He knew you'd eventually figure out where he took Eli, and knew you'd personally come here to save him."
"Of course he did. He's known me for thirty-five years.
" Kaidan checked the knife strapped to his thigh, his polar bear senses already cataloging the impending threats.
The scent of explosives hung faintly in the air, mixed with fear-sweat and Magnus's familiar musk.
"But this is about more than kidnapping Eli or even killing me.
He wants to publicly destroy everything my family built. "
They began the treacherous climb, staying close to the cliff face for cover.
Ice crunched beneath their boots, and Kaidan found himself automatically positioning his body between Tessa and the yawning drop to their right.
The protective instinct ran so deep it was nearly involuntary—his bear demanded her safety above all else.
His enhanced hearing picked up the distant sound of voices echoing off the ice walls above as they got closer to the top—at least three distinct speakers.
"Thirty years," he muttered, remembering the stories his father had told him about the leadership challenge that changed everything. "Thirty years of nursing this grudge, and for what? Power? Pride?"
"Maybe there doesn't need to be a rational reason," Tessa replied quietly. "Some people just break."
The voices grew clearer as they climbed. Eli's pleading tone made Kaidan's jaw clench with fury, while Henrik's nasal voice sparked a different kind of rage—the betrayal of trust and the violation of sanctuary. But it was Magnus's commanding bark that made his bear claw at his insides.
"Where the hell is he?" Magnus's voice carried clearly on the wind. "I thought the great King Kaidan was supposed to be so clever, so protective of his precious humans and kingdom."
"Maybe he doesn't care as much as you thought," Henrik suggested, and Kaidan heard the nervous uncertainty in the traitor's voice.
"Oh, he cares." Magnus's laugh was sharp as breaking ice. "Trust me, he'll come. His father always was a sentimental fool, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree." Magnus's voice pitched higher. "Kaidan has turned completely soft now that he's claimed this human bitch."
The crude reference to Tessa made something primal and violent surge through Kaidan's veins. His bear roared silently, demanding blood, demanding dominance, demanding the complete and utter destruction of anyone who dared threaten his mate.
Control, he reminded himself, forcing his breathing to remain steady. One wrong move and we all die.
They rounded the final curve, and the tableau that greeted them made Kaidan's blood turn to ice water.
The cliff top opened into a relatively flat expanse of snow and ice, positioned directly over the major fault line running through Frosthaven's western territory.
Magnus stood in the center like some twisted director, a video camera in one hand and what looked like a detonator in the other.
Eli was bound at the wrists, and what appeared to be several sticks of dynamite were strapped to his chest, his usually calm demeanor replaced by terror. Henrik held a pistol trained on the scientist, his stance nervous but determined.
"Holy shit," Tessa breathed beside him. "If those explosives go off—"
"Most of Frosthaven goes with him," Kaidan finished grimly. The scope of Magnus's madness suddenly became crystal clear. This wasn't about ever claiming the throne or protecting the people of Frosthaven from humans—this was about ensuring that if Magnus couldn't have power, no one ever could.
Through their strong mate bond, he felt Tessa's fear spike, followed immediately by that stubborn determination that made her so magnificent and so terrifying.
"I can create a diversion," she whispered, her clever mind already working the problem. "Get to Eli while you take down Henrik and Magnus."
"Absolutely not." The words came out sharp. "You're not going anywhere near those explosives."
"Then what's your brilliant plan?" Her green eyes flashed with challenge. "Because standing here debating isn't going to save Eli or prevent Magnus from turning your kingdom into rubble."
Kaidan's logical mind raced through plausible scenarios, while his bear pressed eagerly, wanting to shift and tear Magnus apart with claws and teeth. But one miscalculation, and everyone he cared about would die.
"You create the diversion from a distance," he said finally. "Draw their attention. I'll take down Henrik first—get his gun—then go for Magnus before he can trigger the detonator. While I'm dealing with them, you get to Eli and cut him loose and get those explosives off him."
"That's a lot of moving parts for one plan," Tessa observed, but he could feel her agreement through their bond.
"We only get one shot at this," he admitted, catching her hand briefly. The contact sent warmth through their cemented bond, steadying them both. "If we fail..."
"We won't fail." Her voice carried absolute conviction. "We're better together than apart, remember? We're an unstoppable royal couple."
An unstoppable royal couple. The phrase resonated through him, filling the hollow spaces that seven years of solitary leadership had carved in his soul.
She was right—together, they were more than the sum of their parts.
His strength and her brilliance, his protective instincts and her fierce courage.
"Ready?" he asked.
Her smile was pure defiance. "Let's go save our kingdom."
Tessa moved with lethal grace along the cliff's edge, her boots finding purchase on ice that would have sent anyone else plummeting to their deaths. She circled wide, positioning herself behind a jagged outcropping of frozen rock that jutted from the cliff face like a bear's claw.
Kaidan watched through narrowed eyes as she hefted a chunk of ice the size of a bowling ball. The woman was fearless and masterful, calculating the trajectory with the same precision she brought to her scientific research.
My queen, he thought fiercely. My unstoppable mate.
She hurled the ice with perfect aim. It crashed into the snow twenty feet from Magnus and Henrik, the explosion of white powder accompanied by a sharp crack that echoed off the cliff walls like a gunshot.
"What the hell—" Henrik spun toward the sound, his pistol swinging away from Eli.
Magnus's head snapped up, his ice-blue eyes scanning the terrain with predatory focus. "Show yourself, Kaidan! I know you're here, you coward!"
That was Kaidan's cue.
He burst from cover like a missile, his powerful legs eating up the distance between himself and Henrik in three massive strides. The traitor had just enough time to register the blur of movement before Kaidan's shoulder drove into his midsection, lifting him clean off his feet.
They crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, the impact driving the breath from Henrik's lungs in a whoosh of expelled air. The pistol flew from nerveless fingers, spinning across the ice to land somewhere near the cliff's edge with a metallic clatter.
Shit. That wasn't part of the plan.
Henrik's face contorted with rage and desperation as he swung wildly at Kaidan's head. "You destroyed everything! The old ways, the purity of our kind—"
Kaidan caught the fist mid-swing and drove his own into Henrik's temple. The man's eyes rolled back, and he went limp against the frozen ground.
"The old ways were built on fear and isolation," Kaidan snarled at the unconscious form. "I chose evolution."
Across the clearing, Tessa had reached Eli. Her nimble fingers worked at the straps binding the explosives to his chest while the scientist stood rigid with terror.
"Easy, Eli," she murmured, her voice steady despite the circumstances. "Just another day in paradise, right?"
"Tessa, the timer—there's a timer on the—"
"I see it." Her hands moved with surgical precision, disconnecting wires and unstrapping the deadly payload. "Thirty seconds. No pressure at all."
Magnus watched the scene unfold with cold calculation, his pale eyes shifting between Kaidan and Tessa like a chess master contemplating his next move.
The detonator remained clutched in his right hand, but something had changed in his expression—a shift from calculated malice to something darker and more personal.
"You know what the real tragedy is, Kaidan?" Magnus's voice carried across the ice with silky menace. "Your father was weak too. He could have made our people the dominant force in the Arctic, but instead he chose diplomacy and understanding."
Kaidan straightened, his muscles coiling for another attack. Magnus was thirty feet away—too far to close the distance before he could create mass destruction.