Chapter 14 — Rhiannon
“This is an outrage!”
Ethan and I are in Xander’s study, watching Stasio and Holden as they rail at Xander. Stasio, in particular, has lost his stiff composure entirely.
“Your guard did this.” He steps toward Xander, teeth bared. “He escorted my daughter into the garden and attacked her. Your healer says he might’ve killed her if she hadn’t defended herself.”
Xander squares his shoulders, impervious to Stasio’s fury. “My guard would not have attacked anyone unprovoked.”
“Are you suggesting that she asked for this?” Stasio steps up to Xander and I have to get between them.
This is such a mess. When we found Haron, she was barely conscious. I had to carry her to Olcan while shouting orders at the other guards to search the grounds. In the moment, I had automatically assumed that an intruder had come and overpowered Jayme.
By the time I got her to infirmary, though, Haron managed to tell me that it was Jayme who attacked her. Lying on the bed, she held up a bloodied hand and said, “I was able to stop him before— before he . . .”
Now, as I try to maintain some separation between the Shaman and the Alpha, I’m still confused. What the hell would possess Jayme to do this? I can’t believe he would throw away his life like this. It just doesn’t make sense.
“Please, Elder,” I turn to Stasio. “Calm yourself. We are investigating—”
“There is no investigating to be done.” Holden emerges from behind his father. “My sister was attacked, and it was that guard of yours that did it. You commanded him to show her around the garden, so this is more your fault than anyone else’s.”
It’s as though Holden’s words relit the fire in Stasio. The next thing I know, he’s slapping my arm away. “I will not be calm,” he says through gritted teeth. “My child was almost murdered tonight.”
“But she wasn’t,” Xander says, “because the Commander of my Guard was able to get to her in time—” Stasio scoffs at the words my Guard. “Elder, I appreciate your anger. I truly do. And I am telling you, as sworn Alpha of this pack, this incident will not go unanswered. You have my vow on that.”
Stasio stands there, grinding his teeth as he glares over my head at him. “Once upon a time, our people trusted yours to protect one of our daughters,” he says. “We all know how that ended. Let this not be a repeat of those events.”
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. Even Ethan and Thea stiffen on the couch. The threat in those words is unmistakable. Xander’s blue, silver-ringed eyes darken.
“We invited you here to foster peace, Elder,” he says, his voice a low growl.
“There will be no peace as long as my daughter’s attacker is allowed to roam free,” Stasio answers. “So, whatever your investigation uncovers, there must be justice for Haron, or I will see this place cursed for all eternity.”
Xander’s eyes narrow. “You will have justice,” he says. “On that, I swear.”
Stasio nods, seemingly satisfied. “Your vow is your bond, Alpha.” And with that, he turns to leave with Holden in tow. As the door opens, one of the guards outside peeks in, and Xander nods to him, commanding him to escort our guests.
Once they’re gone, he closes his eyes and sighs, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
Thea says, “Do we really believe Jayme did this?”
Xander doesn’t speak, so I say, “No, of course not. There must be some explanation.” I look at Xander, who gives me an impatient glare. “Jayme didn’t do this, my Lord. He wouldn’t throw away all his hard work to do something this vile—”
“That doesn’t matter, Rhiannon. Not right now.”
I glare back at him. “Of course it matters—”
“Did you not see the Elder just now? His daughter was attacked by one of us. Right now, that is the only thing that matters to him. If I don’t act immediately, everything we have worked for up to this point will have been for nothing.”
I can’t believe what he’s implying. “My Lord—”
“There is nothing more to discuss. Jayme must be taken into custody. Now. If not, this summit ends, and so does our chance at peace.”
We all go silent. My heart pounds in my ears. Xander takes in a deep breath, then says, “Go to Jayme yourself. Maybe if it’s you who does it, he’ll go willingly.”
There’s no resistance in me left to give. Nothing in Xander’s face suggests he takes any pleasure in this. He adds, “Please, Rhiannon. Don’t fight me on this.”
“I understand, My Lord.” Without another word, I leave. Footsteps follow me a few seconds later. It’s Ethan, of course.
“You’re not really going to arrest him, are you?” he asks, and I scoff. “Okay, but hear me out a second. I think there’s something else going on here.”
I stop and turn to him. I’m exhausted with all of this. “What are you talking about?”
Ethan opens his mouth, then closes it. “They’re lying. One of them is, anyway.”
This gives me pause. “The Shaman?”
He nods.
“Are you certain?”
“As certain as I’ve ever been about anything. I’m telling you, they’re being deceptive.”
“Have you mentioned this to Xander?”
“When would I have? The past hour has been kind of a blur. Besides, I don’t know that he really wants to hear that right now.”
I look past him, back down the hall at Xander’s door, running through my options.
“Ethan . . . I don’t know what happened to Haron, but I can’t imagine any of us attacking a Shaman.
Especially right now. Everyone in Kortan is of the same mind.
We all want peace between our kinds. No one would dare risk it. ”
“Yeah. I get that.”
“On the other hand, why would Haron lie? What would she have to gain?”
He shrugs. “Maybe she doesn’t want peace?”
I bite my lower lip. “Do you think that’s true? I mean, you were reading her at dinner. Does she seem like some kind of suicidal revolutionary?”
“Honestly, no,” he says. “Both Haron and Holden come off to me like trust fund socialites, not political heroes. They don’t really seem like they would care about any of this.”
My stomach drops a little, but he’s right.
The idea that she was making it up is a little too hard to believe.
I start pacing the hall. “This just doesn’t make sense.
Her wounds are Lycan, decidedly. And the timing is difficult to argue.
Everyone heard Jayme volunteer to walk with her in the garden, alone.
And the worst part . . . Goddess, help me. ”
Ethan tilts his chin toward me, urging me to speak.
“Branson and Jayme are from the Gorg Pack. You couldn’t possibly have known this, but I know it’s on Xander’s mind. During the Moon Curse, the Gorg sided with the Shaman, to aid them in their quest to wipe out our pack.”
Ethan’s mouth drops a little. “You’re joking.”
“Both of them defected from the Gorg before all that. Branson and Jayme swore their loyalty to Xander and our pack, and they’ve been nothing but that ever since. Still, they endured years of horrible treatment under Shaman control.”
He frowns, the wheels turning behind his eyes. “Conan joked about Jayme being a troublemaker before joining the Guard. Could that be related to this?”
I shake my head. “Jayme was a bit of a thug, certainly, but after the curse was lifted, he went to Branson and begged him for help to control his anger. That’s when Branson asked me to let him become a guard.”
Ethan says nothing to that, and I don’t blame him. This all looks very bad for Jayme. I sigh and say, “I know everything points to him. I also know that Jayme isn’t responsible for this. But I still have to arrest him, Ethan.”
He stays silent for a long few seconds in the face of that. Then he says, “There’s more going on here than we know, Rhiannon.”
“I know.”
He shifts on his feet, thinking. “When you question him, I want to be there.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “You think he’ll admit to anything with you around? I don’t think he trusts you yet.”
Ethan scoffs. “I don’t think that matters right now. Do you?”
“No, I guess it doesn’t. Be ready when I come for you. I plan to question him tonight.”
I stride off, headed for Jayme’s quarters. My stomach clenches with every step. Goddess, I hope Jayme is innocent.
After all the push back I’ve gotten from Xander lately, it’s reassuring that Ethan has my back. His support shouldn’t matter this much, but knowing he stands with me steadies me in a way I didn’t expect.