56
Jeryn
I paced like a lion in my suite, then paced the throne room, then paced the medical den, then paced the castle deck while Mother and Father observed me in amusement, then paced before a roundtable of council members—who had no idea what the fuck kept me on edge—until they complained of neck spasms from having to swerve their heads back and forth.
Far too fucking long passed before the courier returned. He had completed the task, albeit without glimpsing her, while I’d expected as much. That little beast wouldn’t be caught if she did not wish to be.
Weeks later, I sailed to The Phantom Wild, pretending to commence a research expedition regarding the landscape’s viruses. I traveled alone, with the exception of Solstice—my First-in-Command knew nothing of my intentions but wouldn’t report a word about me disembarking from the ship without backup—and a discreet sand drifter who cared about riches more than secrets, and who feared my retribution enough to keep his mouth shut.
Wary of exposure to illness, the captain docked only long enough for me to set foot on land. Good. I would have cut him with a look if he’d shown the slightest interest.
Dropping a sack of coins in his palm, I stalked from the vessel and waited until he and my First Knight shrank into the horizon, with orders to return in a week. Although Solstice hadn’t liked following this order, I’d proven well enough that I could live here without incident. Also, issuing unbreakable commands was the perk of being a king.
Regardless of what happened next, I had a place to sleep and had learned how to survive in this environment. And for Flare, I would wait infinitely longer, should the need arise.
Patience.
I strode across the shore. No crown. No fur cloak. Only unembellished clothing, along with a scalpel knife and a necklace.
The wind buffeted my open shirt. The tide struck my heels.
My pulse rammed into my ribs. If she’d seen my message, she might be here.
With my breath suspended, I gripped my satchel of necessities and stalked toward the cove where we’d said goodbye. The ocean rocked under an orange sky. The sun ducked into the water, and the restless sea rushed back and forth.
Pulse clattering, I scanned the perimeter. Yet only a vacant coastline greeted me.
Nothing more. She had not come.
My heart shattered, crackling like glass. And well, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d broken something that belonged to me. The only difference was that everything I had, she now owned. I’d made that clear in the message.
Which she must have seen. Which she had not reciprocated.
The choice had been hers to make. And hers alone.
I turned to leave at the same time a low roar alerted me, followed by a hiss. My eyes trailed the noises and landed on an unlikely trio of fauna lounging at the tree line, where the beach met the forest. The saber-toothed jaguar reclined across the sand, the boa coiled like barbed rope around a low branch, and the red butterfly squatted on a bush, each pack member regarding me intently.
“We meet again,” I said. “Been watching over this realm, have you?”
Naturally, they didn’t respond. After a moment’s consideration, I squatted and pulled open the satchel. “Come here. I may have brought a delicacy from Winter for each of you.”
I glanced up, expecting the creatures to approach. After a few seconds, I halted my movements and frowned. The pack had not budged.
Then again …
Rising with the bag, I noticed what I hadn’t before. A slender rope was knotted to the same bush on which the butterfly perched. My eyes followed the cord running through the sand and ending at a tidefarer boat that floated over the sea. High reeds blocked the vessel from sight, which explained why I hadn’t registered it, nor had the man who’d piloted me here.
She knew how to hide. And for all my logic, I should have deduced the obvious. The fauna weren’t here by chance.
No. They were guarding the boat.
My head snapped from the vehicle to every corner of the shore. In a daze, I stalked toward the conveyance and stalled halfway. A string of letters materialized in my periphery, pulling my gaze down. To the sand. The words.
Catch me.
Potentially, a tease. Likely, a dare.
I left the cove and loyal fauna behind, a premonition urging me into the rainforest, my pace quickening. Sweeping aside ferns with one arm, I disappeared into the wild. The shadows cloaked my figure, and the sweltering heat soaked my shirt. A viper slinked across the branches. Bromeliads burst with color and perfumed the air. Simians howled from the canopy.
The mist thickened, vapor rain approaching. I smashed through the foliage and into one of the hidden cave tunnels. Emerging before the ruins, I charged up the front steps and slammed through the doors.
Across the humid vestibule. Down the cobwebbed halls.
Taking two steps at a time, I barreled up to the cupola. Emerging on the platform, I stumbled in place, the scene threatening to send me to my fucking knees. Seasons flay me, that was even before the aromas of salt, sun rays, and wildflowers flooded my senses.
Among garlands of hibiscus flowers, Flare turned from the vista at the same time I skidded to a halt. Across the divide, we stared while beams of light peeked through the canopy, creating a spotlight between us.
Fuck me to heaven. I drowned in the vision of deep olive skin and dark waves that brushed her shoulders. Like a sea queen, she wore a flowing skirt and an oversized shirt tethered at the waist, with her feet unshod. Reckless. Beautiful. I shook my head, my throat tight and my tear ducts doing things I hadn’t allowed them to do my whole life. Not until this moment.
Because she had made a choice. And she came back to me.