Chapter 14 Heal Quickly
~ DONAVYN ~
Reluctantly, I ushered her back to the circle of nobles clustered around Ruin. His eyes scanned both of us as we approached, as if checking for weapons, but his smile never faded and he continued his chatter with the women, who were very clearly taken by the handsome, young Furyknight.
“…then how did you come to be in Fyrehold, Lord Ruin, if you didn’t travel with the General?”
Ruin’s eyes flicked to mine before he responded. “I’m just passing through on my way back to Draeven—excuse me, Vosgaarde. I came from Draeventhall. But Vosgaarde is home. I’d heard that my comrades were here and I wished to see them. Especially the General, of course.”
I smiled to myself, oddly encouraged by that trip-up.
Ruin was charming and charismatic, but his weakness had always been words.
He’d barely known how to read before he was Chosen, and while he’d learned quickly, any man’s weaknesses came to the fore in times of stress.
If he was slipping on words, he wasn’t as assured as he appeared.
Good.
“Of course,” the woman said with a knowing glance at Bren. “Well, it is our delight to have you join us in Fyrehold. I, for one, hope you might stay a while. The General and his… colleague are staying for the entire festival. Will you do the same?”
Ruin rubbed his jaw and looked around the crowd of women leaning towards him with avid eyes, his smile growing broader. “If the General doesn’t change my orders, then I hope so,” he said vaguely.
The women all turned to look at me. “Please, General!”
“We so love making new friends.”
“The Festival will be so much more fun if you all stay!”
I raised my hands to quiet them, frustrated by Ruin’s grin, knowing I couldn’t possibly assure the women of any such thing. “Our duties as Furyknights are never predictable,” I said firmly. “But God willing, we will all be able to stay and share the Festival days with you.”
The Festival lasted two weeks, with increasingly exuberant celebrations as it progressed. I had no doubt Ruin would love to be here to partake of whatever was on offer during these days. But I would also do everything in my power to keep the women here safe from him.
That thought sent me straight to Bren, reaching for her through the bond with reassurance and caution. ‘I’m won’t have him anywhere near you—’
‘It’s fine, Donavyn. He’s toying with these women. I know what you’re doing. It’s fine,’ she repeated, but I could feel the creeping unease in her and held her hand more tightly.
God, I wanted to take Ruin by the throat and shake him until his neck snapped. But the grim thought lacked the fire of my earlier urges. I was strangely relieved to find this thought was… cold.
I wanted him punished. But no longer at the expense of my integrity, or Bren’s safety in the aftermath.
I prayed God would bring this fucker to his knees.
And until He did, I would keep as close an eye on him as possible.
Because we needed to figure out if Ruin was only connected with Hanson as an entrée to this society, or were the dragons truly tied in?
Or was this entire situation a ruse for our benefit? Was the king of Fyrehold also connected to Ruin?
Had Ruin sold himself to this kingdom?
‘I’m going to talk to Grace,’ Bren sent, slipping her hand out of my grip and drifting to the edge of this circle of men and women, to the young woman who’d stayed in Ruin’s periphery.
‘I’ll make Ruin regret showing up tonight,’ I sent, then shoveled reassurance at her when I felt the jolt in her at the thought. ‘I mean, as a subordinate. Nothing else.’
I watched Bren lean over Grace and invite her to sit apart from the others. Grace looked up at my mate with relief, and I smiled. But when she leaned over another woman to excuse herself from the conversation with Ruin, I caught the glance Ruin shot at Bren.
Luckily, I was positioned to step in front of him and block his view of my mate as she drew Grace away.
“No offense, sir, but you’re ruining the view—”
“Furyknight, attend!” I barked, not too loudly—not so loudly as to echo in the ballroom over the music, but loudly enough that several of the women startled and a few male heads turned in our direction, looking for the conflict.
Ruin, with no other choice, shot out of his chair and to attention, standing in front of me, the muscles at the back of his jaw flexing again and again.
I smiled. “I am, of course, so pleased that you’re here, Ruin.
But I’m afraid our duties may interrupt us for a moment.
Don’t worry ladies, I’ll return the puppy to you for play very soon,” I said with a patronizing smile towards Lady Faye who fluttered.
But when I turned back to Ruin, I made certain my expression was calm and assured.
“Time to report, soldier,” I ordered quietly.
Ruin’s expression blanked, but we both knew he couldn’t defy me outright without drawing some very serious questions. He nodded once, eyes focused on the wall behind me. “Sir. Yes, sir.”
“The king has been very generous to offer one of his nearby offices in the event of official duties. Move, Furyknight. Straight to the corridor, then right. I’ll direct you.”
Ruin’s gaze flattened, but he turned on his heel and started straight for the door as he was ordered.
I smiled at his back and reassured the women that he’d be free to return once he had reported, then marched after him.
I felt eyes on my back and had to smile when my mate reached for me through the bond.
‘I think that was the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen you do.’
‘Then I pray I have many more opportunities before this shitshow is done,’ I returned with a rush of love and reassurance, then followed Ruin out of the ballroom, not allowing him to be at ease, so every noble we passed understood that he’d been directed to remove himself from the room by me.
While I, of course, walked with the ease and comfort of the man who was giving orders. Not taking them.
I closed the door to the study the king had directed me to use in the event of official duties or messages during a formal event, then turned to face Ruin who, to my surprise, remained at attention, standing in front of the huge desk at the center of the room, looking out the window—in which he could see my reflection, I realized.
“At ease,” I said, reluctantly.
Ruin’s chin dropped and he whirled on me. “If you really want there to be no suspicions of our intentions—”
“We do not share any intentions that I’m certain of yet,” I snapped, storming over to stand in front of him. “So, you speak quickly and with an abundance of caution: What the fuck are you doing here?!”
“I told you, I was—”
“Perhaps you’ve grown accustomed to dealing with empty headed nobles, or children. I am neither. Four days ago, you fled when—”
“You were going to kill me!”
“Well, I’m not now—unless you earn it. So, report, soldier. That’s an order. Report your fucking nuts off until I tell you to stop.”
Ruin glowered, but tugged at his jacket, and dropped his tone before he started to speak. “With all due respect, sir, we are in a strange room, in a stranger’s castle. We have no idea if anyone can hear us, or—”
I stood in front of him, let him see how little I cared for his discretion. “And you’re in an entirely different kingdom than the one you were ordered to enter.”
“I told you, I’m fulfilling those orders to the best of my ability.”
“Then you tell me why you ran from me, and how anything you told me has to do with Hanson and his dragons?”
Ruin huffed. “Hanson is a wealthy Lord I can manipulate to gain access to the Court, and I have—precisely as I was trained. And, they’re not his dragons… sir,” he ground out.
“Then, whose are they?” Were they the missing Fyrehold dragons after all?
“They’re their own. Wilds. Ferals. They listen to Carnage—reluctantly.”
Not the answer I’d expected. “Why? And how did you manage that?”
“Because I’m using them to tie Hanson to me—the man has ambitions, and he’ll use anyone he can to achieve them. He ushers me into the Fyrehold King’s sphere and keeps me comfortable, so I help him. The dragons stay close because Carnage told them to. When we’re done, he’ll release them.”
I glared at him to cover for my confusion. “You’re using wild dragons to corner an ambitious noble? For what purpose?”
“I told you the purpose,” he insisted.
“And yet, you’ve told me nothing about who or how you found these dragons, or what evidence you’re actually collecting and intending to provide to the king.”
“Because if I tell you, you’ll kill me, then take the credit I earned in Vosgaarde for your own gain.
I am many things, sir, but I am not stupid.
And I’m under no one’s thumb. Not even yours.
I’m fulfilling the orders you oversaw, and I will argue that point before the king and queen themselves if necessary. ”
My anger rose, but I kept a leash on it. “You left a devastated squad with dead dragons, in your former location, to show up in a neighboring kingdom and—”
“I told you what happened there. I continue to serve the purpose I was given from the start—and in exactly the way I was trained to do it. You told me that our role is to know when to step out alone and solve the problem. Well, here I fucking am. Except now I have two problems—finding the mole, and fixing your shit.”
“What the fuck are you—”
“Your ‘assistant?’ And she’s trained? I don’t know how she managed it so fast, but it’s clear Bren has her claws into you. She’s still just a farmgirl, no matter how many hours you’ve put into her. Don’t growl at me, I get it. She’s a good fuck, but—”
I stepped right to his toes, standing over him by an inch, without a word. Ruin’s mouth snapped closed. Petty satisfaction warmed my chest. But I kept my voice as low as I could without whispering, and let him hear the leashed fury simmering me.