Chapter 8
SIXTEEN YEARS OLD
Amos rode alongside Marcus at the Ambrose ranch after a long day of checking fences.
He’d been worried when he first moved to Dragon Village that his father’s men would watch him closely, but as it turned out, everyone in Dragon Village was part of the Hydra, including Lester and the guards stationed here.
Apparently, since the Hydra started, they’d been discreetly killing anyone aligned with the crown’s beliefs. After a few generations, Dragon Village became a safe haven.
Being able to do as he wished without worrying that his movements would be reported to his father freed Amos of one of his chains.
Giddy excitement filtered down the bond, and a slow smile spread across Amos’ face like it did every time he felt Clover’s positive emotions. She’ll be here tonight. He’d go home, bathe, and then meet her at the border. She thought he’d meet her tomorrow, but Amos couldn’t wait that long.
“Are you excited about seeing our girl?” Marcus asked with a knowing smile. “She sounded excited in her last letter.”
Amos’ mouth lifted in a half smile. “I am.” He tapped his chest. “She is. I can feel it.”
“I can see your excitement,” Marcus commented. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy about anything.”
Amos looked out over the sprawling land. “Never had anything to be this happy about.” Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat. “I’m going to ask her to stay.”
The only sound was their horses’ hooves against the hard ground. Marcus chuckled. “I think we’d all like that. I don’t know if Nathaniel and Franny will come back. They seem to like it there in the Human Kingdom.”
Amos made a face. “Really? Clover hates the cold.”
“Clover was born to be outside.” Marcus smiled, lost in thought. “It was hell trying to get her inside to eat when she was little. My wife was always chasing after her, hollering for her to come inside.”
“Clover told me how your wife died.” The story haunted Amos, and he knew it haunted the man beside him too.
Marcus used to be a general in the battalion, and while on an assignment in the North Oasis, a highborn who’d been visiting Dragon Village had come looking for him to deliver a message from the king, not knowing he had left.
When Clover’s mother answered the door and told the man her husband was gone, he’d asked to come in.
Being alone with only Clover in the house, she’d told him she didn’t feel comfortable with a man in her home without her husband. The man had entered anyway. What followed was nothing short of brutal and horrific.
Clover’s mother had had the wherewithal to tell Clover to go upstairs and stay quiet when she realized an unknown man was at the door.
Clover witnessed everything.
“Did you kill the man responsible? Clover never told me his name.”
Marcus shook his head. “Couldn’t. It was Merrick Hammond.” He wouldn’t look at Amos. Merrick was the king’s closest friend and ally. Highest on the council after the king.
Amos felt sick. “We’ll kill him,” he vowed, but Marcus said nothing.
They rode in silence for a while until Marcus said, “I don’t think Clover will leave your sister. She’s taken a liking to the girl.”
Amos sighed. “I’ve thought about that, and I feel guilty for taking her from Amelia, but she’s my mate. I never should have sent her in the first place.” He didn’t know how much longer he could go without her.
“You did what you thought was right, and at the time, we all agreed, but I do think it’s time she comes back to train with the Hydra.” Marcus looked at him. “They plan to start striking soon.”
Rainer had told Amos as much. They’d start quietly, taking out high-ranking commoners under the highborns’ thumb, then moving on to low-ranking highborns. They’d work their way up, cutting off the legs of those at the top.
The biggest drawback from being sent to Dragon Village was that he couldn’t observe, but the men in power don’t change often, and what information he’d gathered while there should be a good starting point.
“I’ll beg her on my knees if I have to.”
Marcus snorted. “Rainer will love that.”
Amos didn’t care if Rainer teased him for the rest of their lives. He wanted Clover with him. His mind drifted to seeing her tonight.
I’m going to kiss her, he promised himself. No matter who is around. He’d told her as much in his last letter.
If you don’t want me to kiss you when I see you, we need a word for you to say as soon as you see me. No one will know what it means but us, and it will save me the embarrassment of others knowing you rejected me.
He’d never been as nervous as he was sending that letter. They’d flirted back and forth, but never had either been so blunt. All apprehension melted away when he received her reply.
A kiss? As in only one? I guess I can settle for one and a hug.
I know you don’t like hugs, but if I’m only getting one kiss, I deserve a hug too.
I don’t think I’ll ever need a word to tell you no, but if it will make you feel better, how about candle?
I’m terrible at coming up with things, but there’s a candle beside me as I write, and it seems as good a word as any.
He and Marcus parted ways, and Amos took the long trail home. After passing Iris’ reins to the stable hand at the royal estate, he jogged toward the house. Clover still consumed all his thoughts. She’d become his obsession–reading her letters, watching her through Roland, feeling her in his chest.
He grimaced when he stepped through the door onto the freshly mopped floor with his dusty boots. The maid mopping glared at him.
“Sorry, Lucy,” he told the auburn-haired girl he’d saved last year.
Lucy had shown up at the estate not long after Amos moved to Dragon Village, requesting an audience with him.
She’d asked if she could work at the estate for free as a thank you for saving her.
Her light brown eyes seemed brighter somehow, and her medium warm beige skin glowed in a way it hadn’t the last he’d seen her.
Dragon Village would do that to a person–bring out a lightness they didn’t know was missing.
Amos told her she could have a job, but that he’d pay her. She tried to protest but he wouldn’t relent. Months later, she was still here, giving him shit.
The girl frowned at the footprints. “Sometimes I think you do it on purpose,” she grumbled and approached him with the mop in her hands. A smacking sound filled the air as the ropes of the mop head slapped against his boots. “Take them off, or I’m hitting you in the gut next.”
Amos laughed and jumped away from her with his hands up. “Easy. I’ll take them off.” He balanced on each foot to remove his boots and held them up proudly. “No more violence needed.”
Would he and Amelia have had a relationship like this? Or would they have been rivals? Or partners in crime driving their mother crazy? His chest pinched at the thought of his mother.
Lucy rolled her eyes and smiled. “Set them on the boot mat in your sitting room this time so I don’t have to re-mop all of your rooms too.”
He reached out and ruffled her hair. She might be a year older, but Amos already stood nearly a foot taller than her five-foot-one frame. The girl swatted at his arm. “Go away. I’m trying to work.”
He chuckled and sauntered away. Nothing could kill his mood today.
He’d spoken too soon. After donning a clean pair of boots from his closet, an insistent knock on his bedroom door made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A panicked Alice burst into his sitting room without waiting for him to answer.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, ushering her into his bedroom for more privacy.
“Your father is here,” she whispered. “He’s brought Jennifer.”
All the blood drained from Amos’ face. “Why are they here?”
No. This could not be happening. Dread burned through him, and it wasn’t long before Clover’s worry ricocheted back to him. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. A puff of air burst out of him. “Fuck.”
Alice’s eyes bulged. Amos never cursed in front of her, but she sensed his mood and didn’t scold him.
Think, Amos.
“He’ll send for me soon, and afterward I’ll go to Clover’s and explain the situation.” Telling Clover about Jennifer was not what he wanted to do as soon as he saw her. How mad would she be?
Alice ruefully held out a letter. He recognized Clover’s handwriting and tore it open.
Amos,
We were delayed because of an issue at the bakery. The person who was going to cover for Nathaniel and Franny is sick. We’ll come as soon as they hear back from another employee about filling in for the week.
We won’t arrive until tomorrow or the day after.
I can’t wait to see you.
Clover
Amos breathed a sigh of relief. His father rarely stayed long, and this gave him time to contact the Ambroses tomorrow and tell them what happened. He didn’t want Clover around his father, even without the Jennifer issue.
Amos carefully folded the letter. “They’ve been delayed. Do you have any idea why my father is here?”
“No.” Alice looked Amos over. “Change into a nicer shirt and greet him. Don’t wait for him to send for you. The sooner we know why he’s here and how long he plans to stay, the better.”
Amos frowned and looked at his shirt. He’d thought it was nice.
Another thought occurred to him. “Lucy. She needs to leave and lay low until he leaves.”
Alice patted his arm. “I already told her.”
Amos knocked on his father’s study door and waited to be granted entry.
Lester answered the door with an apologetic look as if to say, I didn’t know.
He stepped around the man and scanned the room. No Jennifer. “Sit down,” the king commanded. “We have things to discuss.”
Rounding the chair in front of his father’s desk, Amos slowly lowered himself into the leather seat. “I didn’t know you were coming or I would have met you at the edge of town.”
“I didn’t think to send word,” Phillip said dismissively. “It doesn’t matter.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the desk. “It’s time to announce Jennifer as your mate.”
Amos froze. “You agreed not to tie me down yet,” he said carefully.
His father’s jaw ticked. “And because no one has seen your familiar, they’re getting restless. We need to give them a distraction.”
Arguing would be futile. “When do we travel back to the capital?” Will I get to see Clover first?
“We’ll start the tour here then travel to each oasis before ending at the capital. It will be quick to ensure you’re back before the next sacrifice.”
Announce Jennifer here. If he couldn’t get to Clover before the announcement or she heard it from someone in town on her way in… he couldn’t allow himself to imagine it.
Fighting to keep his voice steady, he asked, “When is the announcement?”
“When we arrived earlier, I had one of the guards instruct the post to send out a royal notice for an announcement in front of our estate tomorrow morning.”
Oh fuck. What if Clover arrived tomorrow? This kept getting worse. “Will that be enough time?” He clutched for any excuse to delay. “Should we do it next week?”
The king scoffed. “Everyone knows to read a royal notice immediately. We need to leave as soon as possible to have you back for the next sacrifice. Upsetting the dragons is not an option.”
Somehow, Amos knew this wouldn’t work out in his favor. He’d have to go to the Ambrose’s in the morning to warn them, and pray Clover would understand.
The next morning, a knock woke Amos from a restless sleep. A butler bowed slightly when he opened the door. “Your father has asked me to ensure you’re dressed and ready for the assembly within the hour.”
The floor dropped out from beneath Amos’ feet. “This early?” When his father said the announcement would be today, he’d thought he meant in the afternoon. Not first thing in the morning.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“You know not to call me that,” Amos snapped, then sighed. “I’m sorry. This is just unexpected.”
The butler’s face softened. “It’s better to obey him and get this over with. You’ll be back before you know it.”
Amos swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “Thank you.”
I’m fucked.
Clover bounced all the way from the carriage to her family’s front door. Today, she would see Amos for the first time in years. They’d shared countless letters, and it might seem silly to other people, but she loved him, and she thought he loved her too.
Her father stood on the porch and met her halfway, engulfing her in a crushing hug. “We missed you, little mouse.”
“You saw me last month,” she mumbled against his chest. They tried to come every month or so to visit her in the Human Kingdom.
“Too long,” he chuckled, releasing her.
“Can I see Amos?” It was early, but she’d begged her brother to leave last night. They had to ride slower because of the dark, but she’d refused to wait.
“We have to leave for an assembly,” Ruth said, ushering everyone into the house. “The king sent out a royal notice. Apparently, they’re announcing the prince’s mate today.” She lifted a brow. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
Clover’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Ruth glanced at Marcus then back to Clover. “You didn’t know?”
Unable to form words, she shook her head. He wanted to announce her? Why hadn’t he told her? He must not have received her letter that she might not be there in time.
“He told me yesterday he intended to ask you to stay,” her father said. “Said he’d do whatever it took to make you stay. If anything will do it, it’s this.” He grunted. “I want it to be your choice. Can’t say I like him forcing this on you. That’s not like him.”
“I want to stay,” she said quickly, her excitement building.
“You’re talking more than usual,” Ruth murmured.
Her brother carried a few of their bags through the door. “She does that when we talk about the prince,” he teased. Clover’s cheeks went up in flames.
“Change into cooler clothes and we’ll go,” her father said. “That wool dress will bake you alive.”
Without another word, she sprinted to her room and opted to wear one of her dresses she’d left here as opposed to her pants and shirt. After all, she’d be presented to the king for the first time.
With a face-splitting grin, she skipped down the stairs, knowing her life was about to change.