Chapter 12
T he woman turned her head and locked eyes with me. Her veil shifted as she leaned over the arm of her throne. “Are you a tool or a blade?”
I opened my eyes. The bed’s canopy stretched above me, the center gathered in a black knot. Beyond the bed, soft sunlight filled the room. My heart pounded as if I’d sprinted up a flight of stairs—or faced off with a coldly furious Lorcan.
“Princess?” Delphine wore a concerned expression as she appeared at the side of the bed. “Is everything all right?”
No. Everything was most certainly not all right. Sitting up, I looked at the flowers bursting from the vase in the center of the table. I made my tone light. “Did anything unusual happen after I went to bed last night?”
Delphine followed my gaze. When she turned back to me, confusion shone in her blue eyes. “No. Is there something I should be aware of?”
Relief coursed through me. Lorcan hadn’t reported the guard. “Not at all.”
Delphine gave me a tentative look. “I thought you might like to wash your hair this morning. You returned from dinner smelling like…smoke.”
Duncan’s bruised, earnest face appeared in my mind. Another murder added to my list. And it still wasn’t good enough for Rasimir. He wanted me trained . The questions I’d ignored last night returned.
Who was the woman Vander brought to the dining room?
Why was her blood poisoned, and what did Rasimir mean about sending his regards to her mother?
But the most pressing question revolved around his parting order to Vander and Lorcan.
Tell her who she is.
“I also brought a new gown, Your Highness,” Delphine said, her gaze on a spot on the floor. “I’m afraid the one you wore to dinner is unavailable.”
“What happened to it?” I asked.
Her blue eyes met mine. “I burned it.”
Understanding passed between us. She knew what happened in the dining room—and she seemed to know I didn’t want to be reminded of it.
The memories would never go away. I’d see Duncan’s face in my mind for the rest of my days.
But I never had to see the gown again. It was a small kindness.
But in the Drakhold, even the smallest kindness had value.
“Thank you,” I said.
Relief spread over her face. “It was no trouble.”
Slipping from bed, I took her hand. “I’d love to wash my hair.”
She squeezed my fingers. “Consider it done.”
With her usual blend of magic and competence, she had me washed, fed, and dressed within an hour. Someone knocked on the door as she smoothed her thumbs over my eyelids.
“It’s Sir Vander,” she murmured.
“When did you hear him coming?”
She tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “The moment I decided to,” she said evenly.
The knock sounded again.
“One second!” Delphine called. After a few more brushes of her thumbs, she went to the door and opened it. “Good morning, Sir Vander.”
Vander returned the greeting. Then he looked past her, his silver eyes on me. “Good morning, Your Highness.”
My pulse quickened, memories of our kiss surfacing.
Shoving them from my mind, I tried for polite disinterest as I moved to the door.
“Good morning, Sir Vander. You’re not wearing your uniform.
” He was dressed like a hunter, his brown leather trousers and dark green jacket a perfect match for his russet hair and golden freckles.
I left plenty of distance between us, but his height meant he still loomed over me.
His silver-eating sword rested against his hip, the leather scabbard hanging from a sword belt that had seen better days.
“I’m not guarding the king today,” he said.
But you still work for him. I couldn’t let myself forget that. The man who loved his horse and called me beautiful was the same man who fetched prisoners for my father to kill.
“Where is Prince Lorcan?” I asked.
“His Highness will meet us in the forest.” Vander looked at the balcony behind me. “We shouldn’t delay.”
A n hour later, Vander and I were deep in the forest, yet Lorcan was nowhere in sight.
On the bright side, Vander maintained a far more reasonable pace than the prince did. He was just as stoic, however, his expression inscrutable as he strode at my side.
“Where is Maddox?” I asked finally. Anything to break the silence. So what if Rasimir spied on us? Horses were a safe enough subject.
Vander glanced at me. “In the stable, Your Highness.”
My scalp tingled. If he was being formal, we were almost certainly being watched. I skirted a patch of damp ground scattered with sodden leaves. “Wouldn’t riding be easier than walking?”
“Yes.”
As silence fell, it was an effort not to grind my molars together. “Then why aren’t we riding?”
More silence. Then he grunted. “Another time, perhaps.”
I slapped a branch out of my way. Once again, Vander closed doors between us. But it was for the best. I couldn’t trust anything that came out of his mouth. For all I knew, Maddox was in Ghedda.
A sudden realization made me stumble. Maddox probably wasn’t in Ghedda now, but he’d been there recently—possibly yesterday. While Lorcan marched me through the forest and forced me to drain the merman, Vander had journeyed to the Wendlewood and captured Duncan.
Fresh tears burned my throat.
Vander stole another look at me. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“No.”
There. How was that for a nonanswer? Although he didn’t need details to know why I was upset. But he also didn’t care. Anyone who could stand by and watch Rasimir rip a woman’s head from her body was too deeply flawed to comprehend grief.
A tear raced down my cheek. I swiped it away.
Vander stopped. “Corinthe—”
A twig snapped, and Vander and I both whirled as Lorcan approached.
He’d added a cloak to his customary black.
Fastened at his shoulders, the garment flowed to his ankles.
Flashes of red appeared at his hip where the dragonstone sword peeked from the folds of his cloak.
His hair was bound at his nape, but the long tail draped over one muscular shoulder.
“Your Highness,” Vander rumbled, bowing slightly at the waist. “Did you encounter any trouble?”
Lorcan didn’t slow. “Nothing that need concern you, Captain.” He strode between us and continued through the trees, his cloak fluttering behind him.
Vander watched him go, his silver eyes slightly narrowed. Then he turned and caught me staring at him. “This way, Princess,” he said gruffly.
As we fell in behind Lorcan, my heart sank at the prospect of another day of trudging through the forest. Delphine had healed my blisters, but her magic had left my skin perfect and pink. Without any calluses, the bloody sores were certain to come back.
Guilt flooded me. Duncan was dead, his body tossed on the fire like garbage in a charnel house. The Bagleys wouldn’t even receive a body to bury. And I worried about blisters. Whatever challenges the day brought, I would endure them.
Two wolves burst from the trees just ahead of Lorcan. One crashed into him, taking him to the ground in a flurry of fur and swirling black cloak.
Chaos exploded.
In one swoop, Vander grabbed me and dumped me at the base of a tree. “Stay down!” he shouted, then pounded toward Lorcan, who now battled both wolves. Growls and yelps rang out as Lorcan and the beasts tumbled over the forest floor, sending leaves and tufts of fur flying through the air.
As Vander reached them, claws shot down his knuckles.
He hovered behind the brawling trio, his knees bent and his body bouncing like he marked the rhythm of a dance.
In a burst of movement, he threw himself into the melee.
His claws flashed, and blood spurted from one of the wolves in a perfect arc.
Red splattered the leaves, the sound like raindrops on a window, and a wolf’s paw thumped to the ground.
With a high-pitched squeal, one of the wolves deserted the battle and fled.
As it wove through the tree trunks, its fur swirled swiftly into flesh.
In a blink, the werewolf sprinted on two legs, his pale buttocks flashing among the trees.
He held his bleeding stump against his waist.
Vander shot to his feet and charged after him.
A man’s shout drew my attention back to Lorcan, who grappled with the first wolf on the ground. The wolf pinned Lorcan on his back, its paws on his shoulders as it snapped its jaws in the prince’s face. Lorcan turned his head at the last second, avoiding getting his nose ripped off.
I rose from my crouch, my fangs aching. If I struck the werewolf in the back, I could distract it long enough for Lorcan to recover. I needed a weapon—
Lorcan landed a vicious blow on the wolf’s snout. As the beast reeled, Lorcan roared.
Shockwaves distorted the air before slamming into me. The force knocked me backward, and I landed on my ass with a grunt. The werewolf twitched and jerked on the forest floor, its ears pinned back and its jaws open on a series of shrill yelps.
Lorcan jumped to his feet, grabbed the beast, and slammed it against a tree. Fangs bared, he seized the wolf by the throat. “ Escorpu .”
The wolf shuddered. Then its body spun into bare skin and a wild halo of dark blond hair. A man panted against the tree, contempt blazing in his yellow eyes.
“Fuck off,” he rasped. “Fucking traitor, turning on your own people. You’re nothing but Rasimir’s lapdog.”
Lorcan buried his fist in the man’s gut. As the man wheezed, Lorcan leaned in and hissed in his face. “And you’re a dead dog.” He yanked the man’s head to the side and plunged his fangs deep.
The werewolf jerked, his lips stretched in a grimace.
He clawed at Lorcan’s arms, but his blunt human nails were useless against the thick leather.
Lorcan held him effortlessly, his dark head buried in the wolf’s neck as he feasted.
In under a minute, the man’s features went slack and his eyes rolled back in his head.
Lorcan flung the werewolf’s body aside. He stood over it, his chest heaving as he appeared to catch his breath. Without warning, he swung around, his gaze locking onto me, seated at the base of the tree.
His eyes were solid black.
I shot to my feet. For one shivering second, we stared at each other. Then Lorcan stormed toward me.
“No!” Vander streaked across the clearing.
Lorcan spun with bared fangs. The men clashed, fists flying.
Lorcan was fast, but Vander was bigger and stronger.
He backhanded Lorcan, sending him spinning around.
Before Lorcan hit the ground, Vander caught his shoulder and yanked him close.
Locking a thick arm around Lorcan’s chest, Vander pinned him from behind, both men now facing me.
Lorcan snarled and snapped his fangs, straining to break free.
Straining to get to me.
Behind him, Vander caught my eye. “Come on!”
Shock rooted me in place. Vander wanted me to get closer ?
“Hurry!” he bellowed.
The command in his voice jerked me forward.
Grabbing at my skirts, I rushed over the leaves.
Vander hauled Lorcan around and forced him through the trees.
Lorcan’s hisses and growls drifted back as I followed the men.
Vander had sheathed his claws, and I realized he didn’t truly want to hurt Lorcan.
A dozen steps later, Vander stopped in another small clearing.
As Lorcan continued lunging for me, Vander swept a quick look over the trees.
“Zid.”
Blue light zipped from one tree to the next, forming a glowing perimeter about three feet off the ground.
Lorcan’s onyx eyes bored into me as he fought Vander’s grip.
“ Mesu ,” Vander said.
And the forest vanished.