Chapter 6
Six
RONAN
W hen Lucca doesn’t return to the castle with Dean, I go after him.
He can handle himself, but it isn’t safe to be in the woods alone.
I wouldn’t put it past Tatiana or her demented son Boone to attack us near King Raphael’s fortress.
If there’s a spy in our midst, they know Lucca has a preferred spot to train in the forest.
Halfway there, I see Lucca’s silhouette coming toward me. The wind isn’t blowing in my direction, but I recognize the way he moves.
“Where have you been?” I ask.
“Same place as always. There’s no reason to fret.”
“I don’t fret. But you know it isn’t prudent to—” I catch a scent I never thought I’d sense again, and my heart seems to freeze. “You’ve met with Cheryl.”
“Yes.” Lucca walks past me without making eye contact.
“What did she want?” I keep pace with him, but all I want is to grab his arm and force him to stop so I can look into his eyes.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
Hell. If he doesn’t want to discuss the reason for Cheryl’s visit, I won’t be able to force it out of him. So I gamble on a hunch. “She came to ask you to turn her into a vampire, didn’t she?”
Lucca stops abruptly and turns to me with his eyebrows pinched together. “Has she approached you about it as well?”
“She never asked me to turn her, but she was curious about it. It was a long time ago.”
Lucca looks into the distance, his shoulders slumping a bit. “I do feel for her and Karl, but even if Uncle Raphael hadn’t forbidden me to attempt to change her, I wouldn’t dare now.”
“Because of the curse?”
He looks at me. “Yes, but there’s also more. I don’t feel like myself.”
My stomach tightens. “What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain. It’s almost as though I’m weaker than I was before. It’s not fatigue or hunger. It’s something else.”
I rub my face as I digest Lucca’s confession.
He’s one of the most powerful blueblood vampires, second only to his uncle.
If his strength is deserting him because of the curse, does that mean it’s the same for King Raphael?
If they’re both weaker, how long until the enemy learns this and launches a full-on attack?
“Maybe the High Witch can give you something or knows a spell.”
Lucca grimaces. “I don’t trust Daveena. I saw her wearing a piece of my mother’s jewelry the other day. When I confronted her, she lied and said my mother had gifted her the jewelry, but I know for a fact that Mom gave that ring to Manu years ago.”
“Do you think she could be a spy?”
“I don’t know if she’s a spy or just a greedy human.”
“Have you told the king this?”
“Yes. He didn’t seem worried about it.”
King Raphael isn’t a fool. Perhaps Daveena is harmless, or she got the ring from Manu. I can’t imagine the High Witch would risk her position just to steal jewelry.
We finally cross the gate into the inner courtyard, but my thoughts are far away, with Cheryl. I glance at the dark sky. I still have hours before sunrise.
Lucca looks over his shoulder. “Are you coming inside?”
“In a minute. Go on. I’ll find you later.”
Once he disappears inside the building, I head out once more. I won’t be able to relax if I don’t see Cheryl tonight. It’s a compulsion I can’t fight. I retrace Lucca’s steps and easily pick up her scent. It’s strong, and she was in her human form, which means she probably hasn’t gone far.
Before I can talk myself out of going after her, I take off, running as fast as I ever have in my life.
My pulse is racing, and all my senses are homed in on her scent.
I could have easily found out where Solomon placed her and Karl, but I was afraid that, if I had that knowledge, I wouldn’t be strong enough to stay away.
My actions tonight are proving that, when it comes to her, I’m weak.
I slow down when I hear her. She’s… fuck. She’s crying. What did you expect, Ronan? Lucca denied her request, and she must want it desperately to have swallowed her pride and asked him. I should leave, but I can’t.
“Go away,” she tells me.
Naturally, she knows I’m nearby.
“No.” I shorten the distance between us and find her sitting on the ground, resting her back against a tree. She’s dressed from head to toe, but it’s the middle of winter, and wolf shifters can freeze to death if they aren’t in their wolf forms.
“You have no authority over me.” She lifts her chin in defiance. “I’m no longer your pet.”
I drop into a crouch in front of her. “You were never anyone’s pet, and neither was Karl.”
She snarls, showing me her fangs. “Don’t you dare speak his name.”
I clench my jaw hard. They think I did something terrible, and I can’t figure out what. But now is not the time to probe, not when Cheryl is on the verge of shifting and attacking me.
“You can’t stay here like this. Can’t you feel the cold seeping through your clothes?”
“I feel nothing ever since I left your precious king’s castle.”
“I don’t want you to freeze to death. Lucca told me why you sought him out.”
Her face crumples. “Honestly, it’d be easier to just go to sleep and never wake up. Then I wouldn’t have to see my dear brother waste away in his agony. Tell me, Ronan. Was it worth it?”
“Was what worth it, Cheryl?” I grit out, frustrated. “I can’t make sense of your words.”
Tears roll down her cheeks, and my heart shrinks at the sight. “I thought you cared about me. But I was only playing second fiddle to your princess.”
I stare at her in stunned silence. Were my walls so high that she couldn’t see what she did to me, or how I felt about her?
“You were never second to anyone, Cheryl. I do care about you, more than you will ever know.”
Her green eyes shine brightly when she replies, “If that’s true, then make me a vampire.”
My stomach seems to fall through the snowy ground. Of all the things she could ask of me, she had to desire something not in my power to bestow. “I’d give you anything, Cheryl, but that’s a wish I cannot grant.”
She leans forward, getting onto her knees, and grabs my hands. Her eyes glimmer with tears once more. “Please, Ronan. You weren’t cursed. You have the power to make vampires. The king doesn’t ever need to know.”
For the first time since I lost my parents, tears sting my eyes.
My heart shatters into a million pieces.
I want to give in, not only because I don’t want Karl to live an eternity alone, but because I can’t bear a world in which Cheryl doesn’t exist. But I made a vow to the king, the male who saved my life, took me in, and treated me like his own son when I had no one in the world.
If I attempt to change Cheryl, it will be akin to stabbing the king in the back.
I couldn’t live with the shame of such a dishonorable deed.
“I’m sorry, Cheryl. What you’re asking of me… it’s impossible.”
Her expression changes from supplicating to rage in the blink of an eye. She shoves me back, then springs to her feet.
“It’s not impossible, Ronan. You’re just a coward who won’t disobey your master. I had it all wrong. Karl and I were never the pets— you are.”