Chapter 4
Rider
I manifested in a partially hidden alcove near a side door to the Divine Residence, the closest I could get to being inside since it was forbidden to manifest inside without special permission from Her Brilliance, the High Priestess.
Vines with the Garden’s softly glowing pink and white flowers curled along the half-stone half-wooden archway at the front of the alcove, but few were inside, filling the space with shadows.
Movement by the back wall caught my attention as Quill stepped forward from where he’d been waiting.
He wore a two-toned gold jerkin instead of his usual green and gold, probably chosen to remind West that he was the High Priestess’s son and hoping that West wouldn’t remember that Her Brilliance had essentially disowned her son when she learned he didn’t have any magic.
I peered deeper into the alcove’s shadows then glanced through the arch toward the path. No Talon. Where the heck was he? We didn’t have time to wait around. We were all supposed to meet in the alcove and face West together.
“Where’s Talon?” I asked.
“He went ahead. Said you were taking too long.”
My wolf heaved inside me, pissed that Talon hadn’t waited, but it made sense.
I’d been delayed, and since we didn’t know when Sage would manifest, every second counted.
If we could figure out West’s motivations before she arrived, we’d be better able to figure out if we just needed to convince West to keep his mouth shut or if we needed to permanently silence the knight.
That, and Talon was the most charming of us. With his shadow’s allure, he could probably seduce West, where I’d be more likely to rip the man’s throat out… which wasn’t great if we wanted to try negotiations first.
Hell, even Quill would be a better choice than me.
Why was I here again? Given how my wolf heaved inside me, I should stay the hell away until things with West were sorted.
But my wolf didn’t give a fuck about that. He needed to ensure Sage was safe, and if that meant tearing West’s throat out, he would gladly do it.
I strode through the arch toward the side door, unable to hold my wolf back as well as my own desire to get to Sage.
“So?” Quill asked as he followed me.
I shoved through the side door into the Divine Residence’s magical opulent architecture with stone that blended with wood, polished floors that gleamed, and sparkling chandeliers radiating steady light. And this was a little-used side hall. The main halls in the Residence were even more impressive.
And while most fae were used to it, I knew Sage wasn’t, not just because she was new to the Garden but because I’d overheard something I shouldn’t have, that she’d been raised in the human realm.
“Rider?” Quill asked, his tone sharp, and I jerked my attention to him, realizing that I was growling.
Swell.
“If we’re going to convince West to listen to us, you need to stop growling.”
Right. I raked my hands through my hair, pulling apart my topknot because it felt good easing the pressure at my temples, and because I could reform the knot with just a thought.
Quill grabbed my arm, stopping me before we started climbing the stairs up to Sage’s suite. “Is this something to do with what kept you? Is Sawyer all right?”
Of course he’d think it had something to do with the boy. He didn’t know how Sage affected me, how much my stupid wolf thought she was ours… which. She. Wasn’t. Damn it.
And it would be best to keep Quill and everyone else thinking that.
“Yeah. Kit’s team was attacked.” I tugged out of Quill’s grip and took the stairs two at a time, forcing him to hurry after me. “A pack of bears. Somehow Payne was poisoned and the boy foresaw it.”
“He foresaw it?” Quill missed a step and grabbed the railing to keep from falling. “His fae-touched ability is the sight?”
Horror flashed through his expression, his reaction similar to mine when I’d first learned the truth.
“I need you to handle him,” I said. “He needs to learn meditation. The sooner the better.”
“Do we even know if meditation will help?”
“Do we have any other option?” There wasn’t a fae alive who could remove someone’s gift, not even Her Brilliance. Our only hope of saving Sawyer’s sanity was to pray he could handle fae meditation techniques and that his magic wasn’t strong or still growing.
We reached Sage’s suite to find West leaning out the door, using it like a shield along with his large body to block the view inside. His expression remained grim and unreadable while one hand gripped the side of the door and the other rested on the hilt of the sword at his hip.
Talon stood in the hallway, his jaw tight and shoulders squared. Clearly, he’d been at this for a while and wasn’t getting anywhere.
Fuck.
“I’m just asking if she’s manifested yet?” Talon huffed, any hint of pleasantries absent in his tone.
West raised a single eyebrow as if to say, “are you an idiot? The answer hasn’t changed since last you asked.” His gaze shifted to me and Quill, and the muscles in his jaw flexed.
We weren’t going to get anything out of him. Everything I’d heard about West said he took his duty seriously. Too seriously. He followed every command exactly, even if the situation demanded flexibility.
On top of that, it didn’t seem like Talon’s allure had influenced the knight at all. And I had no doubt Talon had tried to use it first before resorting to whatever was happening now.
Most fae men were as equally attracted to males as they were females since only a quarter of the fae population was female and we didn’t have much option if we wanted a sexual partner. Of course, there were exceptions to the rule. Sexuality was a spectrum after all.
Unfortunately for us, it looked like West was one of the exceptions.
Damn it. How long had Talon been standing here? How long before Sage manifested and this whole thing went to shit?
Goddess, I could picture it clearly: that red gauzy thing that clung to every curve and left nothing to the imagination.
Quill had told me Sage hadn’t been able to change her spirit clothes, and I doubted she’d manifest in anything other than her usual dress.
The moment she appeared it would be obvious to West that her marks were asleep and we couldn’t afford for him to tell the High Priestess.
And while I didn’t know what game the High Priestess was playing with Sage and West, I knew it wouldn’t be good. And there was no way I, or my wolf, would let Sage face Her Brilliance’s ire.
On top of that, Crane, and three of the men who’d tried to force a mating bond on her, were still out there.
Sure, the Order of the Sacred Grove had started an investigation, led by Ash’s pompous, arrogant cousin, Yarrow, but that didn’t guarantee Sage would get justice, not if it defied a direct order from the High Priestess.
Ash had a few men watching him as best as they could, but so far it didn’t look as if Yarrow had found anything.
My wolf snarled at the thought. Crane and the others were out there, hiding and waiting.
No doubt planning. Maybe they still wanted to force the bond.
Or maybe they wanted revenge for Sage killing Wells.
Until they were dealt with, Sage wasn’t safe in the Garden, not even in the Divine Residence with West at her side.
Quill stepped closer to West, his posture straightening into the authority he didn’t really have anymore and never liked to use in the first place.
“We’ve already proven that we aren’t a threat to Sage,” he said.
West’s sapphire gaze slid to him, but his expression stayed grim, his mouth in a tight line.
He wasn’t going to budge. We weren’t going to get in.
Except we had to. We had to protect Sage.
The need to ensure her safety clawed at my insides, and my wolf snarled and thrashed at West’s refusal to let us in.
Mine. Protect.
“Sir West,” Quill’s voice took on the formal tone he used when pulling rank. “As my mother’s son, I command you to let us through.”
For a moment, something flickered across West’s face. But it was too quick to read just like with all of West’s emotions, before his expression returned to hard, grim, and unreadable.
“Lady Sage hasn’t given her permission, Your Highness.”
Except by the time Sage gave her permission it would be too late.
“What if you just stepped into the hall?” Talon suggested.
The strategy to get West out of the suite, if only long enough to convince him to not report Sage’s condition to the High Priestess was a good one.
If we were in the hall with the door closed, we’d at least be able to stall him from seeing her when she manifested since with the spirit link he’d know the moment she appeared in the Garden…
assuming, of course, that the spirit anchor didn’t make her manifest right beside West.
“We could talk without—”
“No,” West said, cutting Talon off, that one word making my wolf snarl.
No?
We were running out of time and this stubborn bastard wasn’t moving.
My breath turned short and sharp and every muscle in my body coiled tight.
Enough talk. Make him submit.
Except we couldn’t afford to make a scene. The High Priestess was already too interested in Sage. Fighting West in the hall would make her ask more questions and we were trying to avoid that.
No. My wolf wrenched inside me and seized control, shoving my consciousness aside. It needed to protect Sage, and West was standing in its way.
I lunged at West, slamming into him and driving him into the suite.
West staggered back but recovered fast, faster than I liked, and his fist slammed into my jaw. Pain exploded through my skull and my teeth rattled.
Mine. Mine. I had to make him submit and protect my mate… who Goddess be damned was not my mate.
I drove my fist into his ribs, the impact jarring up my arm and doing little to move the massive knight. All I got was a grunt before the man reached for my throat.
I ducked, both my wolf and I knowing if he got his hand around my neck, I was done for. I rammed my shoulder into his gut. The breath whooshed out of him and he stumbled back a step.
My wolf huffed in satisfaction and dodged out of the way of West’s knee.
Were West’s strikes getting faster?
They seemed to be getting faster, which meant up until now he hadn’t been using his physical enhancement magic to fight me.
Shit.
West’s fist flew toward my face, and I barely jerked out of the way in time, his knuckles skimming my ear.
Mine. My wolf snarled, not giving a shit that West had just become more dangerous. The knight wasn’t the only one who could increase their strength.
Fur raced over the back of my hands and up my forearms, and my claws extended from my fingers. My wolf threw me forward, growling and swiping our claws.
West dodged my first strike, but my second caught in his armpit, slipping into the joint where his armor didn’t protect him and tearing fabric and flesh.
With a grunt, and no other reaction, not even a flinch in his stony glare, West turned, whipping his foot out in a kick so fast I could barely see his movements.
I wrenched down. West’s leg skimmed the top of my head, and I lunged forward. I had to get him contained, had to make him submit before it was too late.
My body slammed into West’s, and we crashed through the low table in the seating area with a thunderous crack, sending wood flying in all directions.
West’s elbow caught me in the ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. He rolled, trying to get on top of me, but I twisted, getting behind him and wrapping my arm across his neck.
He heaved and jerked, trying to break free, but I held on tight. No way in hell was I letting go.