Chapter 32
Bear was training outside in the snow, his naked chest lined with rivulets of sweat as he punched into a leather bag filled with grain.
It swung sideways from a bough as he threw all frustration into each strike, his muscles flexing, his heart hammering, his head still aching from the day before when Scarlen announced she was Princess Adoria, of all fucking people.
He still couldn’t get his head around it, not that he wanted to think about it at all.
He was glad he hadn’t seen her yesterday, as he would have only yelled some more, which part of him felt guilty about, as there was a time and a place, and Scarlen finding out her little sister was alive wasn’t the time for the shit he wanted to toss her way.
He sighed up at the early morning sun streaking golden hues into the sky. At least there wasn’t any more snow on the way anytime soon, and the air was a touch milder than usual, or perhaps he couldn’t feel the cold because he was too fired up with rage from all the lies.
Why would you have sex with me?
It stirred and stirred, swiftly followed by what those intimate moments had felt like, and that wasn’t doing him any favours.
The feel of her on his skin, her mystery scent that he embraced with both arms, losing himself to each pulse inside of her.
An erection was not what he needed while training to blow off steam.
Steam caused by the person who had cut his heart.
‘Argh!’ He launched himself at the punching bag, grabbing it hard while slamming his head into its solid weight.
His mother wouldn’t be proud of his lack of control. ‘Focus, my sweet boy. You see clearly when you’re focused,’ she would say.
Bear slumped to the cold ground, his elbows resting on his bent knees. Some deep breaths were needed, then he could bring his questions into line, ready for a talk with Scarlen. No shouting, no looking at her and seeing the king, just a simple chat and some much-needed answers.
The sound of something cracking close by brought on the vision of the whip slashing across his mother’s back, her screams shaking his insides, her life fading before him. The king had stood tall, looking bored by the tenth strike. Someone even brought him a drink and a chair at one point.
Bear wondered where Scarlen had been that day.
Cowering in her room, thinking Rebels were after her?
Perhaps not cowering. He knew Scarlen held fear, as everyone did, but she would show some form of resilience even if she felt none.
Now that he thought about it, she showed courage in prison.
It must have been tough knowing someone might expose her at any time.
Discover who she was, spread the word, have her pay for her father’s crimes.
A twitch hit his lips as he remembered her sitting in a tree in the Zone, dagger in hand, ready to kill if need be.
The fact her father, the fucking king, had allowed such horror to be inflicted upon his child was mind-blowing to say the least. It had Bear questioning what else the man had done to Scarlen.
Northerners knew the king to be unstable, wicked, selfish, but how bad was he to his daughter?
He pushed Lancen off a cliff. A fucking cliff!
Rising to his feet, he felt it best to shower away his anger, then speak to Scarlen sooner rather than later. He would ask for a moment after breakfast. Whatever happened then, he would assure her safety, of that much he knew.
Lancen was heading into the hallway as Bear met the pathway. He wanted to ask how Scarlen slept, assuming she had stayed with her sister, as she didn’t come to his chamber, and he’d waited up till the small hours in case she snuck in thinking him asleep.
‘Good morning,’ was all he said instead, taking long strides to the crescent moon stairs.
‘So you are speaking to me?’ Lancen questioned, brow raised.
Bear kept his sigh quiet as he turned. ‘I can’t help the hate I have for your father, and I won’t lie and pretend everything is fine between us now I know who you are and that you and my mother lied to me and our family, but I won’t ignore you.’
‘But you will ignore my sister?’
‘It’s different with us.’
‘She doesn’t deserve any more pain, Bear.
If she made a connection with you, then she cares for you.
My sister doesn’t trust many. Our father made it hard for us to have friendships in our lives, but Ria always craved such affection, wishing she could have a love bond.
She used to say there was someone out there who belonged to her soul.
She knew. She could feel him.’ Lancen smiled softly.
‘Perhaps it is you she has been sensing all this time.’
Well, if anyone else wanted to kick him in the gut, now was the time.
Raven entered the hallway from the dining room and stopped short, his gaze flitted between Lancen and Bear, and Bear could tell at once Raven was nervous about something. He knew his friend well, but Raven was always so quick to change his expression, the lies came easy as always.
‘What is it?’ snapped Bear.
‘What’s what?’ replied Raven casually, about to turn.
It was too late for the master of deadpan, because Bear had spotted the nerves in the split second they had been revealed. ‘Don’t test me, Rav.’
Lancen said what Raven would never have. ‘He thought I told you about yesterday.’
Bear’s attention darted to her. ‘What about it?’
‘Rav took my sister to the palace.’
It took a moment for her words to sink in, as Bear was quite sure he hadn’t heard her correctly, as Rav wouldn’t do such a dangerous thing without first talking it through with him. The confusion would have lasted longer, but Raven bobbed his head.
The roar that rattled the windows had Cary, Trinn, and Wynter rush to the hallway as Bear flew at Raven, slamming him to the floor.
‘Bear!’ screamed Wynter, and Cary and Trinn grabbed him, tugging him up, struggling to loosen his grip on Raven’s shoulders.
Bear’s growl took over him, waking his halfling, shifting his form at once. Sharp teeth bared towards Raven, and large claws as lethal as daggers gleamed as the huge brown bear rose to stand on back legs, his head close to the high ceiling.
Wynter placed herself in the middle of the feud, one palm facing up at Bear, the other aimed at Raven. ‘No, Bear.’ Her words were soft but firm. ‘Please, I need you to calm down. We can tell you our plan, and yes, I was also involved. But you must focus.’ Their mother’s favourite word.
Bear returned to his usual form, dark bottoms still intact, as was the way for the shifters.
All clothing remaining when becoming human again.
‘I need a moment.’ His heart was thumping way too hard for him to think clearly, so he went to his bedchamber to shower, to straighten himself so he could deal with the danger Scarlen was in, and also so he didn’t rip into Raven again.
He pressed his head against the shower wall, his need to kill the king greater than ever.
The last time he spoke to Scarlen, he was angry, arguing, speaking of the problem instead of figuring out a solution, and now she was gone, to the palace, of all places, and he didn’t know if she was safe. If he would ever see her again. If she would want to return to his home.
With an ache all over, he got ready and stormed into the dining room, his glare demanding answers. ‘Well?’ he growled when no one spoke.
‘Yeah, I’m doing okay since you pinned me to the floor. Thanks for asking,’ said Raven, the only one not sitting at the table.
Bear wasn’t ready to apologise. ‘Why did you do it, Rav?’
There was no lie as Raven approached. ‘I’d rather it be her there than you.’
Wynter stood, hands on the table. ‘Scarlen is going to get the book we need to find the fifth knight. She’s the best person for the task. We all agreed.’
‘I didn’t agree to shit,’ snapped Bear. ‘Because no one bothered to ask my opinion.’
‘We guessed you’d try to stop Scarlen, that’s why,’ Raven told him.
Bear had no argument because it was true. He would have done everything in his power to keep her away from the king. ‘You threw her into the hands of the enemy.’ All power was lost from his voice at the thought.
‘I’m sure my father won’t do anything rash just yet.’ Lancen didn’t sound too convincing. ‘Adoria is to have a ball for her birthday and unveiling. There will be people arriving from all over to witness such a big event, and that’s the best time for my sister to sneak away and get the book.’
‘And we’re going to have a boat ready the night of the ball,’ said Wynter.
‘With so much going on during the celebrations, we’ll blend in, as many vessels will arrive bringing guests.
Plus, the king will be so busy with the event, it’s highly unlikely he’ll have time to visit the House of Knight book to see what the knights are up to. He probably won’t even care that day.’
Trinn started to sip some tea. ‘It’s just a few more days, Bear, then we’ll be there.’
‘My magick will sail us south faster, but we can only leave on the day. That way, we’ll have the best chance of mingling undetected. Like Wynter said, the king will be occupied,’ said Elbar. ‘Although, we could leave the knights behind, to be on the safe side.’
‘No,’ snapped Bear. ‘I have to be there.’ He needed to see Scarlen now. It was driving him fucking crazy not knowing how she was.
As though reading his mind, Elbar added, ‘I could use my magick to see how she’s getting on today.’
All eyes turned her way.
‘You can do that?’ asked Wynter.
Elbar nodded. ‘You know how Jesserlie shows the War Zone to the warden’s guests? Well, that’s a family spell. It’s not easy to do, but I could try.’
‘Yes, Elbar, try. Please.’ Bear approached the table, waiting to see a vision of Scarlen appear or something.
‘I’ll need my grimoire.’ Elbar went to stand, but Wynter said she would fetch the book, then darted off to the library where Elbar kept her spell books.
Bear started to pace, everything rattling within at what the spell might uncover.
‘She’ll be fine,’ said Lancen, but Bear couldn’t settle unless he saw for himself.
‘If she’s in any danger, you’re to take me to her at once,’ he told Raven, who nodded his response.
Wynter was back, a large leather tome in her hands that she quickly placed in front of Elbar.
Elbar’s white eyes were on one corner of the grimoire, her senses on the pages she flicked through. ‘Ah, here we are.’
‘Do you need us to help?’ asked Wynter.
‘No. Just be quiet so I can concentrate. There is a lot of magick in the south, making it harder to break through, but it’s doable, as I know many who watch the War Zone come from the south.’
‘How do you know?’ asked Raven.
Elbar gave a small shrug. ‘Rich people live there, and you’d have to have money to wager on the Zone. Now, hush. Let me do this.’
Bear sat at the table, his chin pressed firmly into his steepled fingers, trying to control his breathing, as he knew that no matter the vision, he had to stay calm enough to focus on his next move.
The table started to shake as Elbar muttered words no one understood, her hands hovered over the grimoire, her head dipped, then her chin jolted upwards and a white blur appeared in the centre of the oak wood, bringing everyone to their feet to peer down at the table, the vision appearing.
‘That’s Mitch.’ Lancen gasped, leaning closer. ‘His father made him one of our personal guards just before I … left,’ she added quietly. ‘He’s in my sister’s bedchamber.’
Bear was only interested in seeing Scarlen. ‘Where is she?’
Scarlen walked into the vision. Her hair loose, her dress blue. She stood by the door to the veranda, staring out to the sea, then Mitch came up behind her.
‘You had a rough night,’ he said. ‘Are you sure you’re fine?’
‘Tired, but okay. You’ve been fussing all morning.’ Scarlen patted his arm with affection.
‘What do you remember about last night, Adoria?’
Her smile was small, then faded altogether as a wash of confusion came over her. ‘I went to bed. Didn’t I?’ She was frowning at him, but he was staring into her eyes as though searching for something.
‘May I ask you a strange question?’
Scarlen blew out a quiet laugh. ‘Now I’m intrigued. What do you want to ask?’
Mitch’s shoulders rose and fell. ‘What do you know of the prison Horstal?’
Her brows knitted, amused. ‘That is a strange question. Well, I know what everyone else knows. It’s a prison. Why? Do you know someone who has been sent there?’
He shook his head. ‘A friend of a friend, so I wondered if you had any information on the place.’
‘Sorry, but I don’t. I’m probably the last person who would know anything about our kingdom. It’s not as though I get out much.’
‘Have you been anywhere recently?’
Scarlen looked to the sea. ‘The beach.’
Bear huffed, his heart racing. ‘What’s going on?’
Lancen replied. ‘She’s had her memory taken, and Mitch knows. He’s trying to coax it back by using hints. I’ve seen it done before.’
The vision in the table disappeared in a snap, and Bear slammed his hand on the spot. ‘No. Bring it back.’
Elbar inhaled deeply, then closed her grimoire and clutched it to her chest. ‘I don’t have the energy.’
Wynter placed her arm around Bear, and he appreciated her effort to comfort him, but it had little effect on his thrumming heart. ‘It’s all right. We saw for ourselves she is well.’
‘She’s not well,’ Bear said quietly. ‘Someone took her memory, which means she won’t remember us. Me. She no longer knows her sister is alive, and she won’t be searching for the House of Knight book.’
‘We’re still going to stick to the plan,’ said Trinn. ‘We’ll be there for the ball.’
‘And if she sees me, her memory might return?’ Bear hoped, looking to Lancen.
‘She won’t see anyone,’ Lancen told him. ‘It’s a masked ball. Everyone will have their faces covered.’
He smiled, roguish and vicious. ‘Perfect. I can walk among them, and no one will see me.’
‘And how will you find her when she will be masked as well?’ asked Raven.
Bear’s smile widened, soft and peaceful. I have her scent embedded into my soul. I’d be able to find her in a crowd of a thousand people with my eyes closed. ‘I’ll know.’