Chapter 38
“Can we talk about something?” I ask before the three of them can disappear. I hear somebody coming down the stairs and turn once again. “Reika.”
“Heard there was a party going on,” she says dryly.
I resist the urge to hug her; pretty sure she wouldn’t go for that. “How’s your arm?”
“Fine.”
“Jorren said—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I said I’m fine,”
“Okay.” I don’t let her attitude bother me. I turn back to the four of them, really wishing Kaldar was here. “So, are we going to talk about this?” Three sets of eyes are on my face. “That man turned into a guivre.”
“Yeah,” Reika says. “We got that; we were there.”
Again, I ignore her snark. “But what does it mean? Last I heard, guivres were stuck in their form.”
“Yeah.” That’s from Taren. I take in the bleak looks on all their faces.
“Okay. Why do they keep coming here anyway? Why are there so many of them attacking? I can count on one hand the attacks we’ve had near the Wolf Kingdom.”
“Nobody knows why,” Taren says. “But they’ve increased a lot over the last few years.”
“And now, they can turn back to their human forms, even though they’re supposed to be cursed and unable to do that,” I point out.
“Yeah. All that,” Reika snaps. “Where’s Kal?”
Just like that, the mood changes. “We don’t know,” Jorren says.
“I was out of it a little bit. What happened in the arena?” she asks.
“A guivre carried him off.” Reika blinks at Jorren’s gruff words. “Seriously?” He nods, and she whirls on Evren. “And where were you when your father was trying to kill our king?”
“I had nothing to do with that,” he defends in a low voice.
“Yeah? Well, you sure didn’t do anything to stop it.”
“Because it was my father!”
“Yeah, well, he was a threat to the king. You should have taken care of it.” Reika has her hands on her hips, and she’s furious. I try to think of something that could diffuse the situation.
“I knew Kal would take care of it,” Evren says in a defeated voice.
“Hmm. Okay. Did you also take into account that a man would turn into a forsaken guivre? And that one of those creatures would carry him off?” Reika demands.
“We’re not going to figure out anything by fighting,” I finally say, trying to step in. That was the wrong thing to say.
Reika whirls on me. “You don’t get a voice. Nothing has gone as it’s supposed to since we met you!”
“Reika, knock it off.”
She ignores Taren. “Ever since you showed up, everything’s been turned on its head. Are you sure you’re not the one calling the guivres here?”
I stare at her in shock. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“He would have never been out there fighting for his life if you hadn’t shown up. He took your place. If he’s dead, it’s on you!”
No. Absolutely not. I want to scream at her, to rage at her.
But that won’t solve anything. I keep my voice level.
“I love Kaldar. I had nothing to do with any of this.” I look at each of them.
“I’m going to meet with the personal advisor and find out what I need to do to keep things running.
I need the four of you to find Kaldar, find our king. ”
Reika crosses her arms across her chest. “Newsflash, we don’t take orders from you.”
“Actually, you do. Kaldar left me in charge. You may not like it. In fact, you probably hate it, but that’s what your king chose.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “What? Are you going to do something if we don’t follow your orders?”
Knowing the captain of the guard is still over by the door, listening to every word of our conversation, I call out, “Hey, Zarreth.”
“Yes, My Queen.”
“What do you do with soldiers that won’t follow orders?” I ask without ever taking my eyes off Reika.
“I take them off your hands. There’s a special place for soldiers like that.” I don’t ask because I really don’t want to know.
I merely lift a brow at Reika. Your turn.
She holds my gaze and then finally nods. “You’ll do.” Without another word to me, she turns to Jorren. “So, where are we searching for him?”
I turn around and meet Zarreth’s eyes and give him a grateful nod.
He gives me a respectful bow of his head before opening the door and giving orders to his guards.
When I turn back around, Jorren and Reika are arguing over which areas to search first. Taren stands with his arms crossed, watching them.
“Have you spoken to Mae yet?” I ask him quietly.
His eyes snap to my face. “No. Why?”
“Maybe just let her know you’re okay before you take off again.”
He nods. “I will. Why don’t you go now before they assign you a task,” I urge. He hesitates only a moment.
“Tell Jorren that I’ll be back?”
I nod. “I will.”
“Thanks.” He jogs up the stairs and is out of sight in the next few seconds. I watch him go and feel absolutely exhausted all of a sudden. “Do you need to sit down?” Evren asks quietly.
I look up at him, studying him a moment. “I really don’t get you. One minute, you act like you hate all of us, me especially. Now, you’re like all in.”
Those dark eyes study mine. “I told you. My father is dead now.”
“I know, but—”
“While he was alive, it was always a battle. Trying to listen to my father and keep him happy, while also trying to work with Kal. I agreed with Kal on a lot of things and knew he was making the right decisions for our kingdom. And yet, my father and Kal are...were enemies. Now, there’s no longer a conflict.
” I really don’t know what to say to that, so I stay quiet.
We hear somebody on the stairs, and our group stops talking. A guard walks over to our group. “Your Highness, Seren is waiting to meet with you in the meeting hall.”
“Okay. I don’t know where that is.”
“I’ll take you,” Evren says.
I nod. I’m not sure that I trust him completely yet, but I need to give him opportunities to either prove himself or show us exactly who he is. I turn to Jorren. “I have to meet with Kaldar’s personal advisor. I’ll be back.”
“With Evren?” His gaze is sharp.
“I’ll go with to see that she actually gets there,” Reika says, glaring at Evren.
“Do you need me to come?” Jorren asks me.
“No, I’m good. Keep me updated on the search for Kaldar. I want to know the second you know something.”
Jorren nods. “We will.”
“Taren was checking with somebody, and then he’ll be back.”
“We won’t leave until he gets back,” he reassures me.
I check in with Zarreth and then follow Evren and Reika up the steps.
We finally go topside, and it’s nice to be in the sun.
He leads the way, and Reika and I follow.
Evren leads me to another building I haven’t been inside yet.
This one is much, much smaller than the dome we were in this morning.
Evren leads me to a room with a large oval table, and Reika disappears without a word.
A man with white hair stands up and gives me a respectful head not.
“My Queen, I am Seren, the king’s personal advisor.
It is my job over the next few days to get you prepared for everything you need to take care of.
Please, have a seat.” I sit across the table from him, and he slides a notebook across the table to me.
“This is the notebook I gave Kaldar when he became king. And now, it is yours. Read it, study, and learn everything you can about our kingdom and how it’s ruled.
I open the notebook and start flipping through the pages. “This is a lot.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Did you think it wouldn’t be?”
“No, I...maybe.” I guess I hadn’t really given a lot of thought to it. “Okay. Thank you. I will take it with me and—”
He puts his fingers on the book, stopping my progress. “Now.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
His eyes meet mine. “You need to start reading it now. You are our ruling queen for the time being. You need to know the things in this book.” Once I realize he’s not going to change his mind, I slide the book forward, open the first page and start to read.
I’m not sure how long I sit at that table and read and take notes, but the words begin to cross over each other after a while, and my eyes get sore.
“That is enough for today. You should probably get some rest.”
I close the book and stretch. When I open the door, Reika turns to me. “Done?”
I nod. She leads the way outside, and I’m surprised to see it’s dark. By the time we make it back to Kaldar’s house, I’m ready to go to bed. “Any word on Kaldar?” I ask Reika before I head inside.
Her jaw tightens. “No.”
I sigh. “Thanks.” She says nothing else, and I head inside. I find a bowl of food on the counter and figure it’s from Mae. I eat only a couple of bites before I make my way to the bedroom. I change into sleeping clothes and climb into bed.
As tired as I am, it takes forever for me to sleep. Thoughts of what could be happening to Kaldar and the horrific events from today flood my mind, and I can’t find the off switch. I eventually sleep for a few hours.
After bathing and getting dressed for the day, I feel much better.
It’s Taren that meets me when I step outside into the sun.
I can tell by looking at him that he hasn’t slept, but I don’t say anything.
“Soren requests your presence again,” he says by way of greeting.
I nod, unsurprised and fall into step next to him.
I don’t bother asking if there is any news on Kaldar.
He would have told me if there was. He leaves me in the room with Seren, and I get back to work.
I’m not sure how long I read and study before a knock sounds at the door.
Before either of us can say anything, the door swings open and Jorren strides in.
“The King of the Wolf Kingdom is at the border and is requesting you, My Queen.”
I close the book and rise to my feet. “Rysden’s asking for me? Why doesn’t he just come here?” I ask in confusion.
“We don’t know. He won’t say. At least, that’s the report we got from the guards on duty.”
“Okay. We’ll ride there at once.” I turn to Seren. “Thank you for your time.”
“As soon as you come back, you come here again for more reading and guidance,” he says without a smile.
“Okay. I will.” I say the words, but I don’t really focus on them.
My mind is stuck on why Rysden is here, and why he’s asking for me.
Had he already heard about what happened to Kaldar?
I follow Jorren outside and see Reika, Taren, and Evren already mounted and waiting.
I walk over to the extra horse and try not to show my worry on my face.
“As soon as we find Kal, riding lessons for you,” Jorren says right before he lifts me and all but throws me on top my horse.
I grab the pommel with both hands and hold on as I settle myself.
Jorren mounts his horse easily and looks over to me. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Stay close,” Jorren calls out and then takes the lead.
I follow him, and Taren and Evren close in on either side of me, while Reika follows behind me.
It’s mostly a silent ride to the border.
We keep up a pretty quick pace and make it to the border in just a few hours.
The guards on duty greet us as soon as we get close.
“What’s going on?” Jorren asks before he climbs down.
“The King of the Wolf Kingdom is waiting,” the guard explains.
“Why didn’t he come through already?” Jorren asks.
“He came over to our side briefly, asked for the Queen, and then went right back, giving us orders to tell him when you arrived. Do you want us to go tell him now?”
Jorren shakes his head. “No, I will go through and see what he wants.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask from atop my horse.
“No. Let me see what we’re dealing with first.”
Taren dismounts. “I’ll go through with you.” I expect Jorren to disagree, but he only waits for Taren. The two of them disappear through the barrier without another word. They’re gone only for a few minutes before they return.
I’m too impatient to wait. “What is it? What does he want?”
Jorren stops at my horse. “He wants to speak to you only. He won’t tell us anything.”
“Okay.” I try to dismount but can barely feel my legs. Taren reaches up and helps me down. “Thanks.” My gait is unsteady as I walk over to the barrier. I feel a presence behind me and turn to see Jorren right behind me. “I thought he only wanted to talk to me.”
Jorren gives me a look. “He does, but you’re not going there unprotected.”
I stare at him. “It’s Rysden.”
“I know he is your friend, but he’s also the king of another kingdom. My job is to protect you from any and all threats, no matter where they come from.”
“Okay, but I’m pretty sure he just wants to talk.”