Chapter 42
I allow myself to hold his hand a few more minutes before I finally stand and place his hand back on the bed.
I lean forward and kiss him gently on the cheek.
“I have to go and take care of business. Jespar’s here with you, so you’re not alone.
” I take a deep breath. “I need you to heal, Kaldar. You hear me? The Jaguar Kingdom needs its king, and I need my mate. So you heal, okay?” I watch him carefully, but there’s no sign that he heard me.
Veyra, I have to get back. Do you want to stay here with Jespar, or—
My place is where you are. I will go with you.
Are you sure?
Yes.
I don’t question her again. “Jespar, take care of him, okay?”
He lifts his head and locks eyes with me.
I shiver at the intelligence there. I open the door and Veyra walks out into the hallway ahead of me.
With a last glance at the bed, I close the door behind me and steel myself for what’s coming.
I have a job to do. I take a deep breath and head downstairs.
Jorren, Taren, and Reika haven’t left the entryway.
They’re talking intensely, maybe arguing.
It's hard to tell. As soon as I get to the bottom step, I interrupt them. “It’s time to head back. Jespar will stay here with Kaldar, but it’s time for me to get back and do what I need to do.
” My eyes meet Reika’s. “You’re right. I have a job to do, and I can’t do it from here.
Are you all staying here with your king, or—”
“I’ll be with you,” Jorren interrupts me.
“As will I.” That’s from Taren.
I glance at Reika. “My place is beside the ruling power, whoever that may be.”
“Okay. Then it’s settled. Let me say goodbye to everybody here, and we will leave.” I stride into the main room where everybody else is gathered. I don’t hesitate. “I’ve got to get back. Things are a mess there, and I need to go back and deal with it.”
Farrah’s eyebrows knit together. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I push on because the longer I stay, the harder it will be to leave and go back. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for taking care of him.” I pause. “Is it okay if he stays here until he’s fully recovered?”
It’s Rysden that answers this time. “You don’t even have to ask.”
“Thank you. Seriously.” I walk over to Farrah, and she moves to me at the same time, and we hug tightly.
“We’ll take good care of him,” she whispers in my ear. When I pull back she squeezes my hand. “Will you be okay?”
I nod, not letting myself get emotional. “I’ve got a job to do. I gave Kaldar my word; it’s time to see it through.”
Her mouth curves into a small smile. “I’m so proud of you, Kins and who you’ve become.”
Her words mean the world to me; I hope she knows that.
I turn to Harper next, and my gut tightens.
She doesn’t shy away from meeting my gaze.
I walk across the room to her. “What do you want to do? Do you want to stay here or come with? I want you to do what makes you happy. You’ve been so good to me, but I’m okay now. I don’t have to have you come with.”
She studies my face a moment. When she glances over at Farrah, I know she’s made her decision, and I have to be okay with that. “Can I stay here?” She asks Farrah. “Just for now. I’ll find my own house and make my own—”
“Of course, Harper,” Farrah says before Harper can finish. I can visibly see the relief on her face, and I’m glad she’s staying here.
I swallow hard, forcing all emotion down. “I love you, Harper,” I say simply. “Thanks for everything.”
She scowls at me. “It’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. I figure you’re coming back for the guy upstairs, right?”
Just like that, my spirit lightens. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll see you then. And Kins,” she says and stops.
“Yes?”
“You’ve got this. You’re a banished; you’re made of tougher stuff than most. Now, it’s time to prove it.” Then she says six words that rock my world. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
If I let anything get me emotional, that would be it. But Harper’s not an emotional person, never has been. I stride towards the door instead. “Ready?” I ask my team. The three of them are right behind me. “Thank you, everybody,” I say to the group we’re leaving.
“I will send word when he wakes up,” Rsyden tells me.
We head outside, and I’m not surprised to see Jamik already has our horses ready.
He seems to have a sense about these things.
“Thanks, Jamik.” He gives me a head-nod.
Like his brother, he’s quiet most of the time.
I don’t wait for any assistance and am pretty proud of myself when I mount by myself.
"Everybody ready?” I get three nods. “Let’s go. ”
“I’ll take the lead,” Jorren says as he rides past me.
It takes a little while to get through the city, but once we’re outside the city gates, we let the horses run.
We make it to the border in good time and pass through.
On the other side, it only takes a few minutes to find Evren.
If he’s upset with us, he doesn’t show it.
Then we begin the ride through the Jaguar lands.
By unspoken assent, we stay quiet and keep our eyes tipped to the skies.
It’s a nerve-wracking ride, but the first hour passes peacefully.
It doesn’t last, however. Not long into the second hour of riding, I hear a shriek that makes my entire body tighten.
I make a note to ask Harper how in the world she made this trip by herself with the jaguars.
“Just keep riding,” Jorren says quietly.
We ride a little longer, but the guivre picks up on our presence.
We dismount and have to fight it. Jorren gives commands as quietly as possible.
I try to help, but they keep me out of the action.
Eventually, they put it down. My hands are shaky as we mount and continue on our ride.
We face two more guivres on the way. Each time, my team brings them down; and each time they keep me out of the fight.
I hate it, but I really don’t know how I would contribute in the fight anyway.
We finally make it to the entrance to the Jaguar Kingdom, and we stable the horses. Something settles over me at being back, and it surprises me. “Where would the elders be right now?” I ask Taren.
“We can send word that you’re here and ready to meet,” Taren offers.
“Please do. Thank you. I'm going there now.”
Taren looks like he’s going to say something, but then he nods and turns away.
He gives instructions to Evren and Reika, and the three of them set off to gather the elders.
Jorren studies me a moment in silence but doesn’t say anything.
When I start towards the building where they meet, Jorren falls into step next to me.
When I get to the building, I head inside and into the meeting room.
I take a minute to pace, thinking through what needs to be dealt with.
Part of me wishes I hadn’t told Veyra not to come with me to this meeting, but she needs to rest. It doesn’t surprise me in the least when Seren, Kaldar’s advisor, shows up.
I sit at the table with him and listen as he starts talking through all the things that need to be done.
I beg a pen and paper off him and begin my own notes.
While we talk, the other four members of the Council show up.
They take their seats without a sound. Seren finishes and promises to get back to me on some of the issues we discussed.
Jorren stays in the corner of the room. I told him he could leave, but he only gave me a look that suggested the lunacy of that idea.
Now, with four members of Kaldar’s board sitting with me at the table, I study their faces.
There are three men and one woman. I don’t really know anything about any of them, and I decide to rectify that first. I lean forward.
“I realize we don’t know each other at all, and now we have to work together to run the kingdom.
Let’s start by getting to know each other.
I’d like you to tell me your name and something you love to eat. ”
Four sets of eyebrows rise. “Something we love to eat?” the man closest to me asks. If I had to guess, he looks like he might be the oldest in the group. But he could be tied with the man sitting across from him; it’s hard to tell.
“Yes.”
The woman scoffs. “Our king is missing, our kingdom is in a state of chaos, and you want to know what we love to eat?”
I repeat my same answer. “Yes.”
“Why?” the woman demands.
I hold her gaze. “Because I love food.” She rolls her eyes so hard, I’m worried her eyes are going to get stuck. “But it will also help me to better understand each of you.”
“By learning what our favorite food is?” the woman’s voice is thick with derision.
“Yes. I’ll go first. My name is Kinsley, and I love to eat,” I pause thinking a moment. “Those raspberry pastries Vance makes.”
There’s silence in the room, and then the woman huffs a little. “Well, of course. His pastries are the best in the kingdom.”
I bite my lip, so I don’t smile. “So, who’s next?” I turn to the maybe oldest man sitting next to me. “You go.”
He doesn’t even bother to look at me. “My name is Halric.”
I give him a moment. When he doesn’t continue, I prompt him, “And your favorite food?”
He scowls. “Stag.”
I nod approvingly. “Great choice. Next.” I nod at the woman sitting next to him.
She stiffens and sits higher in her chair. “My name is Eldara.”
“That’s a beautiful name.” The comment slips out before I think about it. I’m not saying it to suck up; it really is a beautiful name. I can tell the comment startled her, though.
“Thank you,” she says stiffly. “My favorite food is Forager’s Pie.”
“I’m not familiar with that. It is a fruit pie?”
She turns her head sharply. “It is most definitely not a fruit pie.”
“Okay. What is it then?” I prompt.
“The base is a brown gravy, and you make any meat you find out while hunting as well as herbs and spices. Then you top it with a bread topping and bake it.”
“Oh my goodness. That sounds amazing. You’ll have to tell me how to make that; I want to try it.” My words aren’t a lie. I’m suddenly hungry, and I remember I never ate at Rysden and Farrah’s.
The woman gives me a stiff nod, and I move on. The man on the other side of the table looks to be the youngest, though he’s still older than me by probably a few decades. “My name is Corvin. I love my mate’s meat pies.”
“Mmm. I bet they’re delicious.” My gaze moves to the last man.
He speaks without any prompting on my part. “Brenvar. Clay custard.”
“I’m not familiar with that one either. What is that?” I ask.
“It’s a hot custard in between to layers of crust that’s baked in a clay dish.”
“Why?” I ask. “Why is it baked in a clay dish?”
The woman finally turns to look at me. “Because they hold the flavor in. Most people don’t bake anything else in that particular clay dish than clay custard; the flavor gets richer the more times you make it.”
I lean back in my chair. “I’m going to have to learn how to make that too. I need to see if Kaldar has one of those dishes.” My stomach growls, and I put my hand on my stomach, smiling. “Okay enough talk about food. I’m starving.”
At those words, four sets of eyes settle on me. “We can wait,” Eldara says. “While you eat.” Her words are stiff, like it was hard to say them.
I smile genuinely at her. “I’m fine right now. Thank you, though.” I take a deep breath. “All right. Let’s deal with the biggest problem first. After that, everything else will be a cake walk.” I level a look at each of them. “Vaelor.”