Chapter 6 #2
The more disturbing part of all this was how a were was on this side of the border.
I exhaled through my nose and touched the place where my bloodstone was concealed.
Reassured by the way it beat under my fingertips.
I wasn’t sure if werewolves could cross the boundary between lands.
I’d need to assess the condition of the barrier when we crossed.
“Thank you for this information,” I said. “You are dismissed.” The soldier bowed once again and departed the tent. I turned to the captain. “Tighten the outer patrols. Double the watch. I don’t want them walking alone.”
The captain made a note. “It’ll be tight. We’re still waiting on Lord Aurélien’s men to arrive from Carrion Hall. But I’ll make it work, Your Grace.”
“I can join the watch tonight,” Tyson offered.
“They won’t be playing Dépouiller,” Natalia hissed.
He shrugged. “Maybe we will in celebration of my capture of the were.”
“You? Catch a werewolf? Don’t make me laugh. We know nothing about these creatures beyond the old myths. Not even Uncle Bastien has seen one.”
I held out my hands to stop their arguing before Tyson inevitably brought up his cock again. “Lord Tyson will stay with the army tonight. He will conduct rounds with the captain and look for a trail.”
The Captain of the Guard grunted and made another note. “Freeze my balls off in the woods with the viscount. Sounds fun. Anything else, Your Grace?”
“No, that will be all.” Tyson leaned back in his chair triumphantly. I shot him a warning look. “You’re not in the capital anymore. Nor the training yard. Don’t make me regret this.”
Flashing me a bright smile, Tyson replied, “I wouldn’t dream of it, Uncle.”
His promise did little to reassure me. Which was why I wasn’t going to leave him down here unattended.
“Lady Natalia, you are in charge. Ensure the army is ready for the journey. I’m going back to the castle to ensure all preparations have been made for Roselyn’s security. We leave tomorrow at nightfall.”
She dipped her head. “I will see it done, Your Grace.”
I exited the tent, but my niece followed after me. I untied Lucien’s lashings, waiting for whatever she wanted to say.
“There’s something I want to tell you before you go.” I lifted my brows, waiting. “I don’t trust Claire’s wolves.”
I shook my head. “There is nothing to worry about.”
“What if they are werewolves?”
“Preposterous.”
She stomped her foot. “She’s keeping things from you. You said it yourself!”
I stabbed my cane into the hard-packed snow. “It’s not her fault. It’s that choker. She can’t tell me who did this to her without it killing her. But she wants to.”
“Doesn’t that seem like the most suspicious part of all of this?
That someone would risk her life to keep their secret?
” She threw her hands into the air. “Wake up, Uncle. She’s a spy.
A spy who grew up loving Witches of the Light, and that has two wolves that she conveniently got while you were away. ”
“That’s enough,” I snarled. “You don’t know her as I do.”
She set her hand on her hip. “Right. I can’t possibly understand her, because I don’t share her bed.”
I lifted my cane, holding it precariously between us. The fragile alliance that we had built on the ride over was disappearing. “You are out of line.”
She said nothing, only glared at me.
I mounted Lucien, ready to leave.
“Fine. Maybe I am out of line,” Natalia admitted. “But that’s why you made me your second in command. Because I see things other people don’t. And right now, I’m seeing trouble.”
I’d grown weary of these arguments. I squeezed my calves around Lucien’s big body and clicked my tongue. He started back in the direction of the gate.
“If you don’t listen to a thing I say,” Natalia shouted after me, “at least separate her from those wolves. And for goddess sake, don’t let her keep them in your room.”
I pulled back on the reins. The disrespect.
To shout at me like this. I swiftly dismounted, set on stripping her of command.
But when I stared into her eyes, I saw the young girl who’d just told me her most closely guarded secret.
I saw the fiercest fighter of her age, shunned by a father who wouldn’t accept her words as truth.
I’d sworn to her that I’d never be that person.
That I’d never punish her for speaking her truth. And that I’d believe her.
Now, I was going back on my promise.
“And what do you suggest I do with them?”
Pleadingly, Natalia said, “Give them to me! I’ll tie it up for you!”
“What kind of message would that send to my mate if I tied up her wolves?”
For the longest time, Natalia had been the most important woman in my life. I cherished her counsel. But now I had someone else. And I had to think of my wife first. I had to.
She let out a frustrated breath and shook her head. “Fine. Don’t listen to me. I’m probably just seeing threats in the woods. I just… ” Her voice trailed off. “After what happened at Kemp Manor, I worry about you.”
I nodded. She disappeared back into the commander’s tent, and I turned back to my horse.
I rode back through the streets of Roselyn alone, contemplating all that was on my mind.
But I wasn’t alone with my thoughts for long.
As I trotted by, mothers and children emerged from their homes with baskets of flowers.
They threw long stems of baby’s breath along the dirt road.
A ritual offering to soldiers before they left over the pass.
I stopped for a little girl, who was no older than three, holding out a flower for me. She was dressed in rabbit fur that didn’t look nearly warm enough for the weather. Her pretty golden blond hair was whipping around red cheeks.
Dismounting, I knelt beside her and took the flower she was offering.
Her mother, who was hovering an arm’s length away, said, “Your curtsy, Annalise! Don’t forget your curtsy!”
The little girl tried, but nearly fell over. I quickly steadied her with a hand. “Annalise is a very nice name. My name is Bastien.”
Smiling, I removed the brooch holding my cloak around my shoulders, then draped it around her little shoulders.
“That’s not necessary, Your Grace,” her mother said.
“I don’t need it,” I told the little girl. “I’m a vampire. I don’t even get cold.”
She laughed, and so did I.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” the woman said, collecting her little girl in her arms.
I glanced around the homes of the outer ring, and the bundles of baby’s breath lining the muddy snow.
It reminded me of when I’d left my village for the last time, on the last night I was human. Even though my human memories were fuzzy, something thick formed in my throat.
This was the reason why I fought. I had a duty to protect them. All of them. The ones who came with me to fight and the ones I left behind. The people of Roselyn were a tough yet loving bunch who lived on the border between lands. They valued peace more than anyone else.
“We’ve begun laying the foundation for the youth home you asked us to build,” her mother said, beaming. She gestured toward the furthest end of the city, where the outer ring wall brushed up against the tree line. “You should see it before you go. Maybe offer a blessing.”
I nodded. “I will.”
Starting this new facility couldn’t fix what had happened to Claire, but it was my way of giving back. I didn’t want anyone else to harm children who had lost parents the way she’d been harmed.
Getting back on my horse, I waved goodbye to the little girl, who was swaddled in my cloak, and urged Lucien in the direction of the youth home.
I made my way down the less-trafficked streets that were covered in a soft layer of snow.
The village lights thinned, lanterns giving way to shadows.
The mountain air carried the scent of frost and iron.
Lucien snorted and flattened his ears. He refused to move any closer toward the wall. I followed his gaze and swore I saw the outline of a creature I hadn’t seen since before the Choosing.