Chapter 1
UNWANTED CONSEQUENCES
The wind beat on the windows, hard and persistent, and I was reminded of an old children’s story my mom used to tell me. My mind must have been playing tricks on me because the moment I thought about it, I could hear the wolf’s voice in my head.
Little pig, little pig, let me come in.
The Castle’s walls were made of stone, but I was not at the Castle. I was in my cottage, which was made of wood. That didn’t bode well for it—or for me.
Something scraped against the kitchen window, and I grabbed a frying pan, hefting it into the air. Whatever was out there, I was ready for it.
The scraping noise turned out to be just a tree branch caught in the wind. I put down the frying pan.
Conner snatched it off the countertop, his eyes twinkling at me. “Don’t put it away yet, Red. We might still need it.”
A part of me agreed with him, even though I knew he was joking. There was nothing outside. No enemies. No battles. No vampire princes. It was only the wind.
I snatched the frying pan out of Conner’s hand. If someone was out there, I would fight them. This time, I would be ready for them. I set the pan on the stove and turned up the heat.
“What are you making?” Kato asked.
“Eggs.” I drizzled oil over the pan, then cracked three eggs into it.
“Do you think we have enough food?” Conner laughed. He indicated the bowls of chopped strawberries and mangoes. And the yogurt bowl. I’d also baked blueberry muffins, cookies, and cake. And brownies.
“The last time I explored the contents of your fridge, which was only yesterday, by the way, there was nothing in there,” Conner said.
“When did you have time to get all of these ingredients and bake all of these things? We escorted you home yesterday afternoon as soon as the Court adjourned. Did you sleep at all?”
“I fell asleep right away as soon as I got home. I slept for over ten hours. Sometime around three in the morning, I woke up. I tried, but I couldn’t fall back asleep. I wasn’t tired anymore. I was hungry, however, so I went to the early market and got groceries.”
“You went out without backup. You should have called.” Kato indicated the necklace he wore, a perfect match to one of the two necklaces I wore. “We would have come.”
“Anywhere, anytime,” Conner added.
My other necklace matched the one he wore.
I loved how adorably overprotective they were. Knowing that they’d always have my back, that they’d always be there for me, gave me confidence when I needed it most.
“So now I need backup to go grocery shopping?” I chuckled.
“Yes,” Kato said seriously. “Do I need to remind you how many times you’ve been attacked since you came to the Fortress?”
“Fenris is in custody now,” I said. “And so is Zenik.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re safe.”
“The Masked Metamorph is still out there,” Conner reminded me.
Oh, right. I’d forgotten all about him. Or maybe I hadn’t. Calm people didn’t grab frying pans in response to every tiny whisper of noise.
“We don’t know anything about this Masked Metamorph or his agenda,” Conner said. “Until we do, you shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”
An overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over me. I clutched my hands to my stomach.
Kato looked at me, his eyes drawn together with concern. He looked about half a second away from grabbing his sword, which, to be honest, was a lot more effective against fiends than a frying pan was. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Suddenly, I have this big pit in my stomach. I have this feeling I just can’t shake. Like something bad is about to happen, and I won’t be able to stop it.”
“Nothing bad will happen to you as long as we’re here,” Kato assured me. “But just in case, we should ask Killjoy to look you over again.”
“He already checked me out. He said I’m fine.”
“And I’m sure you are. It’s just a precaution. After breakfast, we’ll head over to the Castle.”
“Kato, I’m fine.”
“Better safe than sorry. That’s always my motto.”
Kato snorted. “Since when?”
“Since now.” Conner grabbed a spatula, retrieving the eggs from the sizzling pan. He slid one onto each of three plates. “I’ll come along too.”
Kato frowned at him. “To the Castle?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Two words: the General.”
Conner brushed off Kato’s concerns, his smile easy and relaxed. “The General won’t be a problem. I made his Fenris problem go away. He owes me.”
Kato’s dark brows inched upwards. “You made his Fenris problem go away?”
Conner shrugged. “I played a pivotal role. The General can chill out.”
“We both know the General isn’t wired that way.”
“You worry too much, Kato.”
“And you don’t worry enough.”
“Relax. Everything will be fine.”
Conner carried his plate and mine over to the dining table. He let Kato carry his own plate. I grabbed an extra blueberry muffin, then joined them at the table.
Kato was watching Conner, his expression muted. “Why do you want to visit the Castle?”
“Eat your breakfast, Kato,” Conner said lightly. “You wouldn’t want to offend Savannah. She put so much work into making it.”
So we ate. And as soon as we were done eating, Kato picked up right where he’d left off.
“Why do you want to visit the Castle, Conner?”
“You really do have a one-track mind, don’t you?” Conner chuckled.
“Just answer the question.”
“I was once a Knight too, Kato. I have a lot of friends at the Castle. There are tons of people I’d like to see again, including the Apprentices Savannah saved.
I did start a Rebellion over them, you know.
And now that they’re back and all that is done, I…
well, I guess I was hoping things would just go back to the way they were. ”
The two friends’ gazes met, and I could see that Kato wanted that too. “Things can’t ever go back to the way they were, Conner. That’s just how life is: we can’t go back; we can only move forward.”
Conner didn’t seem to hear him. “I’d like to catch up with Killjoy too. Honestly, I’m a tad disappointed he didn’t join my Rebellion.” A roguish smile tugged on the corner of his mouth.
“If you want to go back to the Castle, Conner, we need to get things sorted with the General. His soldiers are probably stationed all around the Castle, just waiting for you to show up so that they can arrest you.”
Delight drained from Conner’s face. Cold, hard reality had finally set in. “The General really is a spoilsport. So I guess I’m just supposed to sit back and twiddle my thumbs while you two have all the fun?”
“You could track down the Masked Metamorph and figure out what he wants.”
The air grew charged. The tips of Conner’s hair sizzled with magic. “Oh, don’t worry. If he’s out there, I will find him.”
“Good,” Kato said. “Then it’s settled. You will find the Masked Metamorph. Meanwhile, Savannah and I will pay a visit to the Castle and ask Killjoy to examine her.”
“I’m fine.” I said the words, knowing full well that it was unlikely they would make any difference at all.
“No, you’re not,” they both told me.
As expected, my protest had proven utterly futile. I’d been outvoted. Maybe having two overprotective Knights looking after me wasn’t as awesome as I’d once thought.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’re doing, Kato.”
Conner’s light, teasing tone had no effect. Kato’s serious face didn’t crack. “What am I doing?”
“You’ve engineered this whole thing so that you get to team up with the pretty girl.” Conner winked at me. “Meanwhile, I have to search dirty alleyways, digging through heaps of refuge.”
I very much doubted that the Masked Metamorph was hiding in a heap of refuge, but that wasn’t the point.
“Hmm.” One of Kato’s eyebrows lifted, very slightly. “I guess there are some unwanted consequences when you choose to become a Rebel.”
His comment elicited an amused eye-roll from Conner. “Very well, Sir White Knight. You go have your fun at the Castle. I’ll find the Masked Metamorph and still have time left over for my other Quest.”
“What Quest?”
“It’s classified.”
“That’s just your fancy way of telling me that you don’t want to tell me.”
Conner mimicked Kato’s posture. “I guess there are some unwanted consequences when when you choose to stay in the Castle and play the good Knight.”
“Funny.”
“The less I tell you about my shady Rebellion, the less trouble you’ll get into with the General.
Though, if the Governor gets her way, soon the General will no longer be a problem.
She’s still sour over the whole Bronte Vance fiasco.
Word on the street is that his inquisition isn’t over.
” A smile curled Conner’s lips. “Inquisition. Mmm, I like the sound of that word attached to the General’s name.
It proves that there’s karma in the Many Realms.”
“One can only hope.” Kato gave Conner a pointed look.
Conner winked at him. “All right, beautiful people, fare thee well. See you later. Try not to miss me too much.”
Kato was right on the cusp of rolling his eyes, but he stopped himself just in time. He must have remembered that Knights don’t roll their eyes.
I loaded a bag full of muffins and handed it to Conner. “Here, just in case you get hungry.”
“Aw, Red’s packed me a snack pack, Kato.” He smirked at Kato. “You didn’t get a snack pack.”
Kato opened his mouth. I cut between them before either said something he would regret.
“Be careful out there, Conner. Do not underestimate the Masked Metamorph.”
“Aw, look at you, all worried about me. You’re definitely the heart of our operation. You like to whack things with your sword, Kato, so you can be the brawn.”
“And I guess that makes you the comic relief,” Kato said coolly.
“Obviously. But I’m also the charm.” Conner bowed to us, then turned toward the door.
A thunderous boom shook the cottage. Kato looked at Conner.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t do that.”
Someone knocked on my door.
“This is certainly ominous,” I muttered under my breath.
I went to the door and opened it. Capricorn and Scorpio stood on the other side.
Capricorn gave me a small smile. “May we come in?”