Chapter 14 #2
I reached for Hannah before she could decide to do something reckless, lifting her onto my caribou in one motion, and then swinging up behind her. Fire ripped through my shoulder, but I ignored it.
She huffed as I pulled her against me. She didn’t fight me, so I took what comfort I could from her warmth as we began the ride home.
We descended the mountain in grim silence, swallowed by white, gray, and that strange, washed-out light that made my skin crawl. The prisoners groaned as the caribou pounded steadily forward.
Once we reached lower ground and the light evened out enough to stop burning through our eyes, my men and I removed the visors and pressed on, though the memory of that broken sky stayed with me.
Hannah rested against my chest only for portions of the ride. The rest of the time, she sat straight and careful, like she wanted to reinforce that she didn’t want my hold on her.
It changed nothing. My arm stayed locked around her waist the entire way, and every few minutes, I found myself tightening my grip, as though part of me still needed proof that she was there, breathing and mine to protect.
By the time the angular towers of the castle broke across the horizon, light snow had begun to fall. The flakes drifted from the sky like ash, soft and steady against the harsh lines of stone.
Something in my chest unknotted. Home. I had brought her back alive and to where she belonged forever.
If there was one thing this nightmare had made clear, it was that I could not lose her. I needed to tell her she was my mate, but I wasn’t about to do it on the back of a caribou beneath a broken sky while half frozen and covered in blood.
The gates to the inner courtyard swung open as we approached.
Before we had even fully passed through them, I spotted Ashren striding across the stone.
His dark eyes swept over our ragged group, taking in the soldiers, the prisoners, the bloodstained clothes, and the exhaustion hanging off every one of us.
His gaze lingered on Hannah, then lifted to meet mine.
“Brother.” Ashren’s voice carried across the courtyard as he approached. “I’m relieved to see you returned.” His attention shifted back to Hannah, and something in his expression softened. “And that you found her.”
Before I could answer, a flash of ginger hair appeared behind him. Thea flew past him with all the force of a storm.
“Hannah!” Thea’s voice cracked as she rushed forward with her amber eyes wide and glistening. “Oh, by the sun, look at you. You’re covered in blood. Is that your blood? That is your blood, isn’t it? Oh, you poor thing. Come along. Right now.”
She all but shoved me aside, her usual restraint gone, and reached for Hannah. Her small hands closed around Hannah’s arms with surprising strength. “Down. Now. You need a bath, warm clothes, food, and proper bandages. You look half-dead.”
Hannah gave a faint laugh as she slid down. “Thea, I’m fine—”
“You most definitely are not fine. You’re the opposite of fine.
You are catastrophically un-fine.” Thea hooked herself beneath Hannah’s arm and steered her toward the stairs.
“I’m taking you inside before you fall over.
Hot bath. Clean bandages and clothes. Something to eat.
Everything else can wait.” Then she glanced back at me, one brow rising. “Can’t it?”
I dismounted, and my shoulder screamed. “She needs proper medical attention. See that she gets whatever she requires, and—”
Thea was already guiding Hannah up the steps like a mother hen reclaiming an injured chick. My jaw tightened. I wanted Hannah cared for, but I didn’t enjoy watching someone whisk her away as if she belonged anywhere but at my side.
“Ashren.” I turned to matters I could still control. “The prisoners go to the lower cells and are prepared for interrogation. The one hanging upside down, Keldren, is to be kept separate from the others. Hannah will be present when he is questioned. Make certain he is as uncomfortable as possible.”
My soldiers dragged the prisoners from the caribou. Keldren remained hanging there longer than the rest, his face swollen and dark from the blood that had rushed to his head. Before this was over, discomfort would be the least thing he suffered.
Ashren’s head tilted back, and amusement flickered before he smoothed it away. “I will ensure he isn’t comfortable in the slightest. Would you prefer the healers come to your chambers, or do you intend to see them yourself?”
“Later.” I strode toward the castle, my boots ringing against the cobblestones. “I assume you’ve taken note of the sun.”
“It would be difficult not to.” Ashren fell into step beside me. “A hole appearing in the sun tends to draw attention, even from those who know nothing.”
“A solumbra eagle attacked at the Blood Basin, along with wolves. There was something in the air. It was thin and wrong. If the scouts or spies have any information regarding this, gather it immediately. Two Night Court squads arrived, and the Night General was there.” I started to fold my arms, but lightning lanced through my shoulder, so I let them fall back to my sides.
“Especially now that we know Bram is sacrificing Aurora Fae. Maybe it was never just about power. Maybe he’s feeding something, holding something back, or preparing for something worse than we imagined. ”
“Would Bram—” Ashren began.
I cut him off with a scoff. “I no longer know him. He’s not the man he used to be. Gather everything tied to the sacrifices, the eagle, the wolves, the sun, all of it. I want to know how long we have before his madness destroys us all.”
“I will.” Ashren kept pace with me as I climbed the stairs into the castle. He continued, “But you need a healer.”
“Yes, but I need to speak with Hannah first.” I couldn’t stop myself from marching to her room now, even if my life depended on it.
“Kai—” Ashren started, taking on that long-suffering tone of his.
I lifted a hand to silence him and increased my pace.
No. Not this time. I wouldn’t be stopped.
I had spent too long avoiding what needed to be said. Too long telling myself there would be a better moment, a cleaner one, a less chaotic one. There never was. And Thea didn’t get to sweep Hannah away and think that settled anything between us.
The path through the castle felt too familiar.
Only hours ago, I had stormed in this same direction, ready to drag answers out of her.
Now the lorn leaf had fully burned out of my system, leaving nothing behind to blunt what simmered inside me.
The need to see her, speak to her, and tell her what I should’ve said sooner scraped raw beneath my skin.
When I reached her door, I knocked.
Movement stirred inside, quieted, and then the door opened just enough for Hannah to peer out.
Disheveled but bright-eyed. The sight hit harder than it should have.
“We need to talk.” I braced one hand against the carved wood. “It’s important.”
She studied me for not even a moment, then she smiled, stealing all my breath.
“No, Kai,” she said. “That won’t be possible.” And then she shut the door in my face.