Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Knox
I spent another three days hunting in the forest, with only the shadow dragon as my companion, while I tried to bury the memories that seeing Marina and the casters evoked. Lost in the beast, I also tried to forget about Briar, but that proved impossible.
I certainly couldn’t forget that I’d tried to fuck her to eradicate her mother from my mind. If she hadn’t rebuked me, I wasn’t sure what I would have done to her. Certainly nothing that any woman should endure.
While I tried to forget her, I couldn’t stay away… not completely. I returned often to circle the castle and ensure she was safe.
Dromon, Pierce, and Lyra remained in the castle. They would watch over her, but I still had to be close enough to smell and glimpse her on occasion, even if I couldn’t touch her.
After three days full of slaughter and blood, I finally felt stable enough to be around her without trying to get inside her. I hoped it would last once I saw her again.
When I returned to the castle, and after another very long, hot shower, I found Pierce, Lyra, and Dromon in the dining hall. Outside the windows overlooking the mountains and cliffs, thick gray clouds drifted past. It looked like rain but didn’t smell like it.
My friends resembled those clouds as they picked at their breakfast.
“It’s good to see that you’ve returned,” Pierce said.
There was nothing accusatory in his tone. We’d all been in that harem, all had our scabs torn open and left to bleed after the tribunal arrived. I was sure they were also caught up in their memories and seeking a way to forget them.
“How are you doing?” Dromon inquired.
“Good. I eradicated many of the threats to Wildwood.”
They nodded as they resumed picking at their food.
“I’d like to go hunting today,” Lyra said.
“Go ahead,” I told her. “Where’s Briar?”
“She’s been eating breakfast and all of her meals with the sprites.”
“Since when?”
“Since the arrival of the tribunal and your…”
Lyra was thinking of a way to phrase my disappearance that wouldn’t upset me. My temper hadn’t been the best of late, and unfortunately, my pack had borne the brunt of it.
“Hunting expedition,” Pierce said.
“I see,” I murmured. “How are the three of you?”
“We’re fucking fantastic,” Dromon muttered.
They were the same as me, but healing… gradually. Despite the reopened wounds, there were signs of hope in Wildwood.
“I saw the tree of unity is blooming,” I commented.
Lyra perked up at this. “There were some bees in the great hall yesterday, and silkfangs have found their way into Wildwood.”
I’d almost forgotten all about bees and spiders with everything else going on, but excitement leapt at the mention of their return.
“Amazing,” I murmured.
“The roses are looking much better too,” Pierce said. “Briar asked if she could go into town tomorrow to attend some of the ones there, but I told her not without your permission. The sprites are taking care of them, so it’s not urgent for her to go.”
I should let her check on those plants too. The sprites had managed to keep the roses alive, but they were thriving under Briar’s care.
I had to stop being an idiot and get my shit together if I was going to save my kingdom. Soon enough, I’d see Marina again at the next tribunal meeting; when I did, I couldn’t let her rattle me like this. Otherwise, I’d never destroy her.
A plate of food sat at the head of the table for me, but I didn’t touch it. I was sure Bertie placed it there.
“I’ll take her into town,” I said. “I don’t want her out there alone with everything going on. With an escort, she can go into town.”
“Without you?” Dromon asked.
My teeth ground together as I pondered this. I trusted all of them with my life, but I didn’t want Briar out there without me. However, this wasn’t about me. It was about what was best for the kingdom.
“I will be informed before she leaves,” I said.
The good of my kingdom only went so far when it came to her.
“Fair enough,” Lyra said.
“I’ll find her,” I said.
I turned to leave, but Lyra’s voice stopped me. “We like her, Knox. Not in the beginning, of course, but she’s grown on us. Somehow, she makes it easy to forget who her mother is.”
“That’s part of what worries me about her,” I muttered.
“What does that mean?” Dromon asked.
My head swiveled toward them. “You like her, but do you trust her?”
The three of them exchanged looks. “Probably more than I should,” Lyra admitted.
“I agree,” Pierce said.
Dromon drummed his fingers on the table. “She snuck outside of the wall on me.”
“That she did,” I stated.
“She’s a caster, maybe not a night or day one, but she is a caster.
That’s evident with what she’s done around here; she’s brought this place back to life in a way I never dreamed possible while the curse was in effect.
Every day, I’m reminded that a caster lives with us by opening my bedroom door and seeing the healthier rosebushes in the hallway. ”
“We’re all reminded of that,” Pierce said.
“I know, but for some reason, with her, I don’t mind it. I actually like the reminder. I like the bees and the flowers on the tree of unity, and there are buds on the tree of knowledge now too.”
I hadn’t known that.
“We brought a caster into our home, and she brought hope with her. I shouldn’t trust a damn thing about her, but I do. Do I think she might try to escape if given the chance? Hell yes, but none of us could blame her for that.
“She has more freedom here, but she’s still a prisoner, and we all know how horrible that is. However, I don’t think she’d do anything to harm us, and I know she wouldn’t damage the roses or trees. I trust her completely.”
Dromon was my beta, my brother not by blood but in spirit, and I trusted his opinion. I just didn’t know how to respond.
No one spoke again as I left the room.