She smiled at Hunter as they walked toward each other down the hallway. They met exactly at her room, which Syney led the way into.
"Where's Reed?" Hunter asked, embracing Syney from behind.
Syney laughed and turned around, clasping her hands behind his neck. "I told him I was meeting you in the library and gave him the afternoon off."
Hunter rolled his eyes. "It's still dangerous. You can't do that."
"Well, after tomorrow it won't matter. All we'll have to worry about is taxes and money and jobs. And how much we love each other," she said, getting up on her tiptoes to steal a kiss. "Is everything set?"
He nodded. "I have two horses at the side gate. That way we can get to the Human Realm faster. I packed a few days' worth of clothes and food for both of us."
"I still have a bunch of money from when we came here." She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a wallet. She handed it to him. "Are we forgetting anything?"
"Nope." He pulled her back into his arms. "There is one thing, though." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't like the sound of that."
"I was thinking about maybe breaking into the chapel."
Something inside Syney stirred. That was very dangerous. If he got caught, he would be in real trouble with the Lycin Council. But she knew what he would be going there for, and she wanted desperately for him to do it. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
He shrugged. "Probably not. I just don't know if I really am OK with never being able to see our children. And they would be amazing."
Syney felt tears coming to her eyes. "At least let me help. I'll distract someone. I'm good at that."
"No, I've got it. It does mean I won't see you until tomorrow morning, though."
Syney stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "No fair."
He kissed her. "It'll be fine. I'll be here first thing in the morning. And then we're gone."
Syney smiled and pulled away from him. She went to her dresser again and pulled out the smooth brown stone with the shimmering gold spots, the gold-stone. She walked back over to him and held the stone in both hands. "I promise that we will be together forever." She handed the stone to Hunter.
"That was a waste of a promise stone," he said, taking it. "It's just going to disintegrate tomorrow."
"Then we'll watch it turn to ash together."
Hunter pulled her to the door and gave her one last kiss before heading out of the room.
Syney sighed and leaned against the door for a moment. This was what she wanted, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. They had crossed all of their Ts and dotted all of their Is, but something was irking her. She shook off the feeling and left the room to join Helen in the large meeting room.
Cass
Cass let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and stood up. She walked slowly into Syney's now empty room, her eyes wide. She must have misheard. But no, there was no mistaking it. Syney and Hunter were in love and planning on leaving the Village the next day. It wasn't any of her business knowing this, but there really was no way to unhear it. She wrung her hands together. This was a dilemma for her. She wasn't sure how she felt about Syney and Hunter being intimately involved. It didn't entirely sit right with her, but who was she to tell either of them how to behave? She was definitely not OK with their leaving the Village. Syney needed to be crowned tomorrow. It was the first step toward her taking the real queen seat, and Cass needed her to do that. She needed her mother unseated. She sighed. There were really only two courses of action. She could forget what she had heard and go about her everyday life. Maybe she even could meet them at the side gate and try to talk them into staying. But they wouldn't listen to her; she knew that. There was only one other thing to do—tell her mother and let her deal with it. The punishment for Joining other races was death, but Syney and Hunter weren't Joined, so really her mother couldn't dole out that punishment. She wasn't sure what her mother actually would do. No, the safest thing to do would be to meet them at the gate and beg them to stay.
She was thinking of the best way to persuade them as she left the room and headed down the hall. She barely looked over at the Vampire as he passed her. She had tried to avoid him ever since their run-in at the library. He scared her and wasn't very nice. She was almost at the end of the hall when she changed her mind. Syney and Hunter were never going to listen to her. She had to tell her mother. It was the only sane thing to do. She gave a resolute nod and headed to Mellisandrianna's throne room. She needed to put an end to this before the whole Village suffered.
Mellisandrianna
Mellisandrianna looked at each of the people in the room in turn. Her daughters were seated to her left. Helen appeared the most concerned. Mellisandrianna wondered how much she actually knew about what had gone on. She had become too secretive lately. Adanna seemed almost happy at the scene in front of her. Mellisandrianna smiled at that. At least she had raised one of them well—maybe two, actually, she thought as her gaze drifted to Cass. Her youngest daughter looked worried, but she was the one who had come to her. There was still hope for her yet. Commander Leaf also looked worried as he stood, his hands clasped behind his back. Grass looked the opposite, very delighted, as he should. Finally she looked at Hunter, who actually seemed the calmest out of all of them. That won't last long, she thought with a smile.
"Do you deny any of these accusations?"
Hunter looked up at her, his eyes sad, the only emotion coming from him. "No, Your Majesty."
At least he was going to make this easy. "Very well then. I do believe the punishment for this is death, correct?" She looked at Grass.
"Yes. Public execution," her Protector said with a sadistic smile.
"Shouldn't the council vote on this?" Cass asked, her voice sounding unsure.
"I could call an emergency council meeting, but there is no denying there would be a unanimous decision."
"But it is protocol," Leaf said weakly.
Good, he should feel defeated, the queen thought.
"Execution can't be the only option," Helen said.
Mellisandrianna looked at her oldest daughter, who jumped out of her seat. "The laws are clear."
"Yes, for Joining," Helen said. "But they aren't Joined."
"And that makes it OK?"
"No, I ... I didn't say that. It's just... He shouldn't be put to death," Helen stammered. "There has to be another option."
"And what about Syney? Shouldn't she be here? Doesn't she get death as well?" Adanna asked, crossing her arms.
Mellisandrianna agreed with her middle daughter, but there was no way she could get away with that, especially with the coronation the next day. But this wolf she could get rid of. She narrowed her eyes at Hunter. "She will be dealt with."
Hunter looked at her. "I took advantage of her. She had no choice at first. I forced her."
"That's not true," Cass said quietly.
Mellisandrianna stood from her throne and descended to stand right in front of the wolf. "That's noble. Do you know what nobility gets you in the end? No?" She stepped within inches of him, still looking up into his eyes. "Your father did," she whispered, before giving a small laugh and backing up. "Public execution. After the coronation of course."
Leaf stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I ask for leniency. The mission to the borders leaves right after the coronation. I still need a commander. Send Hunter."
She stared at him and gave a hearty laugh. "That is beyond leniency. That's a promotion!"
"But it makes sense," Helen said, moving to the queen's side. "He'll be away from Syney for an indefinite period of time. That's what this is really about, right? Keeping them apart? Trust me, Mother. This would be punishment enough for both of them."
Mellisandrianna stared at her eldest daughter. There was such passion behind her words, as useless as they were. She needed Helen to feel that passion toward things other than forbidden love affairs and pardons. "No. The only true pain is physical, and the
only way to break a bad habit is with pain."
Helen recoiled from her mother, stepping back to her chair, tears forming in her eyes.
"I'll take the execution."
They all looked over at Hunter.
"But nothing happens to Syney."
"No, this is wrong," Cass said, standing up. She walked over to her mother and looked at her. "Let him have a choice. Let him leave with the mission if he wants to."
Mellisandrianna felt her mind cloud. "He just chose."
"No, he's looking out for Syney. Tell him nothing will happen to her whether or not he dies," Cass said firmly.
The queen looked at Hunter. "Nothing will happen to Syney of course. And I will give you the option. You can stay and have your public execution or leave with the mission under the notion that, if you ever do return, you will not fall back into your former habits. Which do you choose?"
Hunter took a deep breath but said nothing.
"Let him think about it," Helen said quietly.
Mellisandrianna nodded. "In the dungeon of course." She motioned for Grass to take Hunter away. This did not turn out the way she had foreseen. But it did give her some things to think about. Cass's magic was growing stronger, which was something that needed to be dealt with. The first time she had used the mind compelling when they had found Syney, Mellisandrianna barely had felt anything. But this time she had felt Cass's mind actually touch hers. She didn't expect her youngest daughter to be the most powerful. It was interesting.
Cass looked over at her, even though everyone else had left. "I want to go on that mission. You will let me go on that mission."
Mellisandrianna smiled at her. Why would she want to do that? It was no place for a royal. But in order for her to keep up pretenses, she had to comply. There would be a time when Cass needed to use the compulsion on her, and there couldn't be any doubt that it worked. "Yes, you should go. I will inform Commander Leaf right away."
Cass nodded and headed out of the room.
This might actually turn out to be a good thing in the end, Mellisandrianna thought, looking around the now empty room. She just needed a way for it to spin back to her. She sat back down on her throne and planned out her next move.
Leaf
Leaf stared at Grass. He couldn't order the younger man to let him into the dungeon, but he wasn't going to move until he let him pass. Helen once told him his stare was close to her mother's. Neither of them took any prisoners.
Finally Grass huffed and stepped to the side. "Not too long. Wouldn't want you two to do any conspiring, would we?"
Leaf didn't say anything; he just walked past him through the doorway and down the steps into the dungeon. He needed to think. There had to be some way of getting Hunter out of this. No, there was a way out. Leaf just wasn't sure Hunter would take the assignment out of the palace; he wasn't sure he would take it himself if given the chance. He looked at Hunter, who was pacing in the last cell, the same one they had thrown Raine into. Leaf never would get used to seeing his men behind bars.
Hunter stopped when he saw him.
"What happened?" Leaf asked.
Hunter shrugged. "I have no idea. I was headed for the chapel when Grass grabbed me. He told me the queen wanted to see me, and that was it."
Leaf shook his head. "I almost didn't even get into that meeting room. She tried to block me out."
"I know she's had it in for me for a while, but there was no way she came up with this on her own."
"Let me go! I am a royal seated princess. Do you really think you can stop me from going anywhere in this palace that I want to?"
Both Hunter and Leaf looked toward the stairs as Helen huffed down them, sending a choice phrase relating to Grass's mother back up the stairs.
"You shouldn't be here," Leaf said to her calmly.
"Neither of you should be," Hunter said, a little more sternly.
Helen rolled her eyes at both of them. "Like I would be anywhere else." She looked at Hunter. "It was Cass."
"What?" he asked, a look of confusion on his face.
"She overheard you and Syney. She must have gone to see Syney and waited for her to come back."
Hunter closed his eyes and grimaced.
"She told my mother that you two were involved romantically and that you were both planning on leaving, which is just the dumbest thing." Helen stopped when she saw the guilty look on Hunter's face. "Oh, wow. You were leaving, weren't you?"
Leaf looked at his friend. The thought had crossed his own mind once or twice for him and Helen to leave, but he always had pushed it away. No matter what he felt for Helen, he had a duty to his men. Hunter was like-minded, which meant this decision hadn't been reached without a great deal of thought.
"We didn't tell anyone," Hunter said quietly.
"You would leave in the morning, before the coronation?" Leaf said.
Hunter nodded.
Helen backed away from the bars. "That was a selfish decision."
"But it was theirs to make," Leaf said simply.
Helen shook her head. "There's more to it than just them. I'm sorry for whatever pain my sister has caused." She gave both men a hard look before heading up the stairs.
"Don't let her bother you," Leaf said, looking after her.
"She's right, though."
"I'll help you get out."
Hunter looked at him. "What?"
Leaf took a deep breath and glanced up at the stairs before leaning closer to the bars. "I'm assuming you had a way out?" He continued when Hunter nodded. "Then I'll get you out of the cell. I'll even get Syney to you. Just promise me you'll be happy."
Hunter nodded. "As long as she's there." He paused. "But I'm not sure I'm OK with you helping. You can get into trouble."
"I'll make it look like incompetence on Grass's part. It shouldn't be too hard."
"I'm still not sure."
"We have about an hour before the guard change," Leaf said. "That would be the most opportune time."
Hunter stared at him while Leaf silently begged him to take the option. Hunter opened his mouth to speak but stopped when they both heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They were too heavy for a Magic User. Leaf gave Fern a brief nod when he saw her. She returned the gesture and strode over to them.
"I'll be right back. Have an answer then," Leaf said before headed out of the dungeon.
He looked at Helen, who sat on a bench near the door. She was wringing her hands, her face filled with sadness. He wasn't expecting that reaction from her. He saw himself as a true believer in what Syney represented for the Realm, but even he was willing to let her go so that she and his friend could be happy. Helen looked up at him and shook her head before getting up and heading away from him. He sighed and went in the opposite direction. There were a few Guards who would help if needed. He needed to quickly gather his men just in case.
Fern
Fern bit back her pride as she stood in front of Hunter, the solid metal bars between them. This wasn't about her, and she knew that. It still didn't sit well with her. She tried to keep her face neutral as she took a deep breath.
He wasn't looking at her; at least he had enough sense to feel bad about the situation he had caused. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"Don't be sorry for me," she said firmly. A little too firmly. She took another breath to steady herself. "I couldn't care less where you find your pleasure. But there's much more to this than just taking advantage of a young girl. She is our future!" Fern yelled. She took another shaky breath. She needed to calm down, but she wasn't finished. She needed to get this out before she couldn't. "There's a reason she's here at this time. We're at war. Syney is the only one who can stop it. It was seen in a prophecy! She will bring the Realm back to its glory! My brother died in a Shifter attack only a few years ago. His death can't be for nothing. We need peace. We need her."
Hunter finally looked up at her, his face passive but attentive. "You're right."
Fern's breathing slowed. She w
asn't expecting that. She didn't have anything else planned to say, but she would have continued to repeat herself if she'd had to.
"I didn't know about your brother. I'm sorry about that," Hunter said quietly.
"Thank you."
They stared at each other for a while before Hunter finally stepped forward. "Could you get Leaf for me?"
Fern nodded and headed up out of the dungeon. The commander wasn't too far away, only down the hall speaking with a handful of Guards. She stayed a respectable distance away until he acknowledged her. She delivered Hunter's message and followed Leaf back down the stairs. Leaf looked at her when they reached Hunter's cell. He wanted to be alone with Hunter, but she wasn't going to let that happen. He was her Commanding officer, but she needed a say in what was going on.
"Fern," Leaf said firmly. It was a command.
"No, let her stay," Hunter said.
Leaf looked back at him. "What's going on?"
"Let the queen know that I'll take the assignment at the border."
"Hunter—"
"And have the high priestess move my joining with Fern to the morning. It will be easier. That way we can move out right after the coronation with no distractions."
Fern smiled, not something that came naturally to her. Hunter finally was seeing things her way.
"Are you sure about this?" Leaf asked.
Hunter nodded. "It's what has to be done. And don't tell Syney. Don't tell her anything."
"While I agree that this is the best course of action, are you sure you want to do that?" Fern asked. "If the princess really was romantically involved with you, leaving without any warning or explanation will likely be very hard on her."
Leaf didn't acknowledge her; he just stared at Hunter. "Don't do this."
Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Page 41