Kaden didn't have a clue whether he had or not. He collected the book from its resting place on the floor and thudded it onto Thorn's desk. Spinning it around so he could read the title, he felt his brow pull down further. The Ties That Bind Us.
"It doesn't ring any bells. What's this all about?" he asked.
"Seems neither of us have done our homework then. Soraya made me read it."
Kaden's heart beat just that bit quicker at the mention of the Princess's name. "Okay."
"It's the race's mating lore."
Kaden froze. Lord, did Thorn know? Kaden watched Thorn closely, looking for any hint that his anger was directed specifically at him. The emotions emanating from Thorn were in as much turmoil as the man himself. A rainbow of colour surrounded the King — furious red, mingled with the blue of sadness and the purple of confusion and yellow of happiness.
Kaden had never seen Thorn so unguarded. He swallowed hard as realisation hit. Thorn's mental state had nothing whatsoever to do with Kaden and Soraya. It had all to do with someone else entirely. "Lena?" Kaden whispered.
Thorn nodded.
"So, Lena is your mate?" Kaden asked, needing to clarify.
"Yes."
"Right." Kaden pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes.
"And, no," Thorn added.
Kaden's hand stopped mid-motion. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It's fucked up is what it means," Thorn replied, his voice angry and hoarse again. "Biology says she's my mate. My body says she's my mate. Hell, even my heart thinks she's my mate."
"So?"
"So, the law says she's not."
"Law? What law?" Kaden was the first to admit he didn't have a clue how this mating stuff worked, but he was pretty sure that those involved couldn't just pick and choose. As much as some Vampires had tried, they couldn't just shack up with anyone and call them their mate. High-born Seelie families had tried arranged marriages before and it had been a disaster.
"The law that says that Vampires of royal birth can only mate those from superior bloodlines, warrior class or nobility."
"But Lena is a warrior, and a damned good one."
"She wasn't born into it though, was she?"
"Oh shit."
Thorn was right. Lena was the natural daughter of Rayne and Greene. Whilst all accounts of them told of an honest, hardworking and loving couple, they were most definitely not of warrior class or anything other than commoners. They didn't even have their own House. "What are you going to do?"
"I haven't got a fucking clue."
And Kaden had nothing to offer either. Well, wasn't this just wonderful.
Chapter 20
Kaden's heavy footfall echoed around the Command Centre as he paced. He could see Mercury staring at him. Every time Kaden passed him, which had been often in the last ten minutes, he could see Mercury's mouth flapping like he wanted to say something, but the other Vampire thought better of it and kept quiet. Kaden was grateful.
How did things get so messed up?
Kaden cursed; he should have seen all this coming. House Blackwood had been in a state of turmoil for over three hundred years, since Deanna died. When Logan and Jett had followed her to their graves soon after, the grief had been overwhelming. The shock-wave had been felt across the dwindling Vampire population.
Losing three members of the royal household in less than two centuries was unprecedented. Even when Vampires were part of the shining, but ruthless Seelie Court, each coronation had only ever followed a long and happy life and a natural death. Thorn bore the weight of responsibility as well as he could, but in reality, Kaden's friend had never recovered from the loss. None of them had.
Kaden puffed out a sigh. He hadn't spoken to Thorn in over a week, not since his "Lena's my mate" speech. They hadn't got anywhere trying to find the remnants of House Clayden, or anyone else who was there the night Eden was handed over. House Bowman were at least now on board, but they couldn't add anything further.
Heath Greenshire's butler, Drake, had sent a message yesterday urging haste with their mission. Read: hurry the fuck up before the old man kicks the bucket. It was a fucking mess.
And then there was Lena.
Kaden's heart ached when he thought of her, still holed up in her room, medicated up to her eyeballs. He hadn't visited but Soraya was keeping him informed. Neither of them discussed the obvious elephant in the room. Ryver hadn't visited her either.
Kaden suspected the young Guardian knew exactly what was going on, but so far he'd spared Kaden the conversation. None of the other guardians had visited their sister-in-arms either. Somehow, they all knew something was very, very wrong, yet none of them asked.
Kaden had tried to see Lena. Several times. Each time he got a little further down the hallway, but he never reached the door. In all his years, he'd never experienced anything like it. He was powerless against Lena's eldur. He doubted whether even the Wild Hunt could drag him through that door.
"You little beauty!" Mercury's cry penetrated Kaden's thoughts. He swung round to see Mercury climbing out from a pile of files, leather-bound books, records, censuses, and empty Dorito packets, clutching a roll of vellum.
"Tell me you've found something we can actually use." The last time Mercury had got excited, it was because he'd found the key to the tombs of the Valkyrie and thought it was cool.
"Relax. No keys this time, I promise." Mercury grinned, his scar pulling at the side of his mouth. He swept his arm across Kaden's desk to clear some space, sending reams of paper to the floor. He rolled the velum out, using his daggers to weight it down and keep the thing open. "Look!" Mercury tapped the centre of what looked like a family tree.
Kaden came round the side of his desk and took in the loops and flourishes of the beautiful, hand-written, calligraphy. A frown tugged at Kaden's brow. This wasn't the Clayden family tree. "This is the Ashby family tree. What are you so excited about?"
Mercury's smile widened. "It's not the family I'm interested in." He tapped the bottom right-hand corner of the delicate paper. "It's the bannermen I'm interested in."
Kaden stared at the list of those who'd sworn allegiance to the Ashby family, their standard bearers, their bannermen. Near the bottom of the list, two names leapt from the page.
"How long have we got?" Kaden asked.
Mercury glanced over at the bank of monitors. "'Bout three hours. Unless you want the suits?"
Kaden shook his head. "I want more time than the suits can provide."
"Right. Who's on?"
"You, me and Phoenix. If I make him stay behind on medic duty one more time, he'll explode."
"Fair enough. What about Ryver? Those listenin' skills of his could come in handy."
"No, the kid's head is all over the place about Lena. He won't do us much good."
Mercury scratched his head. "Yeah, about Lena…"
"I'm not talking about it." He didn't think he'd ever be okay with that conversation.
"I'll meet you in the garage at sundown then?" Mercury offered.
Kaden nodded before taking off for Thorn's office.
Thorn sat at his antique desk tracing the feathered graining of the dark wood. The twists and turns seemed to be the only thing that distracted him for a few seconds. The rest of the time, gut wrenching thirst consumed him.
The staff had already trebled the blood order but it hadn't done any good. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. He couldn't remember much of anything if he was honest.
Only one thing endured-Lena. She was everywhere: In every thought. In every movement. In every breath.
The strength of her eldur infused everything in the house. Whilst the rest of the household had no trouble avoiding Lena's quarters, it took all of Thorn's strength to remain where he was. In fact he didn't dare leave his office.
He felt Kaden outside before the Keeper knocked on the door. "Come in." Christ, even to himself he sounded like crap. Kaden's raised brows as he made eye contact only compounded i
t.
"Mother of Fae, you look awful!"
"Thanks," Thorn grumbled.
"What's going on?"
"I'm going out of my damned mind is what's going on. I don't know how much longer I can do this."
"You're determined not to go to her then?" Kaden asked, his voice a little hoarse.
Thorn watched him closely and saw a flash of anger in his Keeper's aquamarine eyes. Guilt flooded his mind, but staying away way the only option. "How can I, Kaden? It would be a disaster." Kaden sighed heavily as he pushed his hair back. It was clear he had something to say. "Out with it."
"You are the King, Thorn."
"So?"
"So?" The timbre of Kaden's voice rose. "So, you're the bloody King, Thorn! You can do whatever you want!"
"This is not some whim we're discussing, Kaden. This is a mating! And the law is the law."
"Fuck the law, Thorn. This is Lena we're talking about!"
"I know damned well who we are talking about."
"Then you'd better sort this mess out," Kaden hissed.
"Have a care, Keeper of the Watch." Thorn felt his voice change, boiling fury reaching for the surface.
Kaden inhaled deeply, his chin rising at the thinly veiled challenge. "If you insist on pulling rank, My Liege, then you have no choice but to listen to me. I stand as Keeper of the Watch and, by the law you suddenly have so much affection for, I am Commander of the Royal Guard and your advisor. If you do not look to this situation, I will have no choice but to remove Lena from the House and from the Order. You know as well as I do that Lena is nothing without her brethren and you would leave her alone in pain and misery. It is not good enough!"
Thorn shook with anger, his fists clenching, his knuckles now a bright white as he struggled to rein himself in. "What would you have me do, Kaden?" Thorn whispered in despair. "You think I should just go to her, taste the blood for which I am so desperate, ease her suffering, only to compound it by leaving once again? How could I do that to her?"
Kaden lowered his eyes. "You can't just leave her like that, Thorn!"
"If I go to her, I'll take her blood, I'll take her body and I'll take her will. I will make her yield to me." Thorn's voice was hoarse again and just saying the words made his body hum with unfulfilled need.
Kaden swallowed hard. "There has to be another way. I'm pretty sure we can't just pick and choose our mates. It's nature's will. Whether you take her or not, Lena is your mate. There are no second chances…for either of you"
Thorn squeezed his eyes shut, as if closing his eyes against the facts would make them less true.
"There must be something we can do. There must be something you can do."
"I am beholden to the law, Kaden."
"That's your final word?"
"It is." Thorn impressed himself with the steadiness and confidence of his words. He certainly didn't feel steady and he was no longer confident of anything.
Kaden's shoulders slumped as he turned towards the door. "Then I will have to make arrangements for her to go home," Kaden said, the bitter stench of sadness clouding the air.
Thorn cursed as his Keeper disappeared from view.
"Fuck!" Kaden shouted at the empty corridor.
He shook with fury as he left Thorn's office. He made it halfway down the wood-paneled corridor but had to stop for fear of falling over his own feet. Raw anger tornadoed around his mind. How could Thorn do this?
Was he seriously expecting Kaden to remove his sister-in-all-but-name from the House? Worse, from the Order? All because of a law that Thorn's own forebears wrote to protect their bloodline? It was beyond ridiculous and Kaden couldn't even consider it an option. Just not going to happen.
An unexpected calm descended on Kaden as the smell of ripe peaches breezed over him. Every muscle in his body relaxed and his mind cleared in an instant. Kaden sighed. Soraya.
"Kaden? Is everything alright?" Her voice was like honey, soothing and calm.
Kaden had to clear his throat before he could speak. "I really want to say yes to that, Soraya."
Her beautiful caramel eyes widened with concern. "Are you ill? Has the weakness returned?" Her voice rose in a panic as she reached for him.
Kaden gave a soft laugh, her concern for him only endearing her to him further. "I am quite well…physically at least."
Confusion skirted across her face, pulling her brow down. "Then what ails you, Keeper of the Watch?"
Kaden lowered his eyes, wary of her reaction. "Thorn."
"And Lena?"
Kaden nodded, still waiting for her reaction. A delicate hand landed on his forearm and some of the tension dissipated. "It's alright, Kaden. Thorn may be the King but he is still my brother and your friend. We are both allowed to disapprove of his actions."
Kaden smiled. "Disapprove is putting it mildly."
"Indeed."
"He's hiding behind the law."
"He's afraid, Kaden."
"Thorn Blackwood is afraid, of a girl?"
Soraya gave a gentle laugh and pushed him. "That's mean, Kaden!"
"I suppose; Lena isn't your average woman." The joviality left him in an instant.
"Mating is a natural process, Kaden, and we none of us can fight nature. Thorn is stubborn and pig-headed. You know as well as anyone, he has to do everything the hard way."
Kaden pushed his hair out of his eyes. Mating may be a “natural process”, yet none of them seemed to have the first clue how this all worked. Except Soraya. "How do you know all this, Soraya? There have been no new matings in nearly half a millennium, no younglings in over fifty years."
A shy smile spread across her face as she looked up at him. Her golden eyes met his and he stopped breathing as the blood tie between them ignited. He had blood ties with the entire Order, yet this was different. This was private. This was personal. This was his.
Soraya reached up and stroked the side of his face and he closed his eyes, afraid the tenderness of her touch would rip him open. Big strong warrior that he was.
"I have always known, Kaden."
Well, what was that supposed to mean? Known about matings? Known about Thorn and Lena?
"Our race is in crisis, Kaden. Like any species, we must look to our leaders to show us the way," Soraya continued, sorrow reflected in her honeyed eyes.
"That's nothing new, everyone depends on the Order to protect them and…"
"That's not what I mean," Soraya interrupted.
"Huh?" was all Kaden could manage; he was beyond confused.
Soraya sighed. "If Thorn does not take a mate, our race will continue to dwindle. Without the glory of Faerie, our magic is waning. Mating lore has all but disappeared and if Thorn and Lena ignore nature's call, then no one else will hear it either."
Kaden felt his jaw drop, his mouth flapping around like Big Billy Bass as he struggled for a reply. Nothing but a strangled moan reached his lips. She couldn't be serious! If Thorn didn't mate, then no one else would either?
"Are you joking?" he asked, voice hoarse.
The bitterness of sorrow touched the air as Soraya shook her head, not able to meet his gaze.
"But…how?"
Soraya swallowed.
"A vision?" Kaden asked.
She nodded. "We were never meant to stay so long on this side of the gates. Our magic flows from Fae, through House Blackwood and on. With the gates closed…"
"Fuck!" Kaden shouted and regretted it as he saw Soraya's shocked expression. "Sorry. It's just... fu... I mean... bloody hell."
Soraya gave a small smile.
"What do we do?" Kaden asked.
"Nothing. There is nothing we can do."
"Sorry, but sod that! I'll drag Thorn to Lena's bed if I have to!
"No!" Soraya shouted. "We cannot tell him. He struggles with his responsibility and the race's expectation as it is. He must do this on his own."
"But Lena's not of noble blood. He won't do it."
"He will, Kaden. Of that I have no doubt.
" Soraya replied as she turned to leave.
He wished he shared her conviction. She was right about one thing; there was no telling Thorn what he should and shouldn't do. Damned arrogant idiot that he was.
"What if he doesn't?" he called after her.
Soraya stopped but didn't turn around, looking over her shoulder at him instead. "He will," she said with a small smile before continuing on her way. As she left, the fresh smell of peaches bloomed in Kaden's nostrils and he found he needed to steady himself under the heady weight of it.
Swallowing hard, he righted himself, and started towards the garage, then cursed again as he realised he hadn't even told Thorn what was going on. He turned on his heel to head back towards Thorn's office then stopped again. Shaking his head, he jogged back down the hall. He didn't think he could be civil enough to tell Thorn anything. Right now, Thorn Blackwood could go fuck himself.
"You're gone a couple o' hours and you come back lookin' like your world just ended. What the hell happened?" Mercury asked from his position leaning up against his beloved four-by-four.
Where did he start?
"You ever gonna tell me what's going on?"
"Yes." No.
"So?"
"It's not important," Kaden replied.
"Yeah, 'cause Thorn's locking himself in his office, Lena… well let's not go there, Soraya lookin' like someone ran over her kitten, Ryver not talking to anyone; that's all pretty normal around 'ere. Right? None of that can be that important," Mercury scoffed, but the scowl across his face was anything but jovial.
Kaden puffed out a breath. Damn it, but Mercury was right. None of it was normal and what Soraya just told him was pretty fucking important. He just couldn't bring himself to say the words.
That's how it worked. Soldiers complained up the chain of command, not down and Kaden was first and foremost, a soldier. Kaden desperately tried to find some words, anything that would explain everything without giving away secrets that weren't his to tell. Mercury cocked his eyebrow, still waiting for an answer.
Phoenix's heavy boots hitting the floor broke Kaden's train of thought. Thank the Mother of Faerie!
Bound to Blackwood Page 21