Huntress

by Susan Copperfield

  “You two act like he’s hopeless.” Eva rolled her eyes. “I’ll put an end to this right now, if you please.”

  I blinked. “Eva?”

  “Sit your lanky ass down and let a woman work her magic,” she ordered.

  Dad would call me whipped, Mom would be disappointed, but I sat my lanky ass down on the bed and watched her with wide eyes.

  Eva closed the door, and in a low voice, she said, “I branded his ass the minute I saw him. I know what his animal is. I know who he is. Man and beast. I’m not into beasts, I’ll admit. I’m definitely not interested in men who act more like beasts than men. But he is what he is, and I accept all of that. If he spends every spring as a beast, it is what it is. I’ve accepted that. Perhaps you need to, too. But, I know something you don’t know.”

  Meredith sat beside me and chuckled before whispering in my ear, “Pay very close attention, Your Highness. This is far more important than you think.”

  I stared at Meredith. “You’re crazy, aren’t you? She’s going toe-to-toe against a pair of stubborn monarchs and enjoying herself. Anyone with a pair of eyes should recognize I won’t find a better queen in the Royal States.”

  I earned a brilliant smile from my wife. “Quiet, you nutter. I’m not finished here.”

  “Sorry,” I replied, not at all sorry.

  “Point one: I’m a probable leech, as is the mouthy Your Highness who forgot I control his physical therapy regime for the foreseeable future.”

  “Not one of my brightest moves, provoking the controller of my physical therapy regime,” I admitted.

  “Point two: Being disowned doesn’t remove my talents. It’s already been partially investigated, but I come from an elite family, a family I want no association with. I don’t want them to contact me or find me. I’ve been on the run from them since I was fifteen. That’s not your problem, but it is mine. I have the level of talent you need for your son, and I introduce useful abilities to your bloodline.”

  “I don’t want you for your talent, Eva.”

  She sighed. “But that’s the reality of being your queen.”

  “Bullshit. Mom’s got a middling talent at best. Your talent has nothing to do with joining this royal family, no matter how much my mother likes to posture and pretend she started out as something more than someone from a lower part of the middle castes.”

  “Kelvin,” my mother complained.

  “Stop complaining when I tell the truth. You should value honesty a lot more than you do,” I snapped.

  “Kelvin!”

  “Well, you should. It’s not my fault you don’t like hearing the truth.”

  Eva cleared her throat. “I wasn’t done yet, Your Highness.”

  I shut my mouth.

  “Point three: I’m the anonymous bone marrow donor.”

  If Eva was trying to shock the entire royal family into submission, she was doing a good job. I gaped at her, at a complete loss over her claim. I glanced at Meredith for verification, and she offered me a smile.

  “With all due respect, Your Majesties, when you were scrambling worrying about your line of succession and what to do about your dying son, she was in surgery buying him time,” the head of my detail confirmed. “She asked for the procedure to be anonymous, and it was sealed to the point only Dr. Hampford, myself, and the hospital staff handling the transplant were aware of her identity. This was done completely of her volition. She volunteered to be tested to see if she was compatible. She was not approached, she did not ask for anything in exchange, and she also volunteered to serve as a blood donor when he was initially hospitalized.”

  I struggled with what I was being told, and I swallowed, staring at Eva, uncertain of what to say. With another one of her brilliant smiles, so much like the sun peeking through stormy skies, she crossed the room to me and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “I knew your worth from the first time I saw you. It was the least I could do.”

  “You’re the marrow donor?” my mother whispered.

  “There’s a massive stack of paperwork confirming it I can authorize to have released through Dr. Hampford to prove my claim. Agent Scarson can also provide the medical leave documentation from my recovery period, although she had me on light assignments as soon as she believed I could handle it.”

  Meredith nodded. “Considering the nature of his talent, her assignments were to stay in close proximity, as Dr. Hampford wasn’t certain how the marrow transplant would interfere with his talent. As far as she can tell, it hasn’t. There are concerns he may have additional talents that are surfacing due to the procedure.”

  “I have nothing to prove to you, Your Majesty. Frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck if you don’t like me or approve of me, but should your pettiness hurt your son, I’ll show you exactly why I’m not afraid to face off against the bear. He’ll never be the aggressive type, not in the way you likely hope. He’s never going to take the offensive like a lion, wolves, or bears.”

  “Or lynxes,” my father added.

  “Or lynxes,” Eva agreed. “But he is what he is, and if you’re unwilling to look beyond your own desires to see his virtues, you’re the only losers here. If I can see what he is at first glance, I question why you can’t. His worth shouldn’t be defined by the woman you think is better for him. She’s a user. She’s an abuser, too. She displays every behavior the RPS is warned to watch for.”

  “I’m the first to admit I’m not in the same class as the rest of the men in the family.” I shrugged. “The type of woman Averett men typically need isn’t going to work for me. Call it a genetic defect if you’d like, but I’m simply not going to be able to match anyone in our family in that regard. I don’t want to, either. That also means I’m not going to be the type of ruler you want me to be.”

  My father snorted. “You’re going to outclass us in that department, son. You took to it from day one. You enjoy the work. We don’t. We’d rather be doing anything else.”

  Unsure of what to say, I shrugged.

  My mother stared at Eva as though seeing her for the first time. “You donated, and you asked for nothing?”

  “I asked for nothing. Someone had to donate, and I was there. I was willing. I offered to be tested.” Eva’s expression turned wry. “Had I known going in it would hurt like a bitch, I might’ve asked for more than a few days off for the procedure. Between the quantity of marrow required and the chain healing accelerations, it was not a comfortable procedure. Well, procedures. They needed a lot of marrow.”

  The truth of her words soothed me as nothing else could, and I marveled at her. I couldn’t fathom why she would even consider donating marrow for my sake.

  I’d been so busy wondering how I’d convince her to give me a chance that she’d gotten so far ahead of me I’d lost sight of her. I’d been so busy looking behind me, searching for ways to entice her into staying I hadn’t noticed all the clues screaming she’d already decided to stay.

  “They regenerated your marrow with magic?” I asked.

  “Several times. They needed to because if they left any of your marrow intact, your immune system might not recover; they needed to replace the whole shebang with mine. Also, if I have to do this again in ten years, we’re having a talk, Your Highness.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Do. That’s where things currently stand. I’m on notice to be his donor for however long he needs a donor, which means I need to stick around. I agreed to this in writing. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me in some capacity.” Eva’s expression turned wry. “It’s entirely probable I’d be kicked out of the RPS and assigned a limited detail because of my status as his marrow donor. Dr. Hampford can provide you with more information once I authorize the release.”

  “Meredith?”

  “It’s true. That’s part of why we’ve been really lax in how we’re handling her position in the RPS. Because she’s your donor, she needs to be close in case another transplant is required. I’ve had to cite exception
al circumstances more times than I care to think about. A marriage would simplify matters significantly.”

  Marriage did simplify things significantly, although I remained stunned I’d been so thoroughly tricked.

  I’d blame Dr. Hampford’s cocktail of medications I’d been drugged with for far too long on my inability to put the pieces together. I’d also take some time to figure out how best to thank Eva, which would take an entire lifetime.

  Eva smirked at me before giving my mother her full attention. “I really don’t expect you to like or accept me. But you will have to deal with me.”

  My mother frowned, refusing to meet Eva’s gaze. “Agent Scarson, how difficult would it be to find a matching donor?”

  Meredith snorted. “Dr. Hampford is the best person to answer that question, but she anticipated it and told me what to say. Finding a donor for your family is difficult at best. Typically, thirty percent of donors rely on a family member to donate, but that’s not a possibility in this case; the testing confirmed that the defect exists throughout the family, and because it’s paternally genetic and maternally inherited as a dormant gene due to how the talent works, you, his sisters, his brother, and other direct blood relations would only transplant faulty marrow. Because of the alterations to his biology due to his talent, finding an appropriate donor would require large-scale effort. We checked the bone marrow registries for candidates. We found no one compatible. That Evangeline is compatible indicates they’re likely a bonded pair and she was already being subjected to his talent. Her biology was already overwriting elements of his. This factored into our decision to keep her within the RPS.”

  Yep. I’d been thoroughly tricked. “I see I was left out of a few important details.”

  “We felt it was best to let nature run its course, Your Highness. It’s been going exactly as we anticipated, although we underestimated Evangeline’s acceptance and interest in a partnership with you. The cursing and general posturing led us to believe, rather falsely, she viewed you as an annoyance.”

  “Oh, he’s an annoyance, but he’s my annoyance,” Eva cheerfully replied.

  Ignoring Eva, Meredith directed her attention to my parents. “We also underestimated how quickly she, with a very strong firebrand talent, would grow attached to him. Dr. Hampford thinks they’re a little like magnets. She branded him, he displayed interest, and they locked onto each other from the start. Completely accidental, but it is what it is. Enter the possibility they’re both leeches on top of her talent, and I suspect they had no choice in the matter.”

  “Is this bond breakable?” my mother asked.

  “Sure, if you want to run the risk of killing them. Dr. Hampford instructed I answer that question as a no. Should one die, it’s probable the other will as well. This is the same with every other couple in the Averett family as far as I’m aware. It was a primary factor in my decision to proceed with putting Agent Evangeline in a principal position until the wedding ceremony. If we lose her, we lose him, too. This information will not leave this room. Agent Evangeline has an advantage; she’s very adept at self-defense. In that, His Highness is the weaker link, as he’s behind the curve. This is why we’re doing an intensive training cycle here. Frankly, if I could keep him on this schedule through the end of winter, I’d be much more comfortable. The RPS in his kingdom has failed him to shameful degree, essentially gambling with his life.”

  Eva grimaced and glanced at me. “I hadn’t been told about the mutual death part,” she admitted.

  “I suspected that’d be the case, but I’ve been in the family long enough to see how things work. In good news, we’re harder to kill than the average person,” I replied.

  “That’s a concern,” my father said, sitting on edge of the bed. I worried the damned thing would collapse under the combined weight of three people, but it held. “It’s not something we want to experiment with. Very well. It is what it is, and you’ve been determined to have her, so have her. If she’ll have you.”

  If Eva rolled her eyes any harder, I worried I’d be expected to catch her when she fell. “I volunteered to have a bunch of pushy doctors cut open my leg and withdraw bone marrow multiple times. I think we’re a little beyond that.”

  “And arms,” Meredith added.

  “I was not thrilled with that part. I am impressed with the surgical team, though. I had no idea it was possible to do so many torture sessions back-to-back like that. Also, your lanky ass needed a lot of marrow, Your Highness.”

  “Thank you, Eva.”

  She smirked. “You’d already thanked me once without knowing it, but you’re welcome. Let’s try to avoid needing to do any sorts of operations again in the future.”

  “Agreed.”

  Eva locked onto my parents and narrowed her eyes. “Now, if you two will excuse us, he needs to get changed so we can start his physical therapy.”

  My mother’s eyes widened. “You’re really dismissing us.”

  “Damned straight I’m dismissing you. I have work to do to get this Your Highness healthy, and I will not tolerate unnecessary delays to my schedule. Out! My work doesn’t involve sitting here getting all wishy-washy. You can get wishy-washy at dinner this evening after I’ve run him into the ground.”

  When my parents obeyed, I worried Eva might truly be capable of taking over the world while dragging me along for the ride.

  It occurred to me, sometime after getting dressed in a pair of sweats and being chased around the RPS compound, I was married to a devil of a woman I hadn’t even gotten to kiss yet. I’d have to work on that. I’d also have to work on escaping my wife so she wouldn’t pound me into the ground.

  Again.

  Every time she caught me and tossed me like I weighed nothing, she laughed. I toed the line between a pricked pride and amusement she found my misfortune entertaining.

  “If you don’t want to be tackled, you have to run faster, Your Highness.”

  I stretched out on the hardwood floor and debated the pros and cons of staying where I was at. “Run faster and for longer,” I corrected.

  A curious audience of RPS members watched while Eva straddled my back and poked my shoulder. “Something like that. Catch your breath and try again.”

  “Has anyone told you that you’re evil, Eva?”

  “On occasion. Fortunately, evil is part of my job description. I requested it to be added to the fine print. You’re not going to rebuild your endurance unless I push you to the limit, find it, and then shove you over for a while until you do better. You’ll survive. Just remember, I keep track of every time you whine and add ten minutes to your workouts.”

  I groaned and went limp on the floor. “Mercy isn’t in your dictionary, is it?”

  “Not a chance. Walk it off, and when you aren’t gasping for air, get on the move, Your Highness.”

  “Is this what the next month of my life looks like?”

  “Oh, no. The next month of your life looks like you’re going to be tossed around by other RPS agents determined to relocate you until you’re exceptional at escaping any and all capture attempts. This is just a warmup.”

  “Just how many relocations are you talking about?”

  “As many as I can fit in within a four-week period of time. I expect five or six attempts a day after your paperwork. Up, Your Highness. Walk it off and get back to running. You need to hit your quota of miles before you get a break.” Eva got off me and nudged my side with her shoe. “And less groaning. You’re not dying. You’re not even hurt. You’re a little tired. When I’m done with you, you’re going to be exhausted. March!”

  As I had no doubt she’d haul me to my feet and shove me along to get her way, I got to my feet, dusted off and walked at my most dignified stride until I caught my breath.

  “Run, little prince,” Eva whispered from behind me.

  I obeyed.

  Eva cornered me in a supply closet, not one of my better moves in my efforts to escape her, and after a glance over her shoulder, she shut
the door behind her. “Good discovery of that security gap,” she announced.

  I doubled over, hands braced on my knees, and panted to catch my breath. “Say what?”

  “There aren’t any cameras in here, and I’m not sure the camera in the hallway has a good view of the closet. I could do whatever I wanted to you in here, and it could be a while before anyone thought to check in on us.”

  “Wouldn’t it be obvious when we didn’t appear in the other camera’s frame?”

  “Sure, if they go through the trouble of double checking.” Eva smirked and patted my cheek. “I got three and a half miles out of you today. Better yet, you’re still on your feet. You aren’t winning any races, but at the bear’s house, you were dying after a mile. That’s good progress.”

  I did some basic math, forcing myself upright to confirm there weren’t any cameras in the closet. There weren’t. “I’m more interested in the ‘whatever you wanted to do with me in here’ part of this equation.”

  “You’ve been a good sport, so perhaps you need some encouragement to be chased around and caught. By me, of course.”

  “As if I’d want to be caught by anyone else.”

  “I’d gotten that feeling. Except that time. You went for my face. Twice.”

  “The second time doesn’t count. You told me to hit you.”

  “A cute boop to the nose doesn’t really count as a hit, but I’ll let you have it. For the record, I was counting that as your hit for my terms, but I wanted to make you squirm before the spring. My plans changed.”

  “For which I’m grateful. I’d already had to ask Meredith to provide protection if I had to resort to planning ambushes to land a hit.” I smiled at her. “I would’ve, too. It wouldn’t have ended well for me, I expect.”

  Eva grinned at me, stepped closer, and shoved my hair out of my face. “Meredith told me. She recommended I show some mercy on you, as we didn’t want you to stress and impair your recovery. Of course, I wasn’t anticipating your mother’s mulish pride ruining my fun.”