by Amber Burns
“Yes, My Thane?” Kelder asked while turning to face his leader.
Dresdyn frowned in thought as he thought of how to say what was on his mind. “When you found Meera, and determined her to be your true mate,” he began. “How long was it until you fell in love with her?”
“It was instantaneous, My Thane,” Kelder replied simply.
Dresdyn raised both eyebrows. “Instantaneous, you say?”
Kelder simply nodded.
Dresdyn frowned thoughtfully. “So, this warmth in my chest...these overwhelming feelings of affection roiling within me, they’re normal?”
Kelder smiled then and gave a small nod. “Yes, they are, My Thane. Perfectly normal, for how else are you to be motivated and driven to protect one person so vehemently?”
Dresdyn slowly exhaled and placed a hand over his heart before lightly rubbing the area. Then, he smiled and gave a small nod. “Thank you, Kelder.”
“Anytime, My Thane,” Kelder replied with his smile still in place as he gave Dresdyn’s shoulder an informal, brotherly thump. “Anytime.”
10
In the room that had been given and prepared for Cerridwyn, Klaryssa and her sister were both sitting in the same bathtub. Neither were strangers to sharing a bath with one another, and since neither of them had wanted to be alone in the aftermath of everything that had happened that day, a joint bath was the best and most logical way for them to clean themselves while finding their calm.
While they had not said much to each other since arriving at the Keep, they nevertheless drew comfort from the other’s close proximity and familiarity amidst all the chaos and change that surrounded them. For as long as they were in the tub, the only noise that filled the silence was the crackling of the fire, and the small splashes of the water in the bath as the sisters moved and shifted in the tub.
“I still can’t believe the truth about father,” Cerridwyn murmured, breaking the silence at last while drawing her knees to her chest.
“Does it really matter in the end?” Klaryssa asked while gently combing out her sister’s wet hair. “Father loved us. That’s all we should remember about him, because that’s truly all that matters.”
“I suppose,” Cerridwyn replied with a small shrug of her shoulders before slowly moving her gaze around the room. “So...we’re really going to live here now?”
“Yes,” Klaryssa answered with a smile. “And this is to be your room.”
“It’s so big,” Cerridwyn said in awe. “Do you think I could have flowers in here?”
“Of course, you can have flowers in your room,” Klaryssa answered.
Cerridwyn nervously chewed her bottom lip. “And you’re sure we’ll be safe here? The wolf-men won’t try to eat us?”
“I promise that we’re safe,” Klaryssa assured. “Dresdyn and the others saved us. They wouldn’t have done that if they meant for us to come to harm.” Her smile grew a fraction of an inch. “Besides, I know in my heart that I can trust Dresdyn with my life. I know that he’ll never hurt either of us….no matter what.”
There came a knock at the door.
Klaryssa’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head towards the door. “Dresdyn?”
The door opened, and a woman with long, brown curls poked her head inside the room.
“Sorry to disappoint you, M’Lady,” the woman replied with a friendly but sympathetic smile as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
Klaryssa blinked and crossed her arms to cover her bosom. “Sorry, but...who are you?”
“My name is Meera. I’m Kelder’s mate,” Meera said with a small curtsy. “I came to check on you to see that you and your sister were alright and settling in after everything that happened today. I must say that I am also very pleased to meet you, at last, My Lady Thane.”
“You’re Kelder’s mate?” Klaryssa asked after latching onto the one vaguely familiar thing in the stream of Meera’s cheerful chatter. Her eyes widened. “Is Kelder alright after what happened? I saw his wounds…”
Meera smiled. “My man is just fine, M’Lady, thank you for your concern. I bandaged him up good and proper, but I will be sure to pass your concern along to him.” Seeing two dressing gowns draped over the foot of the bed, she crossed the room and took up the two clothing items before turning and waddling over to the tub. “Now then, let’s get you both out of the tub, and dressed for dinner.”
“Where’s Dresdyn?” Klaryssa asked as she slowly stood and allowed Meera to drape one of the dressing gowns over her shoulders before carefully stepping out of the tub. She fastened the gown closed, then turned to face Meera. “Is he alright?”
“Thane y Blaidd is perfectly fine, M’Lady,” Meera assured while helping Cerridwyn into her own dressing gown. “He and the other men are discussing the events of today and formulating plans and security measures to put into place for your protection.”
Klaryssa blinked. “My protection?”
“Yes, of course,” Meera replied with a nod. “You are his mate, M’Lady. That makes you the most important person in the world to him. There is nothing the Thane wouldn’t do to keep you safe.” She smiled. “All the men in the clan are like that with their mates. They cherish us above all else, and protect us most vehemently,” she added while waddling over to the heavy wardrobe against the wall to the right of the bathtub.
“That’s beautiful,” Klaryssa mused with a faraway smile. “It seems so rare to find men like that outside the clan.”
Meera nodded. “I know that well enough, M’Lady. My own father couldn’t be bothered with remaining faithful to my mother. When he wasn’t drinking and carousing with other women, he was busy smacking her around.” She sighed and opened the wardrobe. “You won’t find such behavior among the men of the clan. They respect and are completely devoted to their mates.”
“I still can’t believe how lucky I am,” Klaryssa said with a smile. “And to think that I thought Dresdyn to be the black knight when we first met,” she added with a giggle.
“Oh, but M’Lady...Thane y Blaidd is the black knight,” Meera replied while taking two gowns out of the wardrobe.
Klaryssa blinked in confusion. “Pardon?”
Cerridwyn’s eyes widened. “Your future husband is the black knight and a wolf-man? Are you certain we’re safe here?” she asked with growing panic.
“Now, now, there’s no need to get yourself all worked up, young lass,” Meera soothed while carrying the two dresses over to the bed.
“But, the black knight is a vicious brute,” Cerridwyn protested.
“Really?” Meera asked simply while turning to face Cerridwyn. “According to who?”
“The people who find bodies strewn across the land,” Cerridwyn replied without hesitation.
Meera sighed. “My dear girl, what would the lord and master of this particular fief stand to gain from slaughtering his own people?” she asked simply.
Cerridwyn blinked. “I...well, I…”
Meera gave a small shake of her head. “Dear girl, Thane y Blaidd became the black knight shortly after the passing of his father, and he only slays those who would do the people on his fief harm. Brigands, marauders…”
“Rapists,” Klaryssa added.
“Yes, exactly,” Meera replied with a nod before turning her attention back to Cerridwyn. “It is those people Thane y Blaidd targets as the black knight, and he does it for the good of the innocents living on his land.”
“Then why not be called the white knight, or something equally less menacing?” Cerridwyn asked curiously.
“Because the title of black knight sounds more intimidating,” Klaryssa answered softly with a faraway look in her eyes. More and more pieces of Dresdyn’s character were falling into place, and Klaryssa’s heart warmed with the swell of blossoming love as she realized just how brave and good a man to whom she was to be bound. “Brigands are less likely to venture into lands in which someone with so infamous-sounding a name roams.”
“Exactly right,” Meera said with a nod before motioning for the sisters to approach. “Please come get dressed.”
Klaryssa took a step towards the bed then stopped. “You mentioned that Dresdyn became the black knight after his father’s death. Why is that?”
Meera was silent for a few moments before slowly exhaling. “It is not my place to say, M’Lady,” she answered. “But, if you were to ask Thane y Blaidd, I have no doubt that he would readily give you an answer.” She briefly worried her bottom lip. “All I am at liberty to say, is that his father’s death was extremely difficult for him to bear, and that it haunts him still along with the death of his brother.”
“Wilem’s father?” Klaryssa asked.
“Yes, M’Lady,” Meera answered with a nod. “That too would be a question best left for Thane y Blaidd to answer.”
Klaryssa gave a small pout before nodding in resignation. “Will Dresdyn be joining my sister and I later?” she asked as she crossed over to the bed.
“I would imagine so, M’Lady,” Meera answered with a smile.
Klaryssa nodded, then smiled while selecting a gown that was the same vivid blue as Dresdyn’s human eyes. The hemline as well as the edges of the neck and long, flowing sleeves were intricately embroidered with an amber thread that matched the shade of Dresdyn’s lupine eyes, and Klaryssa could not help but feel that wearing it would show Dresdyn without words that she accepted him fully. “Well then,” she said as her smile grew. “I’d better look my best.”
11
“I can’t believe it’s real,” Klaryssa said softly while sitting at the dining table and holding a cup of hot tea in both her hands. Accepting though she was of Dresdyn’s secret, she still had difficulty in accepting the reality of something she had always believed to be a myth up until that day. “Even though I saw it all with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it happened.”
“Neither can I,” Cerridwyn said after swallowing a mouthful of stew. Shocked as she was by everything that had transpired, she could not deny her aching stomach the proper meal it so desired. It had been so long since she had eaten anything but watered-down vegetable broth, and the stew she had served herself was so rich and savory.
“Surely, you have heard the story,” Dresdyn remarked as he watched the sisters carefully. It had not escaped his notice that they had both pointedly avoided taking helpings of meat and had instead opted for food that was decidedly less bloody in appearance. He could hardly blame them after the violent bloodshed they had witnessed earlier. That sort of thing simply was not for everyone. “The story about the deities creating children in their own specific image? You have heard that, yes?”
“I like that story,” Wilem remarked in passing before taking a large bite out of the large drumstick on his plate.
“Yes, my sister and I have both heard the story, but I always thought that shifters were a myth,” Klaryssa replied while putting her cup of tea down in favor of spearing a roasted potato with her fork. “I never thought them to be more than tales told around the fire by parents in order to get their children to behave.” She began wagging the index finger of her free hand. “Don’t disobey your mother, or the wolf-men will take you away. Don’t waste food, or the wolf-men will gobble you up.” She sighed and broke character. “You know, that sort of thing.”
Dresdyn sighed and rubbed his forehead. “We do not gobble people up,” he said tiredly. “Not even the ones that deserve it,” he grumbled under his breath as he remembered Bailey.
“Yes, I know that now,” Klaryssa retorted.
“Mother actually said that sort of thing to you?” Cerridwyn asked quizzically.
Klaryssa sighed and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t like beets,” she said as an explanation before taking a bite of her potato.
“Neither do I,” Wilem remarked after swallowing his mouthful of meat.
“Well, I happen to love them,” Cerridwyn replied.
“Brilliant, you can have my share the next time we have them at the table,” Wilem said.
“It’s a deal,” Cerridwyn said while reaching across the table. She offered Wilem a shy smile.
Wilem looked at Cerridwyn’s proffered hand for a moment before giving a small shrug of his shoulders and then reaching across and clasping the smaller hand lightly in his own and giving it a shake. “It’s a deal,” he said before both he and Cerridwyn returned to their meals.
It warmed Klaryssa’s heart to see Cerridwyn and Wilem getting along, and she smiled after swallowing her mouthful of potato. She happened to glance at Dresdyn and saw that he was watching the young pair with a fond smile of his own. Their eyes met, and the smile the two of them shared made Klaryssa’s heart flutter. Though the four of them had been thrown together, they felt like a family.
Sighing softly, Dresdyn slid his hand across the table and rested it gently atop Klaryssa’s. “Are you alright after everything that happened today? I know it was a lot to take in, and Blaiddwych knows that I had not intended for you to learn the truth in the way that you did.” He tenderly brushed his thumb over Klaryssa’s knuckles.
“How would you have rather I learned it?” Klaryssa asked with the smallest of smirks.
“Gentler,” Dresdyn replied with a smile before clearing his throat. “Have you had enough?” he asked while nodding towards Klaryssa’s plate.
Klaryssa nodded.
“Walk with me?” Dresdyn asked. “We can continue our discussion.”
Klaryssa leaned in a little closer. “What about Cerridwyn?” she whispered.
Dresdyn glanced to one of the doorways and saw Olaf casually leaning against the arch. Upon seeing the younger man give him a small nod, he looked to his nephew. “Wilem, will you please entertain Cerridwyn? In light of today’s revelations, there are some things I must discuss with Klaryssa, as you can imagine.”
“Alright,” Wilem said with a nod. “I can do that.”
“Thank you, Wilem,” Klaryssa said with a warm smile. “You’re a sweet boy.”
Wilem blushed and ducked his head.
Klaryssa looked to Cerridwyn. “Will you be alright?”
Cerridwyn looked to her sister then warily shifted her gaze to Dresdyn. “Will there be giant wolf-men wandering the halls?”
Dresdyn chuckled softly. “No,” he answered with a small shake of his head. “And Wilem is not yet able to shift, so you need not worry about him showing off.” With Olaf close by to intervene in the rare event that Wilem did lose control, Dresdyn was confident that Cerridwyn would remain safe.
“In that case, I’ll be fine,” Cerridwyn said with a small smile upon turning her gaze back to Klaryssa. “Go and have your discussion. I’ll be alright, I promise.”
“Alright,” Klaryssa said with a smile while standing after Dresdyn had risen to his feet and pulled out her chair. “We won’t be far,” she added before taking Dresdyn’s arm when he offered it to her. Once they were out in the hall, she slowly exhaled. “Alright...tell me everything.”
“You look very lovely in that dress,” Dresdyn replied with a smile.
A pleased flush colored Klaryssa’s cheeks as she smiled. “I had hoped you would like it,” she replied while demurely averting her gaze. “It’s why I picked it.” Her womb clenched when Dresdyn growled low in approval. “But, you know very well that was not the answer I was waiting for when I asked my question,” she retorted with a small nudge of her hip.
Dresdyn chuckled softly then furrowed his brow a little. “Well, you know that I am a shifter, and you know the story of how shifters came to be,” he began. “Perhaps it would be easier if you simply asked me what you wanted to know.”
“Alright,” Klaryssa replied with a small nod of agreement. “Are all the members of your clan shifters?” She closed her eyes then gave a shake of her head. “That was a stupid question, wasn’t it?”
Dresdyn smiled and shook his head while giving Klaryssa’s hand a small pat. “Not at all. Only the men of the clan have the ability to
assume the form that you saw today.” He led his love to an alcove where there were two chairs, and he eased her down into one of them before taking the seat opposite her. “The ability to shift is bestowed only upon the men of the clan. Any females born into the clan are innately gifted with magic, whether it be active or dormant, but they do not themselves have the ability to shift.”
“Why not?” Klaryssa asked.
Dresdyn smiled softly. “Because, if females were capable of becoming beasts as well, then they would not be able to remind us males of our humanity.” He reached out and affectionately brushed his fingers over Klaryssa’s closest hand. “You see, my sweet doe, once a female has been found by her true mate, she becomes the keeper of her mate’s very soul and humanity.”