by Jane Godman
“Of course. You’ve been searching for your brother.” She knew that Andrei Tavisha had disappeared along with Ged on the night of the massacre. Unlike Ged, nothing had been heard of him since. No stories, no whispers, not a murmur. He was the young prince who had vanished without a trace. “Have you found out anything about him?”
His eyes were dark with pain as he shook his head. “Whenever I hear about a shifter in trouble, I think this might be the time I find him. Or the time I find some information that leads me to him. It’s not the only thing that drives me, but it’s the most important.”
She took his hand. The painkillers must be starting to work because she was able to move without feeling like the action was about to lift the top off her scalp. “The rest of it...is that because you feel a sense of obligation?”
Lidi knew what duty was. She had been raised within the ancient tradition of Callistoya nobility. Even though her parents had left her to fend for herself from a young age, they had imposed rules upon her. She had been expected to conform to the lifestyle of an aristocrat. Every attempt had been made to ruthlessly crush her rebellious streak. It wasn’t their fault she had constantly thwarted them.
When she reached the shifter age of maturity at eighteen, she had expressed a desire to join the king’s army. Her father’s outrage had been almost comical. Her mother had refused to discuss the matter.
“It is your destiny to make a good marriage.” Umbert, Count of Aras had turned away as though that was the final word on the subject. “Besides, you are a woman. The life of a warrior is not for you.”
“I can fight as well as any man.” It wasn’t true. She could fight better than most men.
“We will not speak of this again.”
That had been two years ago in mortal time, and it was the last time she’d seen her mother. Her parents had been traveling to visit relatives when they were attacked by robbers, possibly from Vasily’s rebel force. Her mother had been killed outright. Although her father had survived his injuries, he remained a shadow of the powerful soldier he had once been.
Caring full-time for her disabled father, Lidi had been unable to fulfill her dream of a military career. Instead she had joined the troops who guarded the castle when they took part in their military training. Honing her skills until she matched and then outstripped the professionals was one of her greatest pleasures...and most bitter regrets.
Duty was what she owed to her father, whom she loved despite his autocratic nature. Her loyalty was to his lands, his tenants, the castle in which she had been raised, the land of her birth. But if she had been given a choice, she would not have followed in the footsteps of centuries of her family. The decision had been taken from her with her father’s injuries, but Lidi would never bow her head in the way expected of a Callistoya noble woman. If Vasily expected her to succumb obediently to his will, he had chosen the wrong person. The man who called himself king had picked a warrior instead of a maiden. And Lidi was prepared to teach him the difference.
She could see her question about obligation had resonated with Ged. His eyes were on her face, but she sensed his thoughts were far away. When he spoke, the sadness in his voice tore into her soul.
“I’ve lived in the mortal world for a long time, but Callistoya has kept its hold on me. I sometimes wondered if I could ever explain to my friends about my life back in my homeland.” He laughed. “I decided I couldn’t. How do you describe what it’s like to step inside the pages of a history book? To them, Callistoya would be like going back in time six hundred years.”
Lidi started to wrinkle her brow, then decided against it. Facial expressions still caused too much pain. “Is that a bad thing?”
“In many ways it is. Callistoya is like a medieval kingdom. It has all the charm of knights and chivalry—with a dash of shifter magic, for good measure—and when my father was alive, we mostly lived in peace. Since his marriage to Zoya, Vasily’s mother, our beautiful land has become a place of fierce feuds and bloody battles. Although—” A corner of his mouth lifted. “We should probably be thankful that technology hasn’t reached our magical corner of the world. At least we haven’t progressed beyond silver and fire as a means of destroying each other.”
“You still love it.” Her voice was gentle.
He leaned his head back. “Of course I do. But after the massacre it seemed like there was no hope. I tried to go back. I wore a disguise and attempted to cross the border, but Vasily had used powerful magic to close down the frontiers. I don’t know how he did it, but there was an invisible barrier and I couldn’t get past it. In the end, I smuggled a message to my uncle Eduard and we met in secret in a Siberian forest.” His lips thinned into a line and Lidi could tell how much the experience had damaged his pride. “Everything I once knew was gone. The king was dead, my family had been wiped out, there was no government—” He broke off, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
“How did you and your brother escape?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve been over it in my mind a hundred times since. There’s no way Vasily would have spared us. Someone who knew of the murder plot must have rescued us before the killing started.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to have informed your father of the plot?” Lidi asked. “That way Vasily could have been stopped before he killed anyone.”
“I wish I knew the answer to that. To all of it.” There was no escaping the pain in his eyes and she remembered he had lost his fiancée as well as his father that night.
“Your loyalty is to the people who died as well as to your country.” With every minute she spent in his company her insights into his motives gained depth. It was like she was rolling down a hill, picking up speed and unable to stop. The question was, did she want to?
Ged nodded. “Doing nothing wasn’t an option. Eduard stayed in Callistoya and promised to rally our supporters. In the meantime I did what I could to find Andrei, and this—rescuing endangered shifters—felt like I was giving something back. It was for my home, my family, for the people who died.” His expression clouded again and she could feel the tension in his body. “For Alyona.”
Lidi could tell how much it cost him to say that name out loud. She didn’t know who moved first. Did she turn toward him, or did Ged draw her into his arms? Perhaps both actions happened at once. All she knew was she was being held tight against his chest as he pressed his cheek to her hair as though he would never let her go.
They stayed that way for long, silent moments, drawing strength from each other in an embrace that had no place in a bear shifter’s existence. Hugging wasn’t a feature of Callistoya life, but it felt so good that Lidi wished she could find a way to introduce it. When she finally tilted her head back to look at him, Lidi saw Ged’s calm had been restored. His expression was determined.
“It’s time to go back.” She didn’t need to ask him. They both knew it was going to happen.
He smiled. “We’ll go together.”
* * *
For someone who had spent her whole life in Callistoya and been brought up in the noble tradition, Lidi was unlike any other bear shifter Ged had ever encountered. Once she knew Ged was prepared to travel with her to Callistoya, she wanted to set off at once. Bears were cautious by nature, and her impulsiveness was the opposite of his own personality.
“I did it once.” She tossed her head, wincing slightly as the movement clearly reminded her of her injury. “I can do it again.”
“But we don’t need to trek across continents on foot this time,” Ged patiently explained. “I’ve got plenty of money. And we need a plan.”
“Plan?” She said it as though she had never come across the word before.
He smiled. A bear who didn’t plan? Yes, Lidi was definitely unusual. “What were you picturing? You march up to Vasily and demand the release of your father while I tear the crown from his head?”
She sat on the edge of the bunk, scuffing the worn floorboards with the toe of her boot. “Pretty much.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling its frailty beneath her sweater. “Where do you think that would get us, Lidi?” When she didn’t answer, he gently turned her to face him. “If Vasily let you live, you would be back in your prison cell. I, on the other hand, would not survive the encounter. Vasily would make sure I met the same fate as my father.”
Her smooth brow creased. “Are you telling me it’s hopeless?”
“Not at all. I want to make sure we win this fight, but if we’re going to do that, we have to remember who we’re dealing with.”
Her lip curled. “Vasily is a coward.”
“He is a cunning coward and he is a killer. If we are going to outsmart him, we will have to be more devious than he is.”
“It will be hard to do that if you can’t even set foot in Callistoya.” Wearily, Lidi rested her head against his shoulder. The movement seemed unconscious, just a natural reaction to tiredness and the aftermath of her injury. He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. His reasoning was she needed comfort. The truth? He couldn’t help himself. He had never had a problem with self-control. Now it was being tested to its limits. It was going to be an interesting journey. “And even if you do, you will be recognized.”
“Exactly. I’m going to have to find a way to bypass the spell Vasily has put on the border. Once I’ve done that, I’ll need a hell of a disguise.” He considered the matter for a few moments. “Vasily’s greatest fear will be my return at the head of an army. I’m the rightful king. He will expect me to act like it. That’s why I need to behave like something completely different.”
“A servant, maybe?” Lidi suggested.
“Yes. I will be your new servant.”
He felt her sigh reverberate through her slender body. “I can’t return to my home, remember? As soon as I do, Vasily will have me thrown back into a cell.”
Ged placed his hand beneath her chin, tilting her face up so he could look into her eyes. This was going to be the hard part. “There is one way you can stay out of prison.”
“No there isn’t. Vasily will not grant me my freedom unless I agree to marry him.” Understanding dawned and her eyes widened. “Oh.” She backed away from him, shaking her head. “No. Oh, no.”
“Just listen to me—”
“You want me to marry Vasily?” She got to her feet, swaying slightly.
Ged was at her side, sliding a hand around her waist to support her. “No, I want you to say you’ll marry him.”
Lidi made an attempt to move away, but she was obviously disoriented. With a sigh, she subsided against him. “Isn’t it the same thing?”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, he started to laugh. “Lidi, look at me.” She huffed out a breath, turning her face up to his. “Do you trust me? Enough to place your life in my hands?”
When he looked at her, everything else faded away. How had he reached this point in his life without knowing he could feel like this? That another person could be the center of the universe?
As they gazed at each other, Lidi’s stubborn expression gradually faded. “You know I trust you.”
“Then believe me when I say I won’t let Vasily harm you. He won’t come close enough to touch you. But we need a pretense, a reason to get into the royal palace.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “He used your engagement to Alyona as an excuse to wipe out your family. I suppose using a fake engagement as a means of revenge would have a sort of poetic justice.”
“I would never put you at risk because of Alyona.” He didn’t know what the future held for them, but he needed her to understand that.
“Did you love her?” As soon as she spoke, Lidi shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have no right to ask you that question.”
“That’s not true and we both know it. The fates might have horrible timing, but these feelings between us aren’t going away.” His expression became serious. “You know what Callistoya politics are like. It gets worse when you are royal. Tavisha kings and princes can only marry within the five founding houses who are deemed to be descended from the goddess Callisto herself. The House of Ivanov is one of the five and I had been engaged to Alyona since we were both children. So in answer to your question, I loved Alyona very much.” He frowned, unsure whether he was explaining himself properly. “But I didn’t love her in the way a mortal man would love the wife he has chosen for himself.”
“But what about the feelings you and I have for each other?” Lidi blushed as she asked the question. “If Alyona hadn’t died and you had married her, there is a chance you and I could still have met. We would still have been fated to be mates.”
“This ‘fated mate’ business is so complicated. I sometimes envy member of poorer families in Callistoya. They are free to choose who they marry and can wait until they find their mates. Those of us from royal and aristocratic families are not as fortunate. But within the Callistoya royal family, love and marriage are viewed as very different things.”
“Oh.” He watched her face as she assimilated that information. “You mean—” He nodded and her blush deepened as she looked at her feet. “I would not have had an affair with a married man, Ged.”
“We are speculating about something that will never happen. But I like to think that even though Alyona wasn’t my mate, I’d have been a good husband. I would never have hurt her by being unfaithful.”
Lidi looked up with a smile. “I’m glad. Can we go now?”
“What about your head?”
“It will be painful whether we stay here or we start our journey.” She took his hand. “We can plan as we travel.”
“Why do I feel like I am no longer in control of my life?”
Her grin was pure mischief. “Because you’ve met me?”
Although he laughed, his face was serious. “And you changed everything.”
Chapter 7
Although Lidi understood Ged’s reasoning, she was having a hard time keeping her natural impulsiveness in check. Her instinct was to keep going, to seize very opportunity for action. When he checked them into a small hotel overlooking a bustling square in the heart of Genoa’s historic city center, it felt like they were marking time instead of moving forward.
“I promise this will not take long.” Ged sat on the bed, watching her as she restlessly paced the room. “But there are some things I have to do before we can start this journey.”
She huffed out an impatient breath. “It’s easy, you know. You put one foot in front of the other and keep doing it.”
“Vasily’s men have found you twice.”
Lidi paused in front of the full-length windows that led to a tiny balcony. “And you have defeated them twice. We’ll do it as often as we need to.”
“If we’re fighting Vasily’s men all the way to Callistoya, my plan to return in disguise will be doomed to failure. And they’ll know you are with me. Vasily is unlikely to believe you have had a change of heart and wish to marry him if his men carry that interesting piece of information back to the royal palace.”
She sighed. “What do you suggest?”
“We can either keep fighting—over and over—and ultimately lose, or avoid them until we choose the time and place for the final confrontation. I assumed Pyotr and his group were the only ones after you, but then there was the attack on the boat.” Ged frowned and rubbed his knuckles. “With Julien’s help, they were easily overcome, but somehow they have impeccable sources about where you are. Someone is following you, and they are good at it. In normal circumstances, you’d notice another werebear on your tail. We’re not exactly subtle.”
An image of a woman with silver hair and light eyes came into Lidi’s mind. “Allie.”
“Pardon?” Ged regarded her in confusion.
>
“There was a woman called Allie...she was in the crowd outside the movie theater when Beast arrived, and we walked together to the Palais Hotel,” Lidi explained. “Last night I saw her again, just before Julien’s boat was rammed.”
“Is she a shifter?”
Lidi shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Does that mean she’s human?” Ged asked. “I’d be surprised to learn that Vasily has ever communicated with a mortal, let alone persuaded one to work for him.”
Lidi tried to recall her interactions with Allie. Her senses were finely tuned, enabling her to differentiate between shifters and other beings. Could she say with certainty that Allie was mortal? The other woman definitely wasn’t a shifter. Looking back, she couldn’t remember getting any vibes from Allie. But she’d been so focused on Ged and on meeting him that she hadn’t been thinking of anything else.
“I don’t know who, or what, she is,” she confessed. “When we first met, I wasn’t paying much attention to her. On the boat, I only caught a glimpse of her.”
“She may be following you, but her presence in both places is more likely to be a coincidence.” Ged seemed inclined to dismiss Allie’s involvement.
Ignoring the finger of doubt that was prodding insistently at her spine, Lidi decided he was probably right. When Vasily had an army of fighters at his disposal, why would he need to send a lone woman to spy on her?
“Whether they have been using this woman or some other means, Vasily’s men have been aware of your location. Instead of confronting them, I suggest we find a way to slip past them.”
“We are bears. Sneaking isn’t one of our strengths,” Lidi said.
Ged laughed. “That’s why we need a disguise.”
“Good plan.” She nodded approvingly. “What do you suggest? Mice? High-stepping ponies?”
He got to his feet and led her to the window. Outside, the square was a traditional Christmas market scene. Stalls were festooned with red and green garlands and white lights hung from every tree. Even from the second floor, Lidi could smell roasting chestnuts and mulled wine. She knew about the festive season. A few centuries earlier when Ged’s mother had been alive, some travelers had visited the royal palace. When they told the queen of the colorful traditions, she had been so enraptured, she had introduced them into her own country.