“Not on my watch,” growled Crius, his magic flickering. “Besides, I owe her for getting hurt trying to find the one I love.”
“He has a point,” said Tem, laying a hand on the curly-haired one’s arm. “Let the debt be repaid.”
Gan made a noise of disgust but nothing more.
Mattie, however, was a little more vocal. “But my father—”
“Is already at the estate and waiting anxiously for you,” said Crius in a gentle voice. Then he frankly asked, “Now, will you let me help you, or will I have to tie you up and string you across the back of my horse?”
Selina let out a snort. “He’s definitely Garin’s brother.”
Crius grinned and nodded at the girl, as if that had been a huge compliment. “Well?” he then inquired of Mattie.
The pointed stare he leveled at her indicated that he would do exactly as he had threatened if she argued with him. To keep her dignity intact, she had no choice but to grumpily say, “Help me up.”
***
Tobias and Crius were talking in hushed tones, the door to Mattie’s bedroom blocking her from hearing their words clearly. Tem and Gan had elected to go immediately into town without stopping at the estate, surprising her at being able to easily keep up with the horses’ gallops. Selina had just left the room a few minutes ago to help Dougal with the chores. Or so was the girl’s excuse. Mattie thought it was because she was awfully close to acting like a bitch. She hated being sidelined when everything seemed to be going to hell!
Mattie wished her father had stayed, but duty demanded he be at the king’s side. At least, he had been waiting for them at the gate. And though the first thing that blurted out of Mattie’s mouth was Easton’s dire condition, he had helped lower her from Firestorm’s back and then almost smothered her in a long embrace. Then to everyone’s surprise, the Fury lowered her head and indicated she wanted the man to climb on her back. The last Mattie saw of either of them, her father was holding onto the horse for dear life.
Garin was also where he needed to be, even if Mattie selfishly wished he was by her side instead. A growl of frustration left her lips as she stared at the ceiling, forced to lay here and give her body time to recover. The leg that had been damaged by the evil bolt still wasn’t quite strong enough to support her weight for any length of time. That meant Crius had been the one who had to carry her and deposit her onto the comfortable jail cell.
While Mattie was busy hating being stuck in such a vulnerable position, a faint twinkle next to the beautiful carving on the nightstand soon garnered her attention. Quickly, she sat up and snatched the looking glass from its resting place. Thank Adonai, there was something she could do!
Rubbing an index finger around the edges of the mirror, Mattie slowly whispered, “Helka…Helka…Helka.”
The surface of the mirror turned into fog, making her impatient to see what else was going to happen. The minutes of waiting seemed to stretch into hours. Where was she?
Mattie had just about given up when an old woman’s face appeared in the looking glass, clouded eyes and all. Her expression seemed confused when she said, “Hello?”
“Helka!” Mattie shouted, knowing the woman was too blind to see who was on the other side of the glass.
The sound of her voice made the ancient creature smile. “Oh good, you survived. How are the two out of my three youngest sisters treating you?”
“Tem and Gan?” Mattie waited for the responding nod before saying, “They don’t seem to get along at all. Why in the hell did you send them to me?”
Helka chuckled, “Other than the fact they can cross that unique border? I sent them because they were already close by. But more importantly, I trust them.”
“Way to skirt around the real answer.”
“You know I can’t tell you much.”
“So this is one of your Fate things, is that what you’re saying!?”
Helka flinched at the slight shriek in Mattie’s voice. “I’m sorry, child. Your world is about to be shaken in ways you can’t even imagine. They are there to watch over you, as best they can within the limits placed upon us all.”
“Meaning this was the only help you could give us,” Mattie said grumpily.
“I wish I could do more,” Helka said with a sigh. “I must go now, child. Asger wishes to meet with me before he heads out.”
“Wait!” shouted Mattie. “King Easton won’t be there! Someone violently ambushed him on the road, and our healer is trying to save his life as we speak!”
Helka’s face became etched with cold rage. “That should not have happened! Now I am doubly glad I sent my sisters to help protect you in the days ahead! Stay safe, child!”
When nothing but blackness immediately filled the looking glass, Mattie almost threw it at the wall. While the conversation had confirmed the strange women’s stories, it had not helped her peace of mind one bit! She had enough of being pulled apart by the universe’s sick sense of humor!
Sweet Adonai, what in the hell is going to happen to us next if all these ancient creatures seem to be afraid of the future!?
Chapter 57
The hard part was supposedly over. The tourniquets Leto had made with strips of cloth torn from his own robe were no longer needed to control King Easton’s bleeding, magic having repaired the many slashed arteries. The strip of leather was no longer required to contain the man’s screams from when Belladonna had to inspect and reset all those broken bones. The brothers were no longer necessary to help hold their thrashing father down, so Elita had swiftly kicked them out of the room upon her arrival. She had loudly slammed the door shut in her hurry to add her own healing power to the king’s recovery.
Sitting next to his brother as they sat side by side on the sofa, Garin doubted that either he or Renard would ever forget this day. The haunted look on the prince’s face as they watched the dancing flames matched his own. He wished Mattie was here, but she was recovering from her own near-death experience. The attack with an ancient and poisoned bolt from the hidden Arduenna armory had been unknown to him until recently.
Garin couldn’t help but bend over and place his face in his hands, slightly horrified at the tangled web today’s plan had unraveled. If they had listened to his misgivings about transforming into dragons, Mattie wouldn’t have been attacked. But no one would have been there to help the king or the prince either. Was this day already doomed one way or another from the start?
Surprisingly, Renard gave him a small comforting pat on the shoulder. Garin couldn’t help but take a glance at his brother. Even if the prince’s focus was still on the flames, he hadn’t pulled his hand away from Garin yet. He was just leaving it there as a reminder that they were in this together.
Okay, maybe at least one good thing had come out of today.
The front door was violently thrown open, causing everyone in the room to jump. Lord Gregory Hawksthorne stormed in, the wild nature of his windblown hair just added to the fierce nature of the expression on his face. “What happened to My King!?”
“I don’t know,” answered Leto from the kitchen. The Draconian had been so quiet with making hot brews of tea and coffee that Garin had nearly forgotten the creature was here. “Whatever attacked him and his men was gone by the time I found them.” A violent shudder came over the ancient creature before he continued, “I got there too late for his guards, but I do know that they died trying to defend their king.”
The Lord Protector’s eyes narrowed and demanded, “Any thoughts as to the nature of their attacker?”
Leto didn’t acknowledge the unspoken accusation in Lord Gregory’s voice, but instead he put a sense of fear into his own, “The carnage was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. For someone as old as I to admit that, the very idea should scare you all.”
“Damn the man!” growled Lord Gregory. “I told him I should’ve gone in his stead!”
Garin just shook his head before looking into the fire and snarling, “Wouldn’t have changed a damn t
hing other than the fact you would have been killed. Without your encouragement behind today’s events, Leto wouldn’t have been in position to save your ass.”
Renard’s hand dropped away as he stared in surprise at the cold tone that had come out of his brother’s mouth. The quiet tension wafting from the room behind Garin was almost palpable. While he usually cared about such things, today he couldn’t find any remaining fortitude to give a damn about having spoken rudely to his father-in-law. Compared to the last few days, insulting the man was the least of his concerns.
Leto broke the silence with a sigh. “Boy does have a point.”
There was concern behind the hesitant way Lord Gregory answered, “Perhaps. Still, I can’t help feeling that I have failed My King when it comes to keeping him safe.”
“Don’t,” said Garin, turning his head slightly towards the two men who were aiming furrowed brows at him. “He was the one who refused to listen to you. Or to me. He ordered you to stay here, despite our warnings. I’m not saying he brought this on himself, but the man sure as hell made himself an easier target!”
“Great, now I’m pissed off at him too,” grumbled Renard, folding his arms close to his chest.
The conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of a door opening. To Garin, it seemed the entire room had held its breath. Two healers came out, the blond one supporting the auburn-haired one. Belladonna looked ready to collapse. After two difficult healings in one day, it wasn’t really a shock to see her in such a state.
What was a surprise was the fact her voice still sounded strong when she said, “The worst is over. We both need to rest before I begin the next round of healing, but he’ll live.” Collective relief at the news was soon tempered when her gaze landed on the brothers. “Renard. Garin. He wants to talk with you both. Please keep it short; he needs sleep more than anything else at the moment. And I’ve heard stories about how the man loves to drone on.”
***
Renard went in first, but suddenly froze in his steps. Garin gently pushed the younger man further into the room so he too could get inside. His brother managed to give him just enough space so he was able to close the door behind them.
Turning, he saw why Renard had paused. While color had begun to return to their father’s face, the man still looked deathly pale from all the blood loss. Belladonna had propped the man up into a position that was just short of being seated. Bandages covered the man’s right side and the long hair had been cut short, exposing the many new scars upon his neck. Though the chain holding the royal seal lay upon his chest, the brokenness within his demeanor made him look nothing like the formidable king he had been.
Then two words came out of the man’s mouth, two that Garin had never expected to hear with such despondent sincerity: “I’m sorry.”
Renard turned his head to Garin, a startled expression on his face. Apparently none of King Easton’s sons had ever heard that phrase spoken with such remorse before. It was both reassuring and depressing that he and Renard had this in common.
A sigh exited the king’s mouth before he said, “I wish Stephan was here as well, for I do owe all three of you an apology. Though maybe for him it is too late to make amends.”
Belladonna did say the man was going to live, didn’t she? Nagging worry that the woman might have been wrong was interrupted when the king beckoned them to approach. Garin quickly took the more heavily bandaged side, both because he was closer to that one and because he didn’t think his brother could handle a constant reminder of how badly their father had been hurt.
“Renard,” King Easton said gently, reaching out and grabbing his son’s hand once the prince had come close enough. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry that I ignored most of those hints and vague warnings over the years. Though a part of me even now wants to doubt everything you told me, I still should have taken the time to investigate the validity of all your concerns long ago. Especially after you had proven true in more than one instance.”
Then the man tried to stretch out his hand to his other son, but Garin quickly put his own gently on top of his father’s instead. The last thing they needed was for the man to ruin Belladonna’s careful work. An appreciative smile came over the king’s face even as tears filled his royal eyes.
“Garin,” he brokenly whispered. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been a real father to you. So much was lost between us because I listened to the wrong people, yet sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t for the best in the end. You became a better man than I thought possible. And a wise one. For while it was necessary for me to try to get the information from Asger, I still should have listened to you about the danger involved.”
Garin knew Renard was also wondering if the man was going to die when the prince nervously blurted out, “Father, you’re going to be all right, aren’t you?”
“Physically, yes,” admitted the king, sounding heavy-hearted. “But I’m not sure how this possible betrayal is going to affect my soul in the long run. I just know that I lost sight of what was truly important to me along the way. Lost sight that I should have been protecting my greatest treasures with every ounce of my being, which were my sons.”
Those sad eyes then turned back to Garin. “And that is why I find it so hard to ask something difficult of you.”
Beginning to wonder if this had all been a show to butter him up, Garin merely lowered his head and mumbled, “Whatever you command, sir.”
King Easton’s vehement shout snapped Garin’s head back up. “No, damn it! This is not a command!” Anger swirled in those brown eyes when the man snarled, “Hell, I almost want to tell you not to do this! To kick you out of here and keep this madness to myself! But duty to my people dictates I have to at least share everything with you, including the why. But the ultimate choice will be yours and yours alone, without any fear of reprisal from me.”
***
Garin had hoped the walk back to the estate would calm him down, help him figure out what he was going to say to his wife. The conversation with his father still swirled around in his head, sometimes making him want to vomit. There had been no good solutions to be had, and the thought of Mattie’s reaction to this mess was having the same disastrous effect on his stomach.
There was only one slight problem with the idea of getting any peace of mind out of this jaunt. “Damn it; stop following me!” he shouted to the sky.
A flutter of feathers allowed Garin to watch as a black horned owl swiftly turned into a man. Renard stood there with a scowl on his face. “I can’t believe you just went along with this madness!”
Garin didn’t really want to get into this, especially not with a brother who suddenly wanted to become less estranged. Swiftly continuing on his way, he barked out, “Well, I did!”
Hurried steps caught up to him. “What about Mattie?”
“She’s the main reason I agreed to do this!” growled Garin, wishing his brother would disappear once again.
“I doubt she’s going to see it that way!”
“She’ll be pissed, no doubt—but she’ll also understand the reasons for my decision.”
“That would make one of us!”
Renard grabbed his arm and tried to turn him around. The prince ended up face down in the ground instead when Garin yanked hard enough to nearly throw him out of the way. Leaving him there, Garin could only imagine that the sounds coming from behind him were from his brother spitting gravel out of his mouth.
“Damn it, man!” shouted Renard. “Don’t you realize how dangerous this will be for you, especially during this time of year!? You’re risking everything, even your life!”
Garin turned around just as his brother knelt up and wiped dirt from his mouth. Once again believing the prince would never understand, he lifted his arms out to their respective sides. “Read the storybooks, little brother. That’s what a hero does—risks his or her life so others don’t have to lose theirs.”
A part of him couldn’t help but weep when Renar
d shouted, “But taking that risk would be insane when you don’t know what you might be walking into!”
Garin shrugged and turned away from him. “I’ve always been a little crazy like that, Renard. Believe me, this is nothing new.”
Before his brother could try to talk him out of the deed their father had requested, he turned into a black wolf and bolted for the estate. Though a sound hitting his sensitive ears almost made him turn around, he kept going. And he was hoping that he didn’t just damage the repaired relationship with Renard by leaving the man alone to snarl his rage at the universe.
Chapter 58
An hour or so later, and the enraged scream renting the air was Mattie’s: “And you agreed to this insanity!?”
Now she understood why the first thing her husband did when he got back was to ask if he could drag her into the woods for some privacy. A brutally honest conversation like this one deserved no possible interruptions! If her leg had been doing better, she would have jumped down from this log and stormed off. Or punched him! Maybe she should just settle on setting his shirt on fire. All of these options sounded like a good idea at the moment!
Garin knew better than to approach her when she was in such a rage, but he dropped down to one knee at least. “Mattie, my father’s reasoning behind this course of action is sound.”
She tightly clenched her jaw and her fists. Yes, the whole mad scheme had been explained to her fully. And while he might be in the right, Easton had better stay far away from her for the next few days. After the past more-than-emotional week, this had been the last thing she wanted to hear! And no cryptic warnings of any kind could have prepared her for this!
Garin was going to leave her in a couple of days, and with little to no chance of ever seeing him again!
“After all we did to free you from that curse,” Mattie hissed, blasting the betrayal she felt across the bond. He grimaced under the force of it. “You’re just going to do exactly what that bitch mother of yours wants and deliver yourself into her hands!?”
Unraveled Homecoming Page 39