by Leigh Walker
But the relief was short-lived. We followed Austin down the hall to the conference room. His shoulders were taut, his hands were clenched into fists. Gone was the happy smile from hours before when we’d first seen each other in the drive.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Eve.
She shook her head as we entered the room. There was no one else inside. Austin turned to face us, frowning, and motioned for us to sit. I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good, she thought-spoke.
“Thank you for managing things while I was gone.” Austin’s tone was chilly.
“My lord?” Eve asked. “Is there some sort of problem?”
“Only that I have a human rebel in my dungeon, and neither of you bothered to tell me about her.”
Eve nodded. “We planned to just as soon as you finished your meeting.”
I raised my hand. “I can explain. She—the prisoner—is Balkyn’s ex-girlfriend. She left the rebels to follow him and warn him that the rebels planned to attack. I think she just wanted to see him, actually.” I shot a quick look at Eve, who frowned. “But he wants nothing to do with her. She hates vampires blindly. She left him for his best friend when he started expressing opinions different from hers.”
“Have you spoken to Balkyn about this, Your Highness?” Eve asked.
“Not yet.” His nostrils flared.
I peered at him. “Why do you seem as if you’re about to blow your stack?”
“Because one of my sentinels told me that you escorted the rebel to the dungeon.”
I nodded. “That’s right. I wanted to make sure she had what she needed. I felt responsible for her since I was the one who decided to lock her up.”
“Why didn’t you take sentinels with you?” Austin’s lips were set in a grim line.
“I didn’t think I needed to.” I hadn’t been afraid of Chase. “She’s quite small, Your Highness, and she didn’t put up any sort of a fight.”
Austin paced in front of us. “Lady Eve, why did you let Blake take the prisoner to the dungeon unaccompanied?”
Eve bowed her head. “I followed her, my lord, and made sure that no harm came to her.”
“You did?” I turned to Eve. “Why?”
She pointed at Austin. “D’you see how he’s acting? That’s why. And also, I don’t trust the rebel. I wanted to make sure she didn’t try to escape.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” It was embarrassing, really. I hadn’t realized I had an invisible chaperone.
Eve shrugged. “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to babysit you.”
“So you were stalking-slash-babysitting me instead.”
She shrugged again, but she didn’t look sorry.
The prince stopped pacing. “Thank you, Lady Eve. I appreciate what you did. I’m also impressed with your management of my men in my stead. They’ve nothing but high praise for you, which is quite something.” Finally, a smile ghosted his lips.
Eve beamed back. “Thank you, my lord.”
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with Blake alone.”
“Oh, are you two done congratulating each other?” My voice rose to a high pitch. “Am I to be grounded now?”
Eve coughed as she sprang from her seat. With a brief curtsy, she was gone.
As soon as she’d left, I hopped to my own feet. “I’m sorry, but what’s this all about? Why’re you suddenly in such a foul mood? And why do I feel as though you’re about to send me to bed without my supper?”
He raked a hand over his head. “I don’t want you taking unnecessary risks.”
“I didn’t. I took a woman—a human woman six inches shorter than me, who probably weighs forty pounds less than I do—to a cell and locked her inside.”
“Why didn’t you bring a guard with you?”
“Honestly, the thought didn’t even occur to me.”
“That’s exactly the problem.” He sighed. “We are living in a very dangerous time. You can’t just act without thinking anymore.”
“I beg your pardon. You left me in charge. I made a decision while you were gone, and I followed through on it. That’s the end of the story—I certainly don’t need to be retroactively told what to do.”
He leveled a glare at me. “You do if you’re not making smart choices.”
“Oh, you did not just say that to me.” I stared back at him. “You may be my boyfriend, and you may be the prince, but there’s no reason to speak like that.”
Austin pinched the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache. “I respectfully disagree.” He didn’t sound respectful. He sounded pissed.
I squared my shoulders. “You left me in charge while you went to the settlements. I made choices while you were gone, and I took actions to support those choices. I did what I believed to be right. I won’t operate from a place of fear or worry about scrutiny. I will continue to conduct myself in such a manner as I see fit, and when I decide that it’s low-risk to escort a prisoner to a dungeon, I will bloody well rely on my own good judgment and do so.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Are you done?”
“Quite.” I curtsied. “Good day, my lord.”
I stormed out before he could say something further. I hurried to my room, needing to be alone and away from the very person I’d been so excited to see not so many hours earlier.
Chapter 6
All Together Now
Since coming to the North, I’d vowed to never skip another meal. So even though I was rather pissed, I dressed for dinner. I held my head high as I entered the formal dining room. My temples still throbbed from the fight I’d had with Austin, so I happily accepted the glass of champagne the nearby steward offered then made my way to my friends.
“It is so nice to have you here.” I hugged first Shaye then Tamara, noticing they’d both changed into elegant gowns for dinner.
Eve strode up, wearing trousers and a tunic, and Tamara wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t this a formal meal?”
“There aren’t any cameras, and there’s no one to police me.” Eve grinned and then, eyes sparkling, took a sip of wine. “I expect His Highness prefers me in pants so that I’m ready to fight. Ah, I love the North.”
I plastered a fake smile on my face.
“What’s your problem?” Tamara asked.
“Nothing,” I said through the smile.
“You’re a terrible actress.” Tamara waved her hand at me. “But no matter—let’s get to the important stuff. First of all, Beast stayed with me all afternoon while you sulked in your room. I daresay he prefers me.”
I finally gave in. The smile slipped from my face, replaced by a scowl. “Beast is my pet. If you’d like a gnome of your own, you’ll have to ask His Highness.”
She batted her eyelashes at me. “Fine. I’d like a girl one, anyway. That way, she won’t mind when I dress her in a cute pink sweater. Although not all boys would mind that, of course, but there’s a language barrier, and how would I know? You want them to own the style—it shows in the eyes. Anyway… Back to the important things. That is Lord Bryson.” She pointed to a tall, handsome vampire in dress clothes with a shock of black hair sweeping artfully across his pale forehead. “He’s obsessed with me.”
Eve chuckled. “Of course.”
Tamara ignored her and pointed to another handsome vampire. He was shorter than Lord Bryson with thick sandy hair, an athletic build, and a nice smile. “That’s Lucas—Dallas’s friend from childhood.”
I nodded. “Yes, I remember him from the wedding.”
“He’s obsessed with Shaye.” Tamara gloated as Shaye turned crimson. “He doesn’t have a title, of course. Not that she cares. He follows her around like a lovesick puppy.”
“Does not.” Shaye took a large sip of wine.
Tamara shrugged. “Does so.” She looked around the room. “Now, who is that—the handsome human?”
“That’s Balkyn West.” Eve glanced at me. “Gwyneth’s brother.”
“What?” Both Tama
ra and Shaye were on us in an instant, asking questions so rapidly that I couldn’t even tell who was speaking.
“What do you mean, Gwyneth’s brother?”
“I thought he was a rebel!”
“I thought he was dead!”
“There now, keep your voices down,” Eve warned. “He is a rebel, and clearly, he’s not dead. He came here to warn us.”
“About what?” Shaye asked, looking wary.
Eve sighed. “The rebels are planning an attack. Balkyn wanted Austin and Dallas to know.”
Shaye nodded. “That explains a lot. Security was getting even tighter at the palace. And the king and queen didn’t really give us a choice about coming north. They said it was for the best.”
Tamara frowned. “Why are the rebels doing this? Things were finally starting to get better in the settlements.”
“I think that’s the problem.” I kept my voice low. “They saw how the settlers were rallying around Gwyn and Dallas, and they felt like they were losing their foothold. They want to attack while they still have some momentum.”
“I, for one, don’t want to go back to the old days.” Tamara surprised me by how earnest she sounded—and about something other than the importance of daily squats. “My parents were successful back then, but the settlements were still in a state of despair. There was no equality. The poor suffered worse under the old regime.”
I blinked at her. “And you care about that?”
She puffed her chest out. “Not really—at least, I didn’t at the time. But after seeing how much it meant for people in the poorer settlements to receive services, like the clinic Dallas built in Four, I came to understand just how little most of our citizens had. They didn’t even have access to healthcare. How’re you supposed to run a country like that?”
“But some would argue that the royals made it worse before they made it better.” Shaye kept her voice low. “My settlement was poor under the old government, but once the Blacks took over, it got downright scary. The rations were never enough. It seemed like they had no idea how much a family would need to survive, and I daresay that was the truth.”
I nodded. “But things are improving. Dallas was kept in the dark about the true state of the settlements. Now that he and Gwyneth are married and are touring the country, they will continue to make sweeping positive changes.”
“The royals’ polls are higher than they’ve ever been.” Tamara sounded as if she’d been studying them religiously. “I expect that the king will continue to pursue this course, which is best for the settlements. Even if he only does it in order to bolster his position, it’s still better days for our country.”
“Not according to the rebels.” Eve looked thoughtful. “We should talk to our prisoner more, Blake. Find out what else she knows.”
I nodded while Tamara and Shaye gaped. “Prisoner? What prisoner?”
“Shh.” Eve’s eyes blazed at them. “She’s Balkyn’s bloody ex-girlfriend. Blake went and locked her in the dungeon.”
Shaye kept gaping, but Tamara smiled. “Good for you. I told you—a man like His Highness needs an equal. Glad to hear you’re stepping up.”
I laughed. “I love how you take credit when there’s absolutely no credit due!”
“I expect that even simpletons from Settlement Fifteen can partake in my wisdom.” She winked at me. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lord to see about.”
“You mean you have a lord to fling your bosom at.” Shaye pulled a face, but Tamara just shrugged before she floated away, her raven waves bouncing down her back.
Eve chuckled. “She hasn’t changed much.”
“No, and neither has her propensity for gossip.” Shaye’s eyes flashed. “Tell me more about Gwyneth’s brother while she’s occupied with Lord Bryson. And about this prisoner of yours—my goodness, you two have been busy up here.”
Eve started to explain about Balkyn, but I couldn’t concentrate on her words. I felt eyes on my back. I turned to find Austin standing a few feet behind me, staring once more.
“Excuse me.” I approached the prince. “How are you, my lord? Has your mood improved at all?” I was surprised to find myself still angry, in spite of the champagne. But underneath that, I felt trembly. Bloody hell. I’m sad.
“No, it hasn’t.” His dark eyes flashed. “I’m feeling a bit sour, I must admit.”
I held my chin high. “I see.”
He reached for my hand. “Blake.” When I didn’t answer, he sighed. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to be a… A…”
“A jerk, my lord?”
He frowned. “Right—a jerk. I’m so used to being right about everything all the time. It feels uncomfortable to be wrong. Utterly foreign.”
“Ooh, are you admitting you were wrong? Splendid!” I broke into a genuine smile. “Is this the part where you apologize, and we get to kiss and make up?”
“Well, I am sorry,” he huffed. “So I suppose—”
But I didn’t wait for him to finish. I quickly pressed my lips to his for a chaste, although satisfying, kiss. “I forgive you.”
He blinked. “You do?”
“Yes, of course. Life’s too short—well, my life, anyway—to fight. So you were a jerk. We’re all jerks sometimes. You’re overprotective, I suppose. You’ve just got to learn to trust me.”
“I do trust you.” His eyes sparkled. “And I think you’re very smart. You have excellent judgment and even better taste in men.”
We both laughed, and I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders.
But Austin’s shoulders sagged as he continued. “Still, it’s dangerous of late. Can you at least admit that? With all the rebels and the werewolves, not to mention Abigor trying to kill you—and then Rose…” He clasped my hands. “I would never forgive myself if something terrible happened to you, my lady. I couldn’t bear it.”
I nodded. “I feel the same. I promise to take more precautions. I’m just not used to living like this.”
“Of course not. And I am sorry if I was a you-know-what.”
“A jerk.”
“Yes, yes, a jerk. Now, if you’ve quite forgiven me, I would like to move on. I missed you terribly while I was gone.” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it.
“I missed you, too.”
Austin’s gaze burned into mine. “I would like to pull you into a private room and snog you senseless.”
“I would enjoy that very much, my lord.”
He cracked a smile, breaking the tension building between us. “Nevertheless, we must dine with our guests. We should be merry while we can.”
“Yes. Quite.” I cleared my throat in an attempt to also clear my head. “Thank you for bringing my friends here. I feel better knowing we can protect them.”
Austin’s face darkened. “My father would not hear of leaving the castle. I had to beg him to let me take Shaye and Tamara with me. By the way—I made a deal with him. It’s something to do with you, so I suppose I should’ve run it by you first.”
“What sort of deal?”
“Er… Let’s talk about it later, shall we?” He offered me his arm. “I have to share you with my guests. I’m trying to be more civilized, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. You and your new-age kerfuffery.”
He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Is it working?”
As usual, being that close to him made my skin heat up. I nodded. “Of course it is.”
Chapter 7
Dances With Wolves
I sat straight up in bed, suddenly fully awake. Beast whimpered.
“What is it, boy?”
He whimpered again, not moving from his spot underneath the table.
My heart thudded in my chest, but I didn’t know what had frightened me or roused me from sleep. I blinked at the semidarkness of my room. No one was there. Beast would have gone for any intruder’s ankles, so my chambers were safe. I got up and padded to the window, looking out at the grounds below.
And then
I heard it. Aroo!
Gooseflesh broke out all over my arms the wolves responded to their leader.
Aroo!
Aroo!
Aroo!
It sounded like a lot of them. Cursing, I threw on some clothes and dashed to the door. “Be a good boy, Beast. It’ll be okay.” He whined, and I cursed again. Then I picked him up and carried him with me, knowing that I’d feel guilty if I left him alone. “There, there. It’s going to be okay.”
The hall was empty and silent. Expecting that Eve had already gone downstairs, I hustled to join the others. Several armed sentinels waited at the bottom of the stairs. “My lady,” one of them said, “His Highness has asked all of the humans to stay in their rooms.”
Balkyn stalked past. “Then what the bloody hell is he doing?” I hurried past them, following Balkyn down the hall, and the guard groaned.
Let him. I was a member of the royal court, and I needed to know what was going on. “Balkyn, wait up!”
“Hey.” There were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept since Chase had been captured. “We’re meeting in the conference room.”
“Oh, are we?” I felt indignant, but I decided to calm myself and focus on him. “I’m so sorry about Chase. I hope you’re all right.”
“I’m fine.” A muscle in his jaw jumped.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look so fine.”
Balkyn sighed. “She had no business coming here. Things are complicated enough, and Chase is difficult. That’s an understatement, actually. She’s impossible.”
I nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
He smiled at me. “I’m afraid not. I just need some time, I expect. Once Austin questions her, he’ll decide what to do. I refuse to accept responsibility for her or her actions. Whatever happens is up to fate. I’m sure it sounds terrible, but she’s made her own bed.”
“It doesn’t sound terrible.” Hopping from Balkyn’s bed to his best friend’s did sound terrible, but I deemed it unwise to mention that. “Did you hear the howls?” I asked just as we were about to duck into the conference room.