by Renee Carr
“Where is this place?” she asked James when it seemed like they had been driving for quite some time.
“Here,” he replied, as he flashed his headlights ahead of them on a dirt road. “You’ve really never heard of this place? I thought it was pretty popular among the adventurous.”
“No,” she said. “But I guess I’m not as adventurous as I thought.”
“I’m sure I can change that,” James said, as they pulled into a dirt road that circled around the building.
“Do you like...vlog these?” Ivy asked as she got out of the car. “I’ve seen a lot of people put adventures like this on youtube.”
“Nah,” James replied. “This is just for my own personal enjoyment. Although the things you find in these may shock you.”
“Phht,” she said. “Try me. After the week I’ve had, nothing can shock me.”
“Then right this way, Princess,” he said, holding open the door.
Chapter 16
Nathan was having an incredibly hard time focusing on the paperwork in front of him. Everyone assumed that it was the grief that was causing his hands to shake and his words to be stilled. They tiptoed around him, trying not to stir up any trouble. Nathan didn’t dare bring up the fact that Sarah’s death had very little to do with his current heartbreak. Instead, it was Ivy’s rapid departure that was making him feel like he couldn’t take another breath.
He had thrown himself into work since she left, hoping that the distractions of the Kingdom would allow him to focus on his duty. Instead, everything reminded him of her, from a beautiful painting to a flower blowing in the breeze.
“Nathan,” Joshua said, for the fifth time. “Are you listening?”
“I heard you,” he said. “But what I actually heard was that you have made absolutely no progress in finding out who might be behind these murders. This is not the quality I expect of you.”
“I’m sorry that I cannot work miracles, Brother,” Joshua answered. “But the universe is a big place.”
“They happened on Earth, Joshua,” Nathan growled. “So you should start by looking on Earth.”
“I have tried, multiple times,” Joshua said. “I’ve followed every lead and it’s all led to nowhere. I’ve worked with Devon’s teams and we’ve found nothing. The werewolves are growing restless, and they blame us.”
“I am aware of that,” Nathan said, thoroughly exasperated with his team. He could see without asking in the past few days that Devon was growing weary with the extra control he needed to have over his pack.
“Then could you put your head in the game?”
Joshua very rarely snapped at his brother. And under normal circumstances, Nathan would have punished him for daring to talk back to the King. But between Ivy’s rapid departure and Sarah’s death, he felt like a deflated balloon. What was worse was that he knew Joshua was right. He had been completely unfocused on anything that mattered of late. Devon’s latest phone call had told him that he had been working overtime to calm several growing conflicts, and all of them were fueled by increasing hatred towards the dragons. Nathan knew from his brothers’ reports that the Dragons were starting to respond with the same anger.
“If they happened on Earth, then the answer is on Earth. You are not looking hard enough.”
“Where do you want me to look?” Joshua snapped at him.
“Well, there are Dragon nobles who live on Earth,” Nathan answered. “Maybe we could start looking there?”
“You hate me,” Joshua answered and Nathan rolled his eyes.
“Where’s the Duke?” he asked.
“That’s why you hate me,” Joshua said. “I hate our cousin, just so you know.”
“I dislike him as well,” Nathan answered. “But James is one of the highest-ranking nobles on Earth. If anyone knows something, then he does.”
“James has ignored my calls for the past few weeks,” Joshua said and Nathan sighed.
“You’re getting on my nerves,” he said and Joshua fled the room, fearing his brother’s anger.
Nathan reached for his phone, looking up James’s number himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his brother. If the Duke really was ignoring Joshua’s calls, he wouldn’t dare ignore Nathan’s.
James had always disagreed with the fact that Nathan was on the throne. He seemed to think that once John died, with no heirs, the throne should have been a free for all. Although James had constantly talked about the fact that the throne should be open to another heir, he hadn’t actually done anything about it.
The phone rang once, twice, three times and then it went straight to voicemail. Nathan raised an eyebrow and redialed.
He still didn’t answer, which made Nathan conclude that either he was dead or ignoring everyone’s calls.
As a Duke, one of the deals with breaking with life on Knorpp was that he stays in contact with the throne, and act as if he was their eyes and ears on another planet.
Nathan punched a few buttons into his phone, trying to search James’s location. He could find the GPS signal, and it showed him within a four-mile range.
Nathan squinted at the screen, trying to locate where exactly that was on Earth. It looked familiar, and on a hunch, he punched in Ivy’s most recent theatre.
James current location was within 40 minutes of hers.
That made Nathan extremely nervous. What if he was near her, and what if he was doing something wrong?
“Joshua!” he yelled through the palace, his voice rough as he stormed through the hallways.
Joshua appeared around the corner, looking completely confused.
“What?” he asked. “You tell me to go and get certain things done, and then you scream the roof down.”
“James didn’t answer my call either,” Nathan said. “But I found his GPS location. Here. And don’t make me do your job for you again.”
“You didn’t even give me a chance,” he replied. “Ok, you found him, good job.”
“I don’t like that he’s not answering,” Nathan said. “Go and see him.”
“Do you want to come?” Joshua asked, bitterly. “Since you want to micromanage anything?”
The thought of being that close to Ivy put a hole in his heart. Nathan knew that he should say no. He knew that he should just stay on Knorpp and deal with the crown business that he was born to help with.
But he couldn’t stay away from her. He felt like he might die if he didn’t at least try to see her again. Even being in closer proximity to her was calming to his restless heartbeat.
“Sure,” Nathan replied. “Arrange it.”
“You’re relentless,” Joshua answered.
“No, I’m the King,” Nathan said, as he turned to storm away. Today, the crown was heavier than ever.
Chapter 17
“So...how’d you find this place?” Ivy said as they stepped through the doors of the building. The building was pretty well maintained, but it had a very bad smell to it. She wrinkled her nose and then stepped back quickly to get a breath of fresh air.
“Oh, I’ve known about it for a while,” James answered. “It’s pretty cool, eh?”
“Yeah,” Ivy lit up her flashlight on her phone and then he batted at it. “What?”
“Turn it off,” he said. “You’re ruining the fun of it.”
“It’s super dark in here,” she answered. “I can’t see where I’m going.”
“It’s ok,” he said. “The roof is kind of caved in. The moonlight will come through and you’ll be able to see soon enough.”
“Uh...” Ivy answered, squinting up. “Are you sure that this is a safe place to be?”
“It’s completely safe,” he answered. “Do you know how many people have been in here before you? This building has stood for at least a hundred years.”
“It’s not really standing much anymore,” Ivy replied, as they rounded the corner. True to James’ word, the moonlight from the broken roof shone through.
Ivy saw movement in the corne
r and leaped back, nearly into James’s arms. The words he said next sent chills down her spine.
“It’s ok,” he said, to her. “They are dead.”
Her eyes adjusted to the light, and what she saw was even more chilling. Whatever was in front of her certainly was dead, but it didn’t stop them from moving. They were bodies, and they were shifting, and growing fur and nails as the moonlight hit them.
“Werewolves maintain their magic after they die,” he said. “For a few weeks. Whenever there is a full moon, they will still transform, even if they can’t get up and walk away.”
Ivy gulped.
“You’re not supposed to be telling me this,” she said, at last. She slowly spun around to face James. “I don’t know who you are or what you are, but there is a rule among the supernatural kind...”
“Yes, the Dragon King told you,” James replied. “At least, the imposter Dragon King told you that. But he and his brothers break those rules left right and centre. It’s one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us.”
“What?” Ivy asked. “Who the hell are you?”
He bared his teeth.
“My name is James,” he said. “And I should be next in line for the throne, not the imposter sitting there.”
“Oh boy,” Ivy said. “I have a feeling you’re not the protagonist in the Kingdom. Who are you, Nathan’s long lost brother?”
“Nathan is my younger cousin,” he answered. “And I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. John died and I was the next oldest in line.”
“From a different line,” Ivy pointed out. “Not to nitpick.”
“You said yourself that he’s...”
“What’s with the dead werewolves?” she asked, changing the subject. “You trying to tear Devon and Nathan apart?”
James got a cynical smile on his face that made her uncomfortable. She shuddered, taking a step back.
“If you’re asking whether I’m trying to unseat the King with cracks from the inside, your assumption may be correct,” he said. “But clearly, that hasn’t worked.”
“Yeah, they worked together instead of being torn apart by your bullshit, surprise,” Ivy answered.
“It did backfire,” James agreed. “But his feelings on you will not surprise me.”
Ivy gulped.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” she asked.
“Well, the way I see it,” James replied. “You have two choices at this moment. Your first choice is that I hold you hostage until Nathan comes to rescue you, which he will do. But then I have to see him face to face, and I don’t have a royal army. The second choice might be more up your alley. You’re a strong independent woman, and you deserve to be a Queen, not held to his rigid life. You have his trust and the trust of the royal family. He held you in front of the universe at Sarah’s funeral and told them that you were important to him. If you continue to maintain that trust...we could take him down together, and run the Kingdom the way you would prefer it.”
Ivy quirked an eyebrow.
“And what makes you think I’ll betray him?”
“Because you were enchanted with my world,” James said. “Until he tried to control you.”
Ivy paused at that.
James did have a point. Everything had been perfect until Nathan started talking about a future that she didn’t want for herself. The ideas he had were the ideas that she had made fun of her whole life.
James was dangerous, rebellious, and adventurous. And the idea of taking the Dragon throne as a rebel, and holding it as a strong and powerful queen, rather than just a wife, worked much better for her than just marrying the King.
Except she loved Nathan, more than she wanted to admit. And she couldn’t betray him and live with herself. She wanted to say yes, because James’s plan was who she was. However, she knew she’d have to turn him down.
Looking into his eyes, and considering the dead werewolves besides her, she had a feeling that he was a man who didn’t take rejection lightly. If she wanted to survive, she had to take a moment to figure this out.
“Who were they?” she asked, stalling for time. “The werewolves that are lying here?”
“No one you knew,” he replied.
“Sure, I don’t know many werewolves,” she said. “But who were they?”
“They were royal,” he said. “Not quite close to the throne but...royal.”
“Are they Nick's parents?” she asked. She suddenly realized made the connection with the things Nathan had told her. James grinned.
“You’re a clever one,” he said. “They aren’t. That was weeks ago.”
“Do you know where their bodies are?”
“Why?” he asked, suspiciously.
“Because if you did,” she said. “You could use that as leverage against Nathan and Devon. They would want the safe return of those bodies.”
“Clever girl,” he said. “I think I could come up with something.”
“Good,” Ivy said, crossing her arms. “Then I think you need to take me back now, by the way.”
“Take you back...to your hotel room?” he asked. “That sounds like an anticlimactic way to end the night.”
“Maybe it is,” Ivy answered. “But I didn’t magically turn into a Dragon while standing here. I still need to sleep.”
“How do I know you won’t just run and tell Nathan?” James asked and Ivy held his gaze.
“He offered me the throne and I walked away from it,” she said. “What would make you think that this would make me turn around?”
“Fair,” James said. “That and if you betray me, I’ll kill you.”
She crossed her arms.
“Can you take me back now?” she asked him, annoyed.
“Alright,” he said, holding out his hand. She didn’t take it, stepping over the werewolf bodies and heading to the car. She kept her face neutral and tried to keep the conversation on safe topics until he brought her back to her hotel. He parked outside the front door and turned to her. “Not a word until I tell you the next step.”
“Duh,” she said. “Who would believe me? You think I’m going to go and yell it through the theatre?”
“You might,” he said and she rolled her eyes and opened the car door. “Hey,” James grabbed her arm and pulled her back with force. He kissed her, taking her by surprise. “Just a reminder.”
“Reminder of what?” she asked, in shock.
“That I’m watching you,” he said. “And I’m always this close.” His face was an inch from hers and she could see the dragon yellow in his eyes. She licked her lips as if she enjoyed the kiss.
“Thanks,” she replied and then headed out into the night.
As soon as she got into the hotel room, she collapsed onto the ground, putting her hand to her mouth.
She didn’t usually bite off more than she could chew. Ivy could handle anything, usually, and she could handle it alone. She had taught herself how to navigate any avenue in life, no matter what it was. But being at the center of a Dragon war was not something she knew how to deal with.
If James really was watching her, she couldn’t very well just dial Nathan and ask for help. James may be more reckless than Nathan, but she had a feeling he didn’t just trust her and let her go. James had likely planned this, and if he had spies everywhere, or preplaced cameras, or even had magic floating in the air, she was done for the minute she called Nathan.
Nathan had to come to her, and he had to do it naturally. She couldn’t call him; she couldn’t post on social media, and she couldn’t wave a flag out the window.
In the middle of her heavy thoughts, her phone rang. She saw that it was her agent and considered ignoring him. But, at last second, she picked it up, wondering what news he had for her in the middle of the night.
“Hey,” said Tony, her agent.
“Hey,” Ivy leaned against the door. “It’s stupid late.”
“I know,” he said. “But I need you to do a red carpet lunch event tomorrow.
”
“What?” she asked, confused. “Why? I have a matinee show, so it’d have to be a red carpet and nothing else.”
“It’s for the International Songbirds,” he said, naming an organization that she knew created stars. “And your name keeps being tossed around for the rookie artist award. They are announcing the nominees tomorrow.”
“W—what?” she couldn’t believe her ears.
“Exactly,” he said. “Can you do it?”
“I—-” Suddenly, she had an idea. “Can I bring a date?”
“That guy you’ve been seeing?” Tony asked. “He doesn’t fit the image you’re going for.”
“Not him,” she said. “A different guy. He’ll certainly fit the image.”
“Look, Ivy,” Tony said. “This is a big deal. If you are nominated tomorrow, whoever you bring is going to be all over the press with you. Everyone will see it. Think about it.”
“Oh, I am,” she said. “Send me the details.”
“You’re in then?” he asked.
“I’m in,” Ivy said. “Can’t wait.”
Chapter 18
“From my understanding,” Joshua said, once they were at James’s approximate location. “The technology says he was around here last night. But there isn’t anything that he’d want to see. This is an open field.”
“I can see that,” Nathan answered. “He better not be coming out here to transform. This is the middle of nowhere, but there are houses just over there who could easily see him.”
“I don’t think it’s an exact science,” Joshua said. “He could have been anywhere within a few miles of here.”
“Hmm,” Nathan said, looking down at his phone. Joshua growled at him.
“Are you paying attention?” he asked. “We’re supposed to be tracking down a killer and you’re buried in your phone.”
“I’m not,” Nathan said, and then decided there was no point in hiding it anymore. “Look, Ivy works around here. It bothers me that she and James are so close together somewhere. What if...”