“Yes, m’lady. Rest well.”
Chapter Twenty
Ephrem
“Hold on.” I kissed the top of Lily’s head and headed for the bedroom. Our bedroom. It was surreal to think that she was here with me for the long haul. Her banishment was a cruel twist of fate, but to be told it was a permanent situation made me realize some things happened for a reason. This thing between us could actually work. Her and I. I intended to marry her, banishment be damned. She was my mate, and I felt it down deep inside that it was the only thing that was real. It was everything.
“What are you doing?” Lily called after me. I had a surprise for her, and I didn’t want her to see what I’d gotten until the last minute. I’d spent hours looking for it, but when I finally found it, I knew it was perfect.
“Hang on. You have to promise to close your eyes before I come back in,” I requested.
Her moans made me confident she was listening. When I returned, I relished watching her with her eyes closed. Her face was twisted in frustration, but the stress from before was gone. It was a different concern etched across her face, but I wanted to make it all go away. Even though she’d protest and I knew that I could face permanent banishment from the MarkTier Outlands Legion, I didn’t care. I’d risk it all for her. She was worth every one of the consequences.
“What is it? You’re killing me here!” Her hands waved in the space between us, and I clasped my free hand over one of her wrists.
“Patience, my love.” I bent forward and kissed her impossibly soft lips, gently at first, but with increasing pressure and urgency. Her mouth was sweet like candy, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I had to force myself away, for I knew if I kept going, I’d never stop.
She was a drug that stirred my most primal needs.
“Okay.” I settled next to her and held up the box. “Open your eyes.”
She obeyed. Her eyes first met mine and then slowly slid down to the small velvet box in the palm of my hand.
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
She hesitated, glancing from my hands to my face, a glint of exhilarated fear dancing in her pupils. I held my breath as she reached over and plucked the box from my grasp. Anticipating what was to come, I said a silent prayer to get the reaction I craved from her. In my heart, I knew it was what I really wanted, and I couldn’t wait to see her joy from my gift.
The dark velvet box clicked open in her fingers, and she stared at the contents with increasing wonder. Moments passed as she continued to study the item. I could no longer hold my breath, and I exhaled slowly, waiting impatiently.
“Lily?” I asked. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I had to know what was running through her mind.
“Mm?” she answered, still staring at the box, entranced.
“I know things haven’t turned out how you imagined them, but I know, deep inside in my heart, that I want us to be together, always. Will you marry me?”
Finally, she flicked her eyes up to me, as though she hadn’t heard a thing I’d said. Her face was pale, fading from the flushed pink it’d been a moment before. It wasn’t the reaction I’d expected, but I had to remember that nothing Lily had done since the trial was what I’d predicted.
She’d gotten a job at the diner, not the bookstore, where I thought she’d like it better. It would’ve been a quiet place where she could work in a pleasant atmosphere, but she’d chosen the chaotic mess at the diner. Granted, it was a well-oiled machine and would keep her busy, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint why she’d want to be there. She wasn’t entirely unrecognizable to the public, but her hair wasn’t the same color as before, and the media were forbidden to seek her out in the city, so she was pretty much left alone. The only thing I could figure was that she wanted the stimulation. Something to exhaust her so she didn’t have to think about the unpleasant in the middle of the night.
Nothing like passing out cold to keep yourself from being run ragged over by thoughts you can’t do anything about.
“Lily?” The silence was maddening, but she was lost in her head as she turned the ring with her fingers to let the light catch on each of its facets. “Are you all right?”
She nodded and replaced the ring into the tiny black box without trying it on. She snapped the lid shut and held it out to me.
“I love you, Ephrem, but I can’t marry you right now. I’m sorry. I want to. Really, I do. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, but the timing is all wrong.”
She pressed the velvet box into my hands and got to her feet. Folding her arms, she walked to the window and stood staring out into the street. It was raining again, as it usually did in Temple, and the raindrops played a shadowy dance across her pretty face. Her brown eyes shined against the muted daylight seeping through the gray clouds. They flitted across the scene down below, and I fought against the feeling of crushing disappointment in my stomach.
Sucking in a deep breath, I stood.
“Take all the time you need. I’m here for you. You know that, right?” I joined her at the window and slipped my arms around her svelte body. It fit into mine like a puzzle piece. We were meant for each other, she had to know this. I knew it down to my marrow that it was true. The question was, did Lily know it too?
I hoped she did. I needed her to, but I wasn’t the kind of guy who would force something on a woman. She’d have to come to me with an open heart and mind, willingly. Right now, her mind was closed up, watertight.
“I’m so sorry, Ephrem. I don’t even know why I feel like I need more time. It’s just… everything happened so fast. I don’t even know who I am out here in the Outlands. Princess Lilliana is gone forever. All I’m left with is a bunch of broken pieces scattered about that I have to pick up all by myself. I know you want to help, but it’s something I need to do for myself. I love you, but I need to find out who I am now, without the royal part of it all. Who am I now?”
“You’re still you. Just because you don’t live in the palace anymore doesn’t mean you can’t be who you are. Nothing changes that. You’re still here, and you’re a strong woman. You’ll get through this.”
“I know.” She sighed, reaching up to hold her forehead. I hoped I hadn’t caused her a headache. For all I knew, she had been thinking about her life since the trial almost every waking moment. I didn’t want to add to the stress of that transition. “It’s just, I’ve always known where my life was headed in the palace. Out here, it’s all foreign. The future has never looked so murky.”
She waved her hand in the air venting her frustration. I understood, and yet I didn’t. I’d have to let her do what she needed to, so I kept silent.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said. I threw on my guard’s belt and pulled my back scabbard over my head. The familiarity of the sheathed sword resting against my back helped steady my emotions. With nothing more to do, I turned to her and pulled her closer to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll see you later?”
She nodded and gave me a weak smile. I hoped my proposal wouldn’t continue to give her any more anxiety. I’d wait for her forever. I’d already waited years. What’s a few more?
Chapter Twenty-One
Lilliana
The night air was a mixture of ozone and damp concrete. I relished the feel of the cool air still infused with moisture from the earlier downpour. I was getting used to the frequent rain here, and it was moments like these that made me like it, moments when I could stand at the edge of a sidewalk, tilt my head back and breathe the fresh rain-infused air deep into my chest. It was head clearing, and I craved more. Especially after Ephrem’s proposal. Maybe it was just how clean it smelled in the usually polluted city, but it was enough to re-energize me after a busy night at the diner.
The cars zoomed by as I waited for the signal to flash green so I could cross. The diner wasn’t far from Ephrem’s apartment, but I wasn’t headed that way. It was early in the evening, and I needed more time to clear out the cobwebs clogging up my thoughts. A long walk through the
city was what I needed. Luckily, I was getting to know what streets and narrows to avoid where the derelicts loved to hang out. This street was fairly safe, and I enjoyed the walk to the nearby Antes River. There was a park that ran along it, and I could feel the earth calling my name.
My fingers itched to touch trees, grass, and flowers… anything alive. There was a preserve on the ArcKnight palace grounds where the royals could shift and run freely. I missed the feel of the earth beneath my paws. There was no such sanctuary here. Even the park, with miles of semi-wilderness, would be too risky to shift in and run through.
When I was younger, I used to help my mother out in the garden at the edge of the preserve. I’d forgotten how much I loved the feel of the dirt under my fingertips. The earthy mulch and grit was more life-giving than the man-made concrete surrounding me now. Life and royal responsibilities always got in the way of enjoying the small things, and I had rarely gone back to the garden and preserve as an adult.
Now the urge to touch the ground had me tearing my shoes from my aching feet when I arrived at the park, just to walk barefoot on the soaked grass. Few things in life compared to how it felt to be one with the earth. I wondered if shifter wolves drew power from the ground. Had living in these concrete cities inhibited a deep carnal vibration that filled us with more magical potential than anything else? I knew this city had a supernatural affinity, but walking on the sidewalks did nothing to show its potential like walking barefoot on the very surface of the earth.
Like a skin-to-skin embrace, it fed my soul more than I could’ve imagined. I needed this, and it made me realize that it wouldn’t be so bad out here—with Ephrem, of course. The turmoil inside had kept me from saying yes to him, but I didn’t want to lose him. I decided I had to take him there one day so he could feel the flood of intoxicating power emanating from the ground. It was a wonder there weren’t throngs of people across every square inch of the park.
I knew I’d have to go there every day for the rest of my time in the Outlands. It was the only way I would ever feel at home again.
“You’re not human.”
The voice came from behind a large oak tree, and its resonance chilled me to the bone. It was full of magic and made the goosebumps rise up across my skin. I peered around to get a good look at the person who’d spoken.
He stepped to the side so I could see him but remained in the shadows. His hair was a dark obsidian, and it framed his chiseled face. His eyes shined gray like the moon, making his black eyebrows and lashes stand out stark against his pale skin. He wore a fitted black sweater and snug black jeans that showed off his slender but athletic body. Shivering in my coat, I wondered how he wasn’t freezing, for the night was several degrees cooler than it had been a half hour before. It didn’t seem to bother him at all.
“Who are you?”
The clouds blocking the moonlight allowed a line of silver to shine through, piercing the thickness of the shadows and revealing more of his face to me. His jet-black hair touched his shoulders ever so slightly, and he walked with a slight limp I just barely noticed. I’d never before seen this man, even though I felt an odd sense of familiarity. He obviously knew I was something more than human, as was he.
“I apologize for approaching you like this, but I didn’t know how to get you alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“My name is Grayson. I’m a scout for the KelHan wolf pack. I’ve been waiting to meet you without the MarkTier prince around.”
The KelHans? The pack name didn’t ring any bells.
“Why would you do that?” I didn’t get any closer. The hairs on my neck rose with each word he spoke. I racked my brain to try and remember the names of the various families I’d heard of over the years, but his pack’s surname didn’t come up. “I’ve never heard of your pack,” I said, more than a hint of suspicion creeping into my voice.
“That’s because we stay out of wolf politics and have remained isolated for a long time.” He cocked his head to the side, which illuminated his eyes even more under the moonlight breaking through the cloud cover. They reflected back at me like a wolf’s would, but he remained in human form. How did that happen without a partial morph? I didn’t like the waves of menacing air drifting toward me. He obviously wanted to test my defenses, but I was more than up for a challenge this time. I could hold my own.
I pulled out my stick weapons. He needed to know I wasn’t down with being messed with.
“Why come here then?”
“We are owed a debt, and we’ve come to collect.”
“What sort of debt?”
“You’re involved with the MarkTier royals, are you not?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? It seems you need to be speaking to them directly.”
He sneered, and the shine of madness gleamed in his dark eyes. The moonlight dimmed behind the clouds, but it felt more as though he was casting his shadow toward me, making the light disappear. He flashed a smile, with a glimpse of fangs, and I gasped. His canines were sticking out in a challenging manner as if he was preparing to fight. Shifters wouldn't flash their teeth like that unless they were about to tear into someone. I kept my senses on full alert.
I cursed to myself, realizing my shoes were still dangling from my fingertips and not on my feet. I reached down and slipped one on before hopping on the other foot without taking my eyes off him. Grayson’s smile faded, but he didn’t come any closer. I could’ve sworn he was amused, enjoying my struggle.
“I need Ephrem. You’re close to him.”
I scoffed. “What makes you think I would bring him to you?”
His narrowing eyes stabbed me in the chest. He gave off waves of magic I was unfamiliar with, and my mood darkened.
“You’ll bring him to me because I have something you want.”
“I doubt that,” I muttered. There was only one thing I wanted, and it was to go home.
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small bracelet. It gleamed under the streetlights and seemed to emit its own light. I stared hard at it and couldn’t look away. It was beautiful and unusual. The etchings in the metal glowed just a bit brighter than the rest of it. Something about it made my mind calm to a numbing, pleasurable hum while the world blurred around me. Even Grayson’s voice came out muted.
“Put it on,” he said as he held it out to me. I stepped forward, unaware of what I was doing. Even when I felt his cold fingers slide the silver bracelet onto my wrist, where it clamped down snug against my flesh, I didn’t fight back. I couldn’t. My desire to do anything but what he asked fled my mind, and now there was nothing but a blissful cloud of euphoria.
“That’s right. You’ll get me what I want. Lead him to the edge of the city via the northern gates and take him into the forest. If you do not, you’ll suffer agonizing pain from the silver now poisoning your blood. It won’t hurt for three days, but after that, you’ll want nothing more than to die, and you’ll beg for it. Bring him to me within that time, and I’ll make sure it never hurts you. You’ll act normally like nothing has happened until you bring him to me. Then you will belong to the KelHan pack forever. Understood?”
I nodded. Understanding wasn’t exactly what I felt at the moment, but it penetrated my brain along with his threat, and the drive to appease his request was overpowering. I had to do as told or I would writhe in pain from silver poisoning until I died. I didn’t want to die, did I? At that point, it was irrelevant. I didn’t care either way. I just had to obey.
“Yes… I understand.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rafaela
Tapping my fingers on the arms of my chair, I struggled to feel settled. The day had dragged on, and sitting around in court wasn’t the most ideal way to spend my time. There was one last case I had to sit through, but I was far from invested in what was going on. I felt sorry for the petitioner because I was ready to end it. If he didn’t have a good story in two sentence
s, he was out of luck for my favor.
I hated how Gil made me do these unsavory tasks. He should have been there, listening to the endless droning of petitioners with their constant problems needing fixing.
“The petitioner’s representative, Alec StaNover of ArcKnight, please enter the room and state your case.”
I straightened when Alec came through the rear door of the court. I was surprised to see him here because he hadn’t told me he was coming or that he needed an issue to be resolved. Why I didn’t know about this was baffling me. He was as close to a best friend as I had. I’d first met him when he was barely twenty and part of my father’s advisory board. He’d always had a good head on his shoulders and was often the only one of the council who paid me any mind. He had always listened to my concerns and never brushed me off. He’d relay these problems or suggestions to my father and always gave me credit. I didn’t doubt that the others wondered if he had a thing for me, but his flawless record, vast wisdom of the world and the workings of the army only helped him rise to first lieutenant and later general of the army of the ArcKnight palace.
It was this kind treatment which had caught my attention far before I married Gilbert. But Alec wasn’t royalty and never would be. He was a nobleman, but nothing he could do would ever make him in line for the throne. Gil was the last of his line, and if I didn’t produce an heir, he would be the last. When a royal couple cannot produce an heir is the only time the ruling Alpha can choose a non-royal successor.
I often wished Alec had been my husband. He understood me more than Gil ever had, but it wasn’t meant to be, and it was a bittersweet fruit to swallow. As I watched him approach, his fit and lean body always well-conditioned from physical exertion, my heart involuntarily flipped inside my chest.
“Thank you, Magistrate. I have a very serious issue I have to deal with on behalf of our Alpha leader: Gilbert of ArcKnight.” He moved his eyes to me. They were full of pain, not for him, but… for me?