Chapter 42

Gideon

The vampires’ attack continued through the night. When dawn broke, they retreated.

My men cheered. I shared back slaps and grins, but I was troubled. Why had the vampires attacked in such force so suddenly, only to flee with the dawn? What did they hope to gain?

Marcus joined me at the southern wall.

“The vampires retreated,” he told me, “and I thought they might have been circling down here for an ambush so I came to reinforce you.”

He pointed over his shoulder to the half dozen guards who followed him.

“They retreated here, too,” I told him. “Reports from the north and west indicate the same. They simply left.”

Maybe they hadn’t wanted to continue fighting during the day, when they would be weakened by the sun. But then, what had been the point of attacking at all? They gained no territory and took no prisoners. Our supplies weren’t raided.

“It was a distraction,” Marcus declared.

It did seem like that was the case. But what was the distraction for?

I ordered the guards to keep a standard watch, and told the ones off duty to rest. We would go back to double guard shifts at night.

Marcus and I returned to our rooms. I was startled to find Nora in my room, waiting on her knees. She was trembling, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. How long had she been waiting for me to return?

I crouched next to her, and brushed a hand down her face. I needed to deal with the fact that she’d lied to me to advance her position, but I wasn’t heartless enough to do it now. Not when so much had happened.

“Please,” Nora whispered.

“Nora?” I asked. “What is it you need?”

“I need to see her,” Nora pleaded.

“Who?” I asked, although I could guess.

She wanted to see Clara. They were close friends, so it did make sense.

“Clara!” Nora reached up and gripped my arm. “Please, Gideon, please. I know you’re furious with me, and you should be. I lied to you.”

“You did,” I said. I kept my voice calm and neutral. It was beneath my dignity to show my temper.

“I was wrong, and I will accept any punishment you give me. I won’t complain. Banish me, whip me, execute me, I don’t care. Just… just let me see Clara one more time. Let me say goodbye.”

“You care for her,” I said.

“She is my best friend,” Nora said. “We grew up together. I never had a sister, but if I did, it would be her.”

“You took credit for her actions,” I said.

Nora looked down, and her hands fell away from me.

“I did,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just,” she wrapped her arms around herself. “I had to get away from him.”

“The vampire?” I asked. “Your mate?”

Nora nodded mutely.

“He was awful,” Nora whispered. “So awful. He beat me, and he used me. He drank my blood when he couldn’t find another victim. I had to get away from him, and when I saw the token you gave Clara, I saw my chance.”

“Your chance to lie your way into a prince’s bed,” I said.

Nora nodded. “I do love you! I would be a good mate, a devoted wife. And I didn’t plan to hurt Clara. I brought her with me! All she ever wanted was to rise in the ranks. I was sure that someone would notice what a good attendant she was to me, and give her the promotion she deserves.”

“How generous of you,” I said.

Nora shook her head. “I know I did wrong. And… and she’s going to die tomorrow. I can’t let that happen without telling her how sorry I am! Please!”

She threw herself on the ground, sobbing. I wondered if this was more manipulation, more dramatics to make me feel sorry for her.

“I’ll take you to see her,” I said, “On one condition.”

She looked up, fresh tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

“You will stand before my father and admit your lies. You will tell him that he owes his son’s life to Clara, not to you,” I said.

Nora nodded, and climbed to her feet. “I’ll do it. I’ll do it right now! Do you think he’ll change his mind, if he knows? Do you think the king will spare her?”

“There is a chance,” I said. “My father pays his debts. And I pay mine.”

“Then let’s go. Oh! I am a mess. Will the king be offended? Should I clean up? I don’t want to waste time but I don’t want to make him angry.” Nora wrung her hands together.

“My father is fresh off of a battlefield,” I said, “He will not care that there is dust on your dress.”

Nora nodded and rubbed at her eyes.

“We’ll go to the dungeon first,” I declared. “You can explain yourself to your friend, and then to my father.”

“Thank you,” Nora said. “Thank you so much.”

We met Marcus in the hallway.

“Where are you going with her?” Marcus asked, motioning to Nora.

“We are going to visit Clara,” I explained. “She wants to say goodbye.”

“Oh,” Marcus studied Nora for a moment. I expected him to say something cruel or sarcastic. Instead, he said, “I’ll join you. I should also say something, I suppose. She is my fated mate.”

For some reason my wolf growled at that perfectly reasonable statement. Probably he expected Marcus to say something hurtful to poor Clara. I soothed my wolf and promised to keep a close eye on my brother. If he said something awful I would stomp on his foot.

When we reached the dungeons, I realized something was wrong. There was no guard at the door to challenge our entry.

“They wouldn’t have sent all the guards to respond to the attack,” I muttered.

Marcus shook his head, mimed for silence, and stepped into the dungeon guards’ break room. I motioned for Nora to stay behind me, and listened for any sign of danger.

“There’s two guards here, unconscious,” Marcus announced when he returned. “Drugged, I think.”

“Nora, stay here,” I ordered.

“No, I’m coming with you,” Nora insisted. “Clara’s down there.”

We didn’t have time to argue.

“Stay behind us, then,” I ordered.

I led the way down, with Marcus and Nora close behind. I glanced down the main dungeon hall, but there was no one in sight. I didn’t expect there to be. I continued to the next level, where we kept the more dangerous prisoners. Captured enemy soldiers and spies were held on that level.

My father had insisted on keeping Clara down on that level, too. I thought it was ridiculous. But I hadn’t been able to change his mind.

I stopped, and listened for any sounds. I should hear movement from the cells, the breaths of the prisoners, maybe some speech. I should hear the guards’ footsteps on patrol.

I heard nothing. A single, quick walk down the hall and back told me what I had begun to understand.

“They’re gone,” Marcus said. “All the prisoners are gone.”

“Well, we know what that attack was a distraction for,” I said.

“What? I don’t understand,” Nora said. “Where’s Clara? Wasn’t she down here?”

“She was,” Marcus said. “Now she’s not.”

“The vampires attacked the castle to distract us while they emptied our dungeon,” I said. “Presumably they took Clara with them.”

“Why would they do that?” Nora asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Could they tell she was a half vampire? Was that enough reason for them to ‘rescue’ her, or had she been taken as a prisoner or hostage? What did they hope to gain from this?

“Please,” Nora tugged on my sleeve. “You have to go after her! You can’t leave her with those monsters! Who knows what they’ll do to her!”

“Well, we were going to kill her, so maybe she thought she should take her chances with them,” Marcus said.

“Clara wouldn’t do that!” Nora insisted. “She didn’t know what she was! No one did!”

I looked at Marcus. He shrugged.

“Isn’t she your mate?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “But bringing her back for an execution doesn’t seem like the kind of thing a good mate does.”

“Please!” Nora begged.

“I’ll go after her,” I decided. “We can’t let them get away with this.”

“Right,” Marcus said. “Well, while you do that, I’m going to go talk to our father. See if I can’t convince him to change his mind. So that she has a home to come back to.”