Chapter 50

Nolan shook his head and said, “I don’t know how you could. My father said he would only keep me here for one day, but…”

“But what?”

Nolan sighed. “He’s been known to say things he does not mean.”

“I don’t understand. You didn’t even touch Adan. Why would your father think this was necessary?”

Yena gestured around at the tower, the little jail cell, the silver bars.

“My father seems to think that I am… unstable,” Nolan said, still pacing. “Adan must have convinced him, after baiting me into that trap, that I can’t be trusted.”

He heard Yena whimper quietly. He stopped pacing and went to face her through the bars.

Her mouth was a thin line, and tears were pooling in her eyes.

“It’s going to be okay,” Nolan said. It was the first thing he could think of to say.

“No,” she said, “it’s not. And it’s all my fault.”

“This is not your fault, Yena.”

“It is,” she pleaded, falling into a heavy sob. “I’m so sorry. I should have trusted you.”

“Adan is very cunning,” Nolan said. “And extremely intelligent. He would have found another way to undermine me, if it were not for you.”

She shook her head. “It didn’t have to happen like this, though.”

“Stop,” Nolan said firmly.

She met his eyes.

“Your trusting heart is one of the many things that makes you beautiful,” he continued. “I would never ask you to change that, or anything else about you.”

Yena said nothing in reply. He could tell she was working on pulling herself back together.

For a moment he was tempted, again, to tell her that he loved her. It almost felt like the right moment.

But then she said, “I have two questions before I go. And I should go soon.” Her tone was now business-like.

Nolan said, “Okay.”

“One,” she started. “I am going to clear your name. Is there anything you can think of that can help me do that?”

He blinked at her. Then slowly shook his head side to side. “Not that I can think of.”

She squinted at him. “Well, think about it, okay? We need to find a way to show everyone that Adan is wrong about you.”

Nolan nodded.

Yena looked back at the silver bars that separated them.

“Question two,” she continued. “You said you would explain some things to me later. Can you also explain the thing about my blood?”

Nolan took a sharp breath in.

“Do you know why it can heal us?” she asked, looking him dead in the eye. “Do you know why I’m so… different from other werewolves?”

He sighed and said, “Yes.”

Then a few careful footsteps at the bottom of the stairs set them both on alert.

“I’ll come back,” Yena said.

And then she was gone. And he was alone in the silence again.

YENA

I went straight to our room from the tower and started going through all of Nolan’s belongings.

I noticed him tense up when I asked him how I could clear his name. So I knew he was hiding something. Something that could help him.

Just thinking about it, I started shaking my head to myself. That man loved his secrets. He would rather stay locked behind bars that could melt his skin off like acid, than tell me one more of his secrets.

I didn’t know what I was looking for, so I just went into Nolan’s huge walk-in closet and tore apart every inch of it. Rafaela came looking for me in the afternoon, right around the time the rain finally started coming down heavily. I had her bring me some coffee and snacks.

The real work started when I found the file boxes. There were three of them, and they were packed full of unsorted documents. There was no way to tell what kind of stuff was in there.

I took the boxes into the bedroom and sat at the table to look through them. But then I dozed off, sometime in the afternoon or evening. I snoozed until a tremendous boom of thunder shook the palace walls and woke me up.

I took a break from my detective work and treated myself to a long, hot shower.

When I was dressed again and had some more energy, I decided to call Lucy.

This had to be affecting her, too.

I wondered if she woke up to see the news reports claiming I had started an affair with Adan. And what that felt like for her.

Lucy picked up quickly. But she told me she did not have much time to talk.

Her voice sounded far away and scratchy.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she said. “And I saw the news, of course, Yena. I’m so sorry they’re all reposting that nonsense and making such a big deal about it.”

“Thanks, Lucy.” For a second, I thought about telling her what was going on at the palace. But thought better of it.

“We’re fine, really,” I finished.

“Good,” she said. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“I’ll let you go,” I told her. “But I just wanted to be sure that you knew that there was nothing going on with me and Adan. I not only love my husband, but I value my friendship with you, too, and I would never do something like that to you.”

“Oh,” Lucy said, “that’s sweet, Yena, but it’s not necessary. Listen, I’ve got to go though, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Just let me know when you’re free,” I said.

“Definitely,” Lucy replied. “Bye.”

The line clicked off before I could say goodbye in return.

ADAN

“Everything good?” Adan asked.

Lucy slipped her phone back into her purse and nodded.

They were in Adan’s car and had just parked outside his house when Yena called Lucy.

Adan killed the engine and sat in the driver’s seat silently as she answered and chatted with the princess. He saw Lucy turning the volume down on her phone, trying to keep their call private.

But he had very good hearing. He heard every word.

Things were pretty much done, as far as Adan’s direct interactions with Yena might go. She was pretty mad at him right now, at the least. Maybe he could wear her down again later, but he had to leave her alone for a little while.

Good thing a backup plan walked right into a spotlight and presented itself to him.

Lucy was a beautiful resource.

Now that he could no longer work Yena for information about Nolan, he had another angle to try. Not that Yena ever gave him much to work with, anyway.

Lucy, on the other hand. She had a direct line to Yena. And Yena still trusted her.

Lucy hung up and slipped her phone into her bag.

She looked at Adan and said, “Tell me again why I can’t tell her about us yet?”

He shook his head and smiled. “Lucy. We really can’t tell anyone.”

“I know,” she said, “but she’s my best friend. I know you could get fired for dating a student, but Yena would keep a secret for me.”

Adan studied Lucy’s face and sighed. Then he picked up her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. She couldn’t help but smile.