Chapter 222

“This was more than a mere slight,” I snap. “Your butler shot the King!”

Gladys gives me a vague sort of look, like she’s not apologetic or sympathetic at all.

Caleb wraps his arm around me, placing his hand on the small of my back.

“It’s alright, Harper,” Caleb says. Though he has been more calm through this entire ordeal more than I would have expected from him, right now, he seems impossibly relaxed.

“He shot you,” I say. I don’t want him to rage, like the butler and Gladys seemingly both expected but some measure of outrage for his own well-being would be preferable here. “They can’t do that to you.”

“No,” Caleb replies. Looking at me, he gazes deeply into my eyes. As I seemingly calm him, he now does the same for me. He’s alive and unharmed and I am grateful for that. But I would be even more grateful if he didn’t get shot at all. “Peace, Harper.”

How strange, to hear that from him.

Yet no one seems more surprised that Gladys, who stares from him to me with such shock that her features are comically slack. She recovers quickly, however.

“You and your consort have a very strong bond,” Gladys says, returning her gaze to Caleb. “I can see now why you are so protective of her, as well as your insistence on keeping her near you.”

“If she wasn’t here, I would have torn your butler’s head from his shoulders no matter what you said,” Caleb says, glowering at her.

“Well, then. My butler and I are both grateful to her. Good help is very difficult to find, especially those who are willing to risk themselves for my safety. But I will see him punished on your behalf, King Lucian. Leave it to me.”

I don’t believe that she will actually punish him, not even for one second, but Caleb seems satisfied enough.

“I expect you will,” he says. “If you will excuse us now, it’s late and we should return to our room.”

“Of course,” Gladys says. “Oh, before you go. I meant to tell you this earlier, but there was so much on my mind. Prepare yourselves tomorrow night for a gala we will be holding in the King’s honor. It will be a rare opportunity for you both to meet those out here in this distant pack who support you… as well as those who don’t. Perhaps you will win a few more advocates in your name?”

“Perhaps,” Caleb says. “If you will excuse us.”

Caleb gently pushes me toward the door, not waiting for my reply. Bethany follows along behind us, though her friend, Cameron stays behind. I glance back twice to make sure Bethany is continuing to follow us. Each time I do, I see her looking back at Cameron.

Cameron’s eyes are on the floor, while Gladys frowns at him. Is he in trouble? Does she know he talked to us and warned us?

For his sake, if not for our own, I hope not.

As we reached the door of our chambers, Caleb turns toward Bethany himself.

“Bethany,” he says. “You may find your own rest for the evening, though I recommend you do not entertain any callers this evening.”

Bethany blushes slightly. “I wouldn’t. Of course.”

With a quick look at me, and after a nod from me, she turns and scurries away.

When she’s gone, Caleb guides me into our rooms and then closes the door behind him. At once, he sees the remains of the listening devices on the table in the sitting room. Approaching, he inspects the debris more closely.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Bethany’s friend, Cameron,” I explain. “He came to see us. He rounded up all the devices and smashed them. Then he gave us a warning that Gladys intends to not let us leave here alive.”

Caleb huffs a short, harsh laugh. “We already knew that.”

I suppose we did. Or at least we suspected. Still, having confirmation doesn’t make me feel any safer.

Caleb, as if noticing my growing distress, steps away from the table and comes closer to me. He slides his arms around my waist and pulls me into the safety of his chest.

Sighing, I relax into his embrace, soaking up his warmth and letting the scent of him calm my fraying nerves.

“Can we just go home?” I say, feeling weak in this moment.

This time, maybe they didn’t intend to kill Caleb, but they clearly plotted something.

“I don’t like how they are trying to trap you somehow,” I go on. “If they hurt you, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Caleb leans down and kisses the top of my head.

“They want to hurt me, but they won’t be able to,” Caleb says. “Even tonight was a shoddy attempt.”

“They thought you would rage…”

“I know. They had a cage waiting in the next room, as if metal bars, even silver ones, would be able to stop my rampaging wolf form.” He’s quiet a moment before he says, “I didn’t want you to be here because of the danger, but I am relieved you are here. You help me keep a more level head.”

“I wish I was strong enough to keep you safe as well.” As a human, I am weak in so many ways. Even with training, my strength and speed will ever be secondary to a werewolf.

“I don’t need protecting,” Caleb says. “Leave that part to me.”

I sigh a little, wishing I could at least help him in this.

“We can’t leave,” he says, and I know he’s right. We came here for a reason, and until we succeed in our mission to find the rebel stronghold and rescue Tristan, we aren’t going anywhere.

At the very least, we owe it to Tristan to find him. But on a grander scale, Caleb’s entire kingdom could be at stake.

Our time here could either be the resolution of everything, or the place of the kingdom’s destruction.

For better or worse, I felt like we were building up to something. The beginning of the end, whatever that may be.

Leaning back, I lift my head to tell Caleb, but instead he just kisses me. He kisses me so thoroughly and completely that my thoughts fizzle out and I forget about my worries for a little while.

It isn’t until much, much later, when Caleb tells me about his time in the library and the things he has seen – including what he believes to be a secret door.

“Where could it lead?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure yet,” he says, “though I do suspect that the meaning behind that note we received is primarily in warning over this door.”

“A dungeon, then? Or…” I try to think of places it could lead.

Caleb frowns a little, looking grim. “Worse than that, maybe,” he says. “It could be a secret passage to the rebellion stronghold itself.”

I gasp. “Could that be possible?”

“Unfortunately,” Caleb says. “Many of these older estates had secret exits and passageways that led to nearby forts and strongholds. This one likely is no exception. We will need to investigate further if we are going to find out more.”

“But how?” I ask. “The butler walked in on you fairly quickly, didn’t he?”

“We’ll find a way,” Caleb says, a look of determination in his eyes. “I’m not leaving here until I’ve seen where it goes.”