Chapter 92

Daphne watched John enter and refrained from wincing at the spike of pain that went through her mind. She tried to ignore it, but it only grew the longer she looked at him. John smiled at her. Part of her thought he was almost handsome, but there was a glint of duplicity in his eyes that corrupted his features, turning them just short of nauseating. The pain he caused her made her look away from him before looking at the duchess. The woman was beautiful and regal sitting in her seat with all the air of class and aristocracy, but her eyes were cold despite her warm greetings. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as if she was incapable of feeling anything.

Daphne took a shallow breath. Her nose tingled with the scent of blood barely hanging in the air. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, which made sense since they were all vampires, but there was something different about the scent of blood barely drifting through the room.

She didn’t know where it was coming from, but it was disturbing and poking at the back of her mind. She’d smelled blood like that before, but when? Nicole said she was only half-vampire. Should she be able to smell blood like this, let alone tell that there were differences?

She had also warned her about the scent that she emitted and how it could affect vampires. She promised to teach her self-defense techniques and how to use her magic consciously. She was looking forward to it. Something in her, likely the part of her that had access to all of her memories, was eager to have a means of defending herself.

Had she been in danger in the werewolf kingdom? Maybe her position in the werewolf kingdom had been more complicated than not.

“A pleasure to see you, Your Majesty,” John greeted.

She nodded but did not reply, scanning the group before looking at them. John, the duchess, and several others sat to one side of the table. She hadn’t noticed it before, but it seemed that they never changed their places around the table. Nicole said that there were factions, but she hadn’t given her all the information to figure out who was a part of which faction and what they wanted.

Giving you the information won’t help you remember.

She wondered if that was true or not, but she had accepted Nicole’s stance on it as she was suspicious about anyone just giving her information as she had no way of checking it against what she knew to be true.

“General Steward has arranged for the werewolf king to meet us in the human village just inside the canyon in three days,” Daphne said. “I expect you all to come as my escort and a show of goodwill.”

A moment of silence passed. The nobles on Nicole’s side of the table nodded in agreement.

“As you wish–”

“Is that wise?” The duchess asked, turning her gaze on Daphne. “Are you not concerned about what the werewolf king will do to you? To any of us, especially since the escorts he sent with you have vanished?”

Daphne tilted her head. Something at the back of her mind was troubled by the woman’s words. Vanished was such a strange way of putting it since Daphne had been found in the canyon that led to the werewolf kingdom. She eyed the duchess suspiciously. Her eyes betrayed nothing, but something told Daphne that the woman knew something more than she pretended. She had the same duplicitous aura that clung to John.

“I have no reason to be fearful. As I cannot remember, no one can say for certain that there is anything to fear.”

Nicole was relieved to hear her say it, but it didn’t ease her anxiety about actually going. She would get Arthur and Daphne to see each other, hoping that it would jog her memory, yet there was no guarantee that it would. It was one thing for her to agree to go and something else for the meeting to go off without a hitch. She wanted the elite of her forces with them in case they ran into trouble, leaving the rest of her forces to keep investigating the duchess, John, and their connections with the other nobles.

Nicol put forth a plan for the escort that would have every noble with a guard force cover their noble’s security, leaving Daphne’s security in Nicole’s hands. No one by John questioned the decision. He said he would increase the number of vampires that would come with them.

“We are going for peace talks,” Nicole said. “If you bring too large of a force, we will look hostile.”

John’s lips twitched, “I am more concerned about Her Majesty’s safety.”

“The werewolf king’s forces have already arrived in the village,” Nicole said calmly. “Numbering twenty total.”

“Twenty werewolves could be more dangerous than we think,” John protested. “We should have more people.”

“We already have more people coming,” Nicole said, “Twice their numbers already just by bringing the entire noble council and their guards.”

John stammered before falling quiet. Nicole eyed him, tucking his reaction in the back of her mind to review at a later time. A few minutes later, they adjourned the meeting so that they could focus on making preparations.

She parted with Daphne in the corridor, letting her know that Kayley would be watching over her.

Kayley smiled at her, “I promise not to be too obvious.”

Daphne was grateful and gave her a soft smile as she walked away from the meeting room and down the corridor. She sniffed the air. Something was drawing her attention, drawing her out of the corridor and out the doors towards the gardens. She had never explored the gardens to her remembrance, but they were quite beautiful, blooming with fresh flowers along the neatly kept path. The trees provided a gentle canopy over the path as she walked.

When she looked out her window towards the canyon, the trees of the forest seemed almost dead. She thought that there was nothing in the vampire lands that grew. It was nice to know that she was wrong.

Flashes of trees thick with green leaves and vines curled wildly around their trunks flickered behind her eyelids. She felt the sun on her skin, filtered through a thick canopy as she walked. The sky above the castle was cloudy and the air was cool, but she smelled sun-warmed earth as if she were walking through the heart of a forest from a long-forgotten dream.

Daphne, someone called from behind her in her memory. She turned sharply, but there was no one behind her.

The voice had been male, but she couldn’t make out more than that. It seemed something in her memories was waking up to the sight of the garden. She turned forward and walked towards the sound of running water. It was a shallow river coursing through the gardens and snaking off through the trees towards the high wall. She walked towards the garden’s maze entrance as a butterfly flittered past. It was so peaceful. She wanted to know if she had ever been so at peace before.

Daphne! The voice called again but from ahead of her. She worried her lip and hurried forward, but there was no one around the corner. She felt someone nearby and kept going as her heart thundered.

Then, she rounded a corner, gasping as she nearly ran into him.

“Owen…” she said softly.

Owen seemed a bit uncomfortable or at least wary. He looked down at her, seemingly observing her. She still didn’t know how they knew each other, but his presence quieted the voice calling to her. She placed a hand on her stomach watching him stare at her. His gaze dropped to her hand. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

The subtle warmth his presence inspired began to shimmer and cool, twining with an uneasy sense of protection. Would Owen hurt her? Why?

“What are you doing out here?” Owen asked

Daphne didn't know how to answer him. She could say that she just wandered outside, but that wasn't the truth. Some feeling had led her outside. She's supposed the same draw that she had felt when they met in the corridor was the reason she was out here.

“I…. was looking for you.”

Owen swallowed. He knew then that she didn’t remember anything and it was all instinct. Again, he wondered if that instinct was enough to draw them together. His gaze drifted to the mating mark on her neck then back to where her hand rested on her stomach and turned back the way she came.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said. “I’ll escort you back.”

Whatever little time he could have with her, he would take it gratefully and not ask for more. They walked quietly back towards the doors that led outside.

“Owen,” Osborn called him. He turned to look at his father. “Come with me. We have preparations to make.”

He nodded and followed him, biding Daphne goodbye. They headed to John’s private manor and Owen’s stomach churned. There was only one reason they would head back there without John.

Osborn had some other plan for the peace talks.

Would Daphne survive it?