I took Ville’s hand, twining my fingers in his, and turned
back to Logan. “But what are you doing here Logan?”
He glanced at our linked hands and frowned. “You just
disappeared. You father said he had no idea where you were. He said you chose
to leave.” He shook his head. “Winona said that you’d done something to
disgrace your family- that you were a traitor.” He threw his hands up and
paced in agitation. “I looked all over for you, but I couldn’t find you
anywhere. You’re so loyal; I knew Winona had to be lying. But it’s just not
like you to run. I knew they must have done something to you. You wouldn’t
just leave. So I’ve been tracking you…”
“Oh, Logan.” My eyes watered and my throat constricted.
When I had left my world behind, I assumed that no one would miss me. It was a
surprise to hear that I mattered to someone. He took my other hand and drew me
away from Ville.
Leaning close, he pitched his voice low. “Wren, what
happened? Is this to do with the battle? Did this monster do something to
you- is he keeping you here?”
I glared at him. “Of course not!”
I tried to pull away, but Logan still held my hand. “Come
back home, Wren.”
Ville paced forward, his wings spread and his power gave a
little surge. “Let go of her.”
Logan refused to let go. Instead, he thrust me behind him
and squared off with Ville. “What have you done to her? Are you controlling
her mind somehow? Release her and let her come home.”
Ville towered over Logan. He took a deep breath, as if he
were praying for patience. I thought he was having trouble controlling his
energy. “She just told you she wants to be here. Are you deaf?”
I thought Logan just might shift. His warm power rippled
around him like a second skin. “Don’t you touch her with those filthy hands!”
Fed up with his stubbornness, I jerked my hand from his
and kicked him in the back of the knee- not hard, just enough to distract him
so that I could insert myself in between the two angry men. I couldn’t resist
smacking him on the back of the head in passing. Filthy?
“Logan, there is no home for me to go back to. I left the
village on my own, and I am here because I want to be.” I turned my back on
him and walked toward Ville.
“Wren, wait.” Logan’s voice was strained, pleading. “I
promised I’d look after you. How will I do that when you’re here?” He
clenched his fists and turned to Ville. “Please, give me back my sister.”
I wouldn’t have given it another thought- pack mates often
call themselves brother or sister, even when there is no actual blood between
them- but Ville tilted his head and examined us with dawning understanding, his
sharp eyes darting back and forth.
I turned and looked at Logan as if I had never seen him
before. His hair was thick like mine, but brown, with only the slightest
reddish tone when he was in the full sun. He was only a few inches taller than
I was, but far sturdier. The similarities weren’t blatantly obvious- I took
after my father for the most part, and I would guess he took after his- but
there was something familiar in the way he carried himself, the defiant tilt of
his head, and the determined set of his shoulders. “Son of a bitch,” I
muttered to myself. Then more loudly. “God damn it, not you too Logan!” Had
everyone I’d known done nothing but lie to me all my life?
He held up his hands in self-defense. “I couldn’t tell
you Wren. Mom made me swear that I wouldn’t. She said it was better for you
if you thought the queen was your mother- that you would grow up as a
princess.”
I glared. “How long have you known?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, and answered reluctantly.
“Since I was about twelve. Remember when I came to work for your family? I’d
just found out about you, and I begged mom to let me meet you. She knew that
I’d find a way, so she made sure I was apprenticed, and I promised her I’d look
after you and not let on that we were related.”
I took a deep breath, trying to re-align my thinking.
“All those times you tried to get me to go home to visit your mother…”
He grinned. “It wasn’t my place to tell you, but I
thought someone should. If you met her, Wren, you would’ve known immediately.
You’re so much alike.”
Ville had been quiet through all of this. “The queen wasn’t
your mother?” His deep voice was soft, but I could tell this was important to
him. I probably should have told him sooner. I just hadn’t thought the class
difference would mean anything to him.
I shook my head. “When we argued- right before I left-
they told me. I was a mistake. My father had a fling with one of the servants
after the queen was murdered.” I felt myself flush. “He only kept me so that
I could serve Winona. Once I failed at that, there was no reason to keep me
around anymore.”
He slipped an arm around me, and dropped a glancing kiss
on the top of my head. “You are wanted,” he said, as if we were alone, reading
my unvoiced emotions with unsettling ease.
Logan growled. “Wren, are you….” he turned a mottled
red. “Are you sleeping with this monster?”
I stared at him in shock. I would have ripped him a new
one, but Ville’s wings extended with a snap and he bared his wicked fangs.
“You will speak to her with respect!”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “I respect her just fine- it’s
you I have a problem with.” He gestured at us, as I stood in the shelter of
Ville’s arms. “This…Gods, it’s just not natural.” His eyes widened as he finally
caught up. “Is this why you were sent away?” He looked sick.
I straightened and bared my teeth at him. “Go home,” I
said tightly, “while you can still walk out on your own two legs. If you say
one more word you’ll crawl out!”
He compressed his lips. “Wren, you can’t stay here
forever. Come with me. I know you won’t go back to your father- not after how
he’s treated you all these years- but you can come home with me. Mom would be
so happy to have you with us.” Ville’s arm around me tightened possessively,
but he didn’t speak.
I couldn’t even imagine the life he was offering me; a
brother who loved me enough to stay by my side for years looking out for me; a
mother. I closed my eyes. “I can’t go with you Logan,” I said softly. “I
don’t belong among our kind, whether it’s with you or father and Winona.”
I slipped from Ville’s grasp and made my way back up the
path toward the house. “Thank you for looking for me Logan,” I said sadly.
“You have no idea how much that means to me. But … I just can’t.”
I watched as Ville and Logan exchanged parting words just
out of earshot. No one ended up bleeding, and Logan scrambled over the wall to
safety. Sighing, I sank down onto a garden bench and stared at a cluster of
black-eyed Susans. Ville joined me, and I scooted over to make room.
“Are you sure you’ve made the right decision?” His deep
voice was reluctant, as if he really didn’t want to question my desire to stay.
“Logan’s right,” I said sadly. “I can’t stay here
forever. I’ve gotten comfortable with you and Ibbe and Marshall…but I need to
stop daydreaming and figure out what to do with myself.” I shrugged. “I can’t
go back to live among my own people- not knowing what I do.” Knowing that the
monsters they fought were actually kind, and honorable. That it was all built
on lies and racist stereotypes.
His big hand took mine, his thumb stroking the back of my
hand. “You will always have a place here, Wren. You know that.”
I shook my head. “And you know all the reasons why that
won’t work.”
He took me in his arms, desperately, pulling me across his
lap as he silenced me with his lips. He knew my body was more honest than my
words. I ran my fingers through his hair as he plundered my mouth, demanding,
seeking reassurance. I answered him with all my being, knowing it was a lie,
but unable to stop. He pulled back, his sharp teeth grazing my lower lip.
“Gods, Wren, I want to taste you.” His breath was hot on
my throat, his warm lips sending chills down my spine as they brushed my skin.
I pulled away. “No,” I don’t know how I managed to say
it, but I did. The last thing I needed was to risk making this bond between us
any stronger. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine.
“You’re right, of course,” he breathed. “I’m acting like
a selfish child, wanting to keep you by my side no matter what.” He lifted his
head and brought my hand to his lips. “I’m sorry for not thinking about your
feelings.”
I made to leave his lap, but he hugged me close, enfolding
me with his arms and his wings. I felt like I was in a cocoon, completely
sheltered from the world. The sensation was so new- I’d never felt protected
and loved until I met him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my
face to his shoulder. Why did everything always have to be so difficult?
“Soon,” I whispered. “I have to leave soon, or I never will.”
I stood and smoothed out my rumpled out my clothes. His
eyes were sharp and clear. “If this is really what you want, I won’t stop
you.” His lean jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth.
I nodded. It wasn’t what I wanted- not at all- but by
staying here, I would ruin his life.
“I’ll have Ibbe help me pack.”
V
ille
paced down the garden path, his bare feet a whisper through the long grasses
and fallen leaves. He breathed deep, the scent of growing things reminding him
of his mother. He sank down onto the stone lip of a small ornamental pool, and
gazed at his blurry reflection with a sort of tired disappointment. He could almost
imagine that it was Henrik who stared back at him. The last time Ville had
seen him, his older brother had looked a lot like Ville did now. If Henrik
could speak to him from the other side, it would be helpful.
He sighed. Letting his guard down enough to be attacked
was idiotic. His father was right- Ville was too soft to be king- too kind,
too trusting. He should have planned for this. What if the poison meant for
him had been fatal? What if it had ended up in the wrong glass, killing
Marshall or Ibbe…or Wren?
An aching loneliness settled over him, draping him in
fatigue. Wren. Another idiotic thing, opening his heart to her. His mother,
his brother, his father- one by one, he had lost every member of his immediate
family to this war. The Shifters had killed them all. The sick thing was he
didn’t blame Wren. He couldn’t hate her because of what she was- didn’t even
consider her one of them… the enemies. But he had to admit to himself that her
presence in his life was just one more sign of weakness.
There were soft footsteps on the path, and he looked up to
see Marshall standing before him, regarding his leader with a mixture of worry
and amusement warring on his face. A small wrinkle appeared between his eyes-
it looked like worry was winning out. “General Olander is looking for you,” he
said with a raised eyebrow.
Ville shrugged and dashed a hand across the water, erasing
his reflection. Tweedle-dum. “Let him look.”
Marshall fanned his wings in agitation. “You’ve been
pulling your punches. Those two are a pain in the ass, but they’re not blind.”
Ville turned to face his friend, leaning back against a
big rock. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The older man was not amused. “I’m not stupid, Ville,” he
said running his hand thorough his hair. “You haven’t been ordering any
attacks lately. When the soldiers are called on, it’s always for defensive
action. We hold our territory, but nothing more.”
Ville stood and began pacing over the rough stone path.
“That’s good, isn’t it? Less fighting?”
Marshall crossed his arms and regarded his friend from
under his brows. “It only prolongs the inevitable. We will continue to fight
until one side wins. I would like that to be our side, Ville. I think most of
the people you rule would prefer that as well.” He narrowed his hazel eyes.
“And I’ve heard talk among the generals. You’ve always been known for your
reckless insistence to fight in the front lines alongside your men. But now
you hang back. You rarely ever take the field, and when you do there is
nothing of your former heat.” He threw up his hands. “The soldiers are losing
faith in you. Are you willing to sacrifice your kingdom for a woman- a Shifter?”
He didn’t sound as condemning as he should. His eyes were searching.
Ville’s wings snapped open. “What am I supposed to do?”
he said furiously, “I’ve already torn her from her family. Should I take Wren,
hold her in my arms… make love to her- while I slaughter her people? It’s bad
enough that I give the orders. My hands are stained with enough of their
blood. If I shed anymore I’ll drown in it.” His chest was heavy and his
shoulders ached. “What am I supposed to do?” he whispered.
Marshall shook his head, his eyes full of compassion. “I
only worry about you,” he said finally. “Because you’re so sensitive. You’re such
a baby.” Ville snorted and he continued. “Seriously, your conscience is both your
greatest strength, and your greatest downfall. Your father knew that- he just
didn’t know how to express it.”
Ville flattened his wings, all the fight gone out of him.
“I wish I had no conscience,” he said bitterly. “All it does is leave me so
confused that I can’t act; I’m useless.”
Marshall shook his head. “For years we had an emperor who
could take strong, ruthless, and decisive actions when they were needed. Your
father never hesitated to shed blood for the sake of winning. And where did it
lead? The war is no closer to ending because of his efforts. Maybe we need
someone with a conscience.”
Wren entered the garden. He could sense her even before
he heard her footsteps through the leaves. With the memory of his words fresh
in his mind, he didn’t have the heart to face her. Turning, he slipped back
into his room through the open shutters and disappeared.