Chapter 31

Raven

The large, heavy wooden doors of the throne room groaned open, their sound echoing off the vaulted stone ceilings as Neil led me inside. My pulse quickened inside of me at the sight of his two brothers standing by the throne, with the King seated between them.

The King’s piercing eyes locked onto me as soon as I entered the room. Not on Neil—on me.

Something was wrong.

My steps slowed a little. Had they figured everything out? Had they discovered that I wasn’t Lycan, that I was a Werewolf in disguise? Maybe they had found out that we had buried the pilot’s body. Maybe they knew everything.

Despite my best efforts to remain calm, my hands trembled at my sides, so much so that I had to clasp them behind my back to keep my fear from showing. Beside me, Neil was surprisingly steady, although I could sense his own wariness through our mate bond.

“You summoned us, Father?” Neil asked, stopping and dropping to one knee a few paces away from the throne. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to kneel as well, but a quick tug through the bond from Neil was all the answer I needed. I knelt beside him, keeping my head bowed.

“Rise,” the King said, gesturing with one hand. We both stood again. I swallowed hard, warily glancing at the armed guards lining the throne room.

The King’s gaze slid to Neil, lingering for a moment before drifting back to me. I felt like I was on display under a microscope, a feeling that was only made worse by Caleb and Edrick’s eyes on me.

Finally, the King rose from his throne and stepped down from the dais.

A chill swept through me, and I braced myself, my body tensing. Neil’s hand brushed against the small of my back, a fleeting touch. I couldn’t tell if it was meant to ground me or control me. Maybe both.

After a few painstaking moments, the King stopped in front of me. I felt like I might be sick.

“Serena,” he said, his voice low, “I have some terrible news.”

Serena. He’d used my fake name. Which only meant one thing: he didn’t know that I wasn’t Neil’s true fiancée… yet. Or so it seemed.

“I’ve just received word,” the King continued, “that your caravan has been attacked by rogues.”

Suddenly, it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

Serena’s caravan... “Attacked?” I croaked.

The King nodded.

“What?” Neil’s hand tightened ever so slightly on my back. “Are there... any survivors?”

The King’s face remained impassive as he shook his head. “I’m afraid not. All were killed.”

The words sent a fresh wave of guilty relief crashing through me. They didn’t know that I was an imposter. I was safe for now—but at the same time, people had died. Whether the real Serena’s body was among them, I didn’t know. If they thought that she was here, alive, then maybe that meant that her body wasn’t accounted for.

Which could only mean that she had either escaped or been taken during the attack.

“I’m so sorry, my love,” Neil murmured, suddenly pulling me closer to him. Before I could react, he was curling himself around me, his arms wrapping tightly around my body.

But he wasn’t comforting me. He was hiding me.

Hiding the fact that I wasn’t absolutely devastated.

Neil’s eyes flashed at me from amongst our tangle of limbs, and I knew what I needed to do. I hated myself for doing this, but I choked out a fake sob, and then another.

“No,” I breathed, clapping my hands over my face and shaking my head, gnashing my teeth and rocking back and forth on my heels. “My friends… my family… It can’t be…”

Neil held me while I pretended to cry, shielding me from view. His arms remained tightly wrapped around me, an unexpected warmth to his touch. But I didn’t deserve even that mercy. The real Serena should have been in my place. I was a liar, and I was using her misfortune to my advantage.

Finally, once I’d rubbed my eyes enough to produce some believable tears and redness, Neil released me. I kept my head bowed enough to avoid making eye contact with the King or anyone else, just to be safe.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I choked out, throwing in a sniffle for good measure. “But I think I need to lay down and… process all of this.”

The King’s expression seemed to soften, just slightly, but it was enough to send a ripple of relief through me. He bought my act. For now, at least.

As for Caleb and Edrick…

Well, I wasn’t so sure. But I didn’t look at them for long enough to find out.

“Of course,” the King said, clearing his throat. “These are difficult times. If there is anything we can do to ease your burden, you need only ask.”

I nodded, keeping my gaze cast toward the floor. Neil tightened his hold on my waist once again and dipped his head toward his father. “I’ll escort her back to her room,” he said before abruptly turning with me.

My back was stiff as a board the entire walk down the throne room. I didn’t dare to lift my head, hardly even dared to breathe as Neil led me away.

Only once we were safely outside, the large wooden doors shut firmly behind us, did I dare to let out the breath I’d been holding. But I kept silent until Neil had whisked me away, down some secluded corridor and out of earshot.

For the first time, I caught a glimpse of his face—pale, drawn, and more haunted than I had ever seen it. His fiancée, the woman he was supposed to marry, might have been dead for all we knew. He said that it was just a political alliance, but the pain on his face was obvious.

I couldn’t imagine what that must feel like, even if a big part of me was still furious with him for the awful things he had said to me in the hot springs.

Before I could stop myself, I reached out, my bandaged hand resting lightly on his arm. “Neil, I…” The words caught in my throat, and I shook my head, unsure of what I was even trying to say. “I’m sorry.”

For a long moment, he simply stared at me, his eyes dark and searching. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but whatever it was, he didn’t seem to find it.

Finally, all he said was, “Return to your room and stay there. The others will keep you safe.”

And then, without another word, he turned and strode down the hallway, his black cloak billowing behind him like an inky shadow.

I watched him disappear around the corner, leaving me standing there. He didn’t need to tell me where he was going for me to know he was going to look for Serena.

If her body wasn’t amongst the others, then she may have been in need of help. Rogues may have taken her, or she may have been wandering the forest, injured.

Either that, or her body had gotten so mangled during the attack that no one recognized her.

Regardless, I wasn’t going to stand in the way of Neil finding out for himself.

Heaving a shaky sigh, I made my way back to my room, where Castor was posted outside. I slipped past him without a word and locked my door, just wanting to be alone. I was disgusted with myself for that little display in the throne room.

In the courtyard below, I could hear Neil’s voice. I crossed to the window, only to see him mounting a large black horse by the stables. Eric and Ember were with him, but they weren’t mounted—and Eric looked fit to be tied.

I watched as Eric and Neil seemed to argue—no doubt over wherever Neil was going—before Neil shook his head, kicked his horse, and took off through the gates on his own. Eric gestured wildly in his wake, shouting something about ‘reckless bastards’, before turning and storming off.

I continued watching Neil until his horse was a black speck on the horizon. He didn’t stop riding at breakneck speeds until he was out of view, and even then, I had no doubt that he didn’t stop.

And he didn’t return all night, either.