Chapter 15

Ember

Prince Kaine opens his mouth as if to speak but is interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. I use the opportunity to quickly step out of the prince’s embrace, using the last of my strength to pull away. The prince hesitates for a moment but finally strides to the door to see who has knocked.

I hear my sister’s voice echo from the hallway. “Kaine are you alright? I know Ember’s the mole.”

I quickly catch my breath as the distance between me and the prince allows my head to clear.

Bianca continues from the hallway, “I knew she wasn’t fit to be your personal guard. She must have gotten overwhelmed and wrapped up in the heat of the moment. I hope you won’t treat her too harshly she is my sister after all and well, how could you expect her to think critically in such a serious role?”

I can’t help but cringe Bianca’s words as she rambles. Who does she think she is to confess on by behalf or profess to know how I would be feeling about my position. She has spent our entire lives ostracizing me, she has no idea how I feel.

Heat rises to my face, but I do my best to remain calm. Her interruption is a good thing. Without her Prince Kaine would have discovered that I am his mate.

I take a deep breath, the noise capturing Bianca’s attention for a moment. Her eyes go wide as she spots me and her face turns a shade of red that I am sure matches my own quite closely. She looks nearly ready to fight me when Prince Kaine speaks.

“Ember is not the mole. In fact, she’s here because she has just apprehended him,” he says gesturing to the guard’s still unconscious body forgotten on the floor.

I watch Bianca still as her hasty declarations about my actions are disproven. I can practically see the gears turning in her perfect head before she covers her face and lets out a sob, allowing her body to sag into Prince Kaine’s.

The prince goes still but makes no attempt to move away as Bianca continues to cry. “Oh Kaine, I am so worried about Ember,” she says weeping into his chest, my continued presence in the room ignored.

“It is too dangerous in the guard for a young woman, all my family wants is for her to be safe, for her to come home,” she continues.

Prince Kaine regards her for a moment before grabbing her by the shoulders gently prying her off his chest. “The danger was my fault. I should have been more aware. My failure to properly supervise those under my control enabled the threat to continue.”

Bianca looks at him skeptically, but allows him to continue, “Despite my failings, Ember has done a wonderful job in her role as a guard, all things considered. The mole has been apprehended.”

I can’t help the warm feeling that spreads throughout my body at his words. Being a guard was all I had wanted since I was a child, sneaking peeks into the boy’s school. Praise from the crown prince, an extraordinarily accomplished military leader in his own right, was an honor.

I look at Bianca, a nagging feeling interrupting my surge of pride. Why is she suddenly so concerned with my wellbeing. Sure, my family has never approved of my ambitions, but that is only because they are afraid that I will embarrass the family.

Bianca has lived most of her life entirely indifferent to me apart from worrying about how my actions will affect her reputation. This sudden concern is confusing. I clear my throat, reminding the pair that they are speaking to someone still in the room.

As they turn to face me, I nod at the pair and hurry quickly out of the room, grateful to be able to make my mistake. Prince Kaine was too close to discovering my identity.

Kaine

Bianca seems to relax a little as Ember rushes out the door without speaking. She smiles as she gently places a hand on my arm, looking at me earnestly. “Kaine, I think that in light of everything that has happened we should move our engagement forward.”

I pause, considering her words as she continues. “The rumors are getting more out of hand. Announcing our engagement will put many of them to rest.”

I know that she’s right. Even with the capture of the mole, the rumors have already spread far enough to cause serious damage to my reputation. Annoucning our engagement to the rest of the kingdom would quell many of the rumors swirling around.

Logically what she says makes perfect sense, but I can’t help but hesitate. Bianca isn’t as innocent as she seems. I’ve noticed the backhanded way that she speaks about Ember.

The relationship between the two sisters shouldn’t be my concern, but I can’t help but feel uneasy about some of the things Bianca says. I was just as quick to believe that Ember was the mole, I have no room to judge Bianca in that regard, but something about the look in her eye at the mention of Ember’s name doesn’t feel right.

Something about Ember feels familiar, like I know her from somewhere. If Bianca hadn’t shown up when she had, I might have thought the mate bond I had felt had been coming from Ember. Still, Bianca is my mate and I take that seriously.

I suppress a sigh as I look in Bianca’s eyes. “I understand your point but moving the engagement forward is also not without risks. I need to consult with my beta before we make any decisions about the engagement.”

I dismiss Bianca and dress quickly before summoning two guards to deal with the still unconscious mole and then to flag down Jake.

He arrives a few minutes later, and I quickly explain everything that happened with Ember and the mole as well as my conversation with Bianca.

“I think Bianca’s right, moving up the engagement is definitely the right move. I can even take over all the boring banquet planning to help you out.”

I consider his words as he continues, “I’m really happy for you, man. You’ve been in a much better state since Bianca moved into the palace.”

I nod, knowing that Jake and Bianca are right, moving up the engagement is the best course of action. “You’re right, the engagement needs to move forward, but Bianca needs to begin her Luna training right away. In the event of an emergency, she needs to be prepared.”

Ember

I am greeted by a myriad of shocked faces as I resume training the next morning. The majority of the members in the guard had believed the accusations against me and had a hard time believing that the mole was actually a trusted subordinate of the captain.

As I get settled, I keep my head held high. I did nothing wrong. I begin to stretch when my eye is drawn to activity off to my right. It would appear that the mole’s replacement has arrived.

I stand and crane my neck for a better look when I realize that the new officer assigned to my unit is no other than my former mate, Robert. Robert and I had been good friends once, a long time ago. When we mated, I had actually been rather hopeful that everything could work out, but he ultimately rejected me for Bianca.

I sigh, thinking about the encounter I had with my other former mate Daniel. Will this be an issue? I glance back up at Robert feeling nothing but indifference as I realize how little he matters to me now.

He hurt me in the past. He doesn’t get to take up anymore of my emotional energy. He’s taking over all the responsibilities the mole had so I’ll have to deal with him, but I won’t give him any more energy than necessary.

The rest of training goes by uneventfully, and then I reluctantly report to Robert for my assignments. He smirks at me as I approach and as he gives me my duties I stare. I have been assigned significantly less work than the standard.

I look at my former mate. “What the hell is this, Robert?”

“I changed your workload to adjust for your physical capabilities,” he says looking at me with condescension. “A female guard just can’t handle the same workload as the men.”

Anger courses through my veins and Nara snarls, the accusation of weakness bringing her close to the surface. My face heats and I barely register my actions as I move. Robert’s left leg had always been a weak spot due to a childhood injury and I move to grab his right arm, yanking it to exploit his injury and throw him off balance.

I quickly take that same arm and twist it behind him, effectively pinning him. “Still think I’m weaker than you?” I snap. “Your judgement is as poor as ever. Clearly the crown prince is much better than you.”

I take a deep breath, pushing away from Robert and beginning to walk away as my pulse calms. As I turn, I find myself staring at none other than the crown prince himself.

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you using my name to bully people now?”