The Princess Protects Her Huntsman: A Nocturne Falls Universe Story

by Kira Nyte

  “Come in,” Rhy said, turning from the mirror and its reflection of her sorrowful appearance to greet her friends. Pandora’s brows came together over her nose, a look of dire concern etched into her eyes, as Rhy said, “Thank you for coming by.”

  “I hope you don’t mind. I asked Willa to come with me. She’s waiting in the living room with Hank and…Arrick.” Pandora sighed and crossed the room in a blink. She pulled Rhy into her arms and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but he begged me not to say anything.”

  “Before I get more bits and pieces of this, let’s go downstairs and start from the beginning.” She couldn’t stand any more excuses, lies, or skirting of the truth. Her heart couldn’t handle it. “I want to know everything.”

  Pandora straightened and nodded. “You will.”

  Rhy hung back long enough to gather the treasured Heart of Andallayne from its hiding spot, then joined the small group in the living room. Dalila had made up a tray with teacups, fresh steeped tea, and small cookies. Sheriff Merrow was drinking coffee from his thermos, his hard gaze barely lifting from Arrick. Rhy tried her hardest to ignore him sitting in a chair, arms still cuffed behind his back, an expression of exhaustion and regret rendering him vulnerable to every person present.

  Willa, one of the many fae in Nocturne Falls Rhy had taken an immediate liking to, rose from her seat on the sofa and greeted her with a gentle hug. Her blue eyes widened as she pulled back before lowering to Rhy’s waist. Rhy instantly realized Willa’s gifts with metals and stones made her sensitive to the Heart tucked in the pocket of her fresh pair of flannel pants.

  “It’s safe no longer,” Rhy murmured.

  “And neither are you,” Willa countered, her voice equally soft. She cast Arrick a shaded glance. “Neither is he.”

  Rhy kept her curiosity to herself. Why her friends were so quick to stand behind the very person who hunted her for the sorceress baffled her. It also gave her a small glimmer of hope. Hope she feared would soon be torn away.

  Sheriff Merrow nodded toward Arrick. “Pandora, I suppose you have a good reason I shouldn’t haul him down to the station. That is, according to my prisoner.”

  Pandora broke away from Rhy, Willa, and Dalila to take a seat on the sofa. She pulled a notebook from her oversized purse and laid it on the coffee table beside Dalila’s refreshment tray. Willa sat on one side of Pandora, Dalila on the other. The sheriff stepped up to the table, his lips tightening in a line.

  As hard as she tried, Rhy couldn’t resist looking at Arrick. The man she had grown to trust returned her gaze, silently beseeching. She quickly looked away, moved a chair closer to the coffee table, and took a seat.

  Pandora let out a long, low breath. “Arrick, you’re okay with me discussing this?”

  “He doesn’t have much of a choice at this point,” the sheriff said.

  Pandora’s eyes narrowed on the sheriff. “Really. Your fur’s in a fluff because you haven’t a clue what’s going on with a stray wolf in your territory.”

  “Pandora—”

  “You don’t scare me, Hank. Don’t make me have a long heart-to-heart with my dear friend Ivy.” Sheriff Merrow groused something into his thermos as he flooded any reasonable response with coffee. Pandora tapped the notebook. “Arrick?”

  “I want them to know everything,” Arrick confirmed. He turned those grief-stricken eyes to Rhy. “Everything.”

  Rhy ignored the heat that rose to her cheeks. Even in this state of confusion and heartache, her body responded to his every glance. Only a few hours ago, she felt complete with the realization Arrick was her spirit mate. Now, she suffered the burden of that gift beneath this veil of deceit.

  “Willa?” Pandora inquired as she opened the notebook. Willa dug out an amulet similar to the one that dangled around Arrick’s neck and handed it to the sheriff. “Hank, you can release him from the cuffs. I’ve placed temporary wards at each corner of the house. The magic infused in this new amulet should be enough to shield him from detection for a couple hours. He’s not your threat. He’s a conduit. Nothing more than a puppet.”

  Rhy noticed Arrick’s wince at the description.

  “I’m still considering making him dance on strings.” Sheriff Merrow unhooked a small ring of keys from his belt and popped open the cuffs. Arrick groaned, rolling out his shoulders and neck, then rubbing his reddened wrists. The sheriff held out the amulet. Arrick took it with a quiet thanks. “You’re still under arrest, Mr. Luvell.”

  “Caging him at the jail will only cause more problems.”

  Pandora flipped through a bunch of pages with different scribbles and scripts filling the lines. Some notes were messy, others more refined.

  “Arrick called me a few nights ago to help him with a curse. On him. We communicated here, in this notebook, because the sorceress who controls his wolf resides in his mind. It seems she has some sort of possession over him, so when he starts talking about the curse, the wolf, the sorceress, or anything that could give her away, she instantly steps in and shuts him up.” Pandora pushed the notebook closer to the sheriff. Rhy refrained from leaning forward to catch a glimpse of the notes. “The day I called you to the Gingerbread Inn, she had attacked him because he had begun to disclose this curse to me. He details the events on the fourth page of notes.”

  “I’m not buying that he can scribble down stories on a piece of paper and have no repercussions, but can’t speak these same stories without passing out,” the sheriff said, taking the notebook and flipping back to the first page. “Bridget mentioned you two met up at Howler’s.”

  “That was our first meeting about this. The first page in the notebook.”

  “Why isn’t he talking on his own behalf?” Dalila interrupted. Sheriff Merrow’s chin lifted, his gaze on Arrick. Rhy folded her hands in her lap and squeezed her fingers. As much as she trusted Pandora, she wondered the same thing.

  “I don’t trust any magic to keep her completely out of my head,” Arrick said, frowning. After a short moment, he regained some of his composure and turned his attention to the sheriff. “And you wouldn’t believe me.”

  Sheriff Merrow stared at him for a long moment before turning back to the notebook.

  Pandora continued. “The notebook worked because he would write intermittently, allowing his thoughts to scatter and not make much sense had the sorceress been eavesdropping in his head. I presume she can’t give his thoughts her full attention every moment of every day.”

  “I honestly wasn’t sure if it would work, but I needed help,” Arrick added. “It was the only thing I could think of that made any sense.”

  Rhy pressed her lips together and crossed her ankles. Her body tensed, fighting to keep the walls up against Arrick. Every time he spoke, his helplessness and resignation resonated in each word.

  “Go on.” The sheriff flipped to the second page.

  Pandora cast Rhy a lingering glance. “He was desperate for help. Something to protect him from the sorceress and protect Rhy from her as well. We went to see Willa. She and I created a magically forged amulet for him to wear. It wasn’t meant to be permanent. My witchy powers still get funky now and then, but with Willa’s help, we were successful.” Pandora pointed to the disfigured amulet resting beside a patch of deep red skin on Arrick’s chest. “Or so we thought.”

  Rhy remembered his skin smoldering under the amulet’s touch, and now understood why. With that understanding came a wave of dread. The sorceress’s power was exceptional. Far beyond her dear friends’ powers if she could cause the amulet to react against Arrick.

  A thread of guilt tugged at her conscience.

  “The amulet should have made him near impossible to trace, regardless of the sorceress’s pull on his mind.” Pandora sighed. “We created a second one yesterday to replace the one he’s wearing because I feared the magic was being used up faster than any of us realized.”

  “What drains the magic?” Dalila asked.

  “The time he spend
s with Rhy. He uses the magic to protect her from the sorceress by keeping himself undetected. Obviously, earlier tonight she was able to break through the power of the amulet and regain partial control of him.”

  “Did you completely transform into a wolf, Arrick?” Willa asked, scooting closer to the edge of the sofa.

  From the corner of her eyes, she caught Arrick turn to her. She brought herself to meet his gaze once more. A faint crease in his forehead and his parted lips proved his confusion.

  “No. He did not,” Rhy answered. “Parts of him, yes, but a full transformation didn’t occur. The magic held enough to keep him from a full transformation, but her grip on him is beyond our powers.”

  “Do you know who the sorceress is?” Sheriff Merrow asked.

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Mr. Luvell?”

  Arrick’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t have a name. I’ve always addressed her as the witch.” He rubbed the back of his neck when Pandora cleared her throat and straightened up on the sofa. “No offense.”

  “Is it possible he can’t recall his time as a wolf?” the sheriff continued. “As he claims?”

  Pandora nodded. “Yes, it’s entirely possible. I don’t understand curses much, and this sorceress is way out of my league, but I asked Alice Bishop to see if she might be able to lend me some advice. She helped reinforce that new amulet while she researches the identity of this sorceress. Without a name, a race, and a motivation, it’s hard to fight against her.”

  “The motivation is the Heart of Andallayne, as well as myself,” Rhy said. “We don’t know the why behind it.”

  Dalila’s eyes widened in silent warning as soon as Rhy mentioned the Heart. Some of the more up and up members of Nocturne Falls knew who she was and that she was running from a potentially devastating threat, but only Dalila knew she protected the Heart, and with it any chance for her race to survive.

  Well, Willa knew, too.

  “The Heart of Andallayne. I thought that was a legend,” Sheriff Merrow said, lowering the notebook to focus on Rhy. His eyes narrowed a fraction, not in an unfriendly manner, but one that warned her he was trying to piece together a puzzle with many missing parts.

  “As far as we know, it is,” Dalila said in a quick attempt to deflect him. She poured herself a cup of tea. “There’s no proof to say otherwise. As far as we know, the sorceress is chasing a children’s tale and placing many people in danger by doing so.” She tipped her cup toward Arrick before taking a dainty sip. “It seems Arrick is a casualty of a foolish dreamer.”

  “I’m not that easily swayed.” The sheriff lifted the notebook again and skimmed over the pages. “So, you can’t speak of the sorceress. You can’t tell anyone you’re a wolf. You can’t disclose any information regarding this hunt.” Sheriff Merrow closed the notebook and dropped it on the table with a sharp slap. Rhy jerked, her body coiled so tight anything could make her break. “What can you tell us?”

  “I want to be free of her. I’ll do anything to be free of her,” Arrick admitted.

  “Including bringing harm to Rhyannon?”

  Arrick shook his head. “I would rather die than harm her. I came here to track her, yes, but I that does not mean I want to hurt her. If I did, I would have done so the first time we met.”

  “Arrick doesn’t possess the capability of bringing harm to others without justifiable cause. I could tell that much about him the moment Pandora pulled him into my store the other day. If I were to take a guess, I believe the sorceress had her eyes on him for some time before she lured him and cursed him.” Willa reached for a cookie, exchanging glances with everyone in the room. “Never underestimate the power of one’s conscience. It can hide the worst from you to protect you from the very things you hate or fear. Although the sorceress may have a hand in Arrick’s inability to remember his time as a wolf, I believe it is his own conscience trying hard to preserve the true heart of the man.”

  “But his freedom from the sorceress rests on bringing Rhy to her,” the sheriff said. “If he wants to break free of her, then everything he needs is sitting in this very room.”

  “And they’ve been alone together plenty of times for him to have betrayed her.” Dalila rested her cup and saucer on the table. “I’m not going to try and make it sound like I completely understand what is going on, but it’s evident to me, and I believe to Willa and Pandora as well, that Arrick is desperate for help that does not include using Rhy. He cares about her too much.”

  “There are many people out there willing to harm those they love and cherish dearly for lesser things than freedom,” the sheriff growled, shifting from one foot to the other. “Here’s what I’m willing to do. I’ll bring you back to the inn and I’m going to station a guy on your tail. You will never be alone, and if you dare bring any threat to Rhyannon, or any of the members of this town, I will personally take care of you, my way. Rhy? Are you okay with this?”

  Rhy nodded once. “Yes.”

  “All right. It’s late and I’ve got reports to write. Pandora, I’ll be in touch with you tomorrow. Rhy and Dalila, I’ll station an officer outside for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, it’s been a quiet one so I can spare the hands. If anything happens, I expect a call immediately.”

  Sheriff Merrow snapped his fingers by Arrick’s head and motioned for him to get up. Arrick obeyed without hesitation. Rhy fractured inside at the sight of Arrick so submissive. “I’m going to meet up with the Ellinghams tomorrow to discuss this and see what they say. Hopefully Alice can shed more light on this situation by then.”

  “I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” Pandora said, climbing to her feet as well. Willa followed suit. “I think we should be going, too.”

  “Thank you for coming by on such short notice.” Rhy rose to her feet and accepted a hug from Pandora. The motion blocked her from Arrick as he walked by, the sheriff at his heels. Only when she sensed Arrick’s presence dwindle into the night did Pandora lean back, holding her gaze.

  “He really cares about you, Rhy. He’s trying to do everything to spend time with you while protecting you from her. He’s torn, but he’s not giving up. You’ve become worth the fight in his eyes. Give him another chance,” Pandora said quietly. Rhy forced a small grin as her eyes burned with tears. “When you’re ready.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What are friends for?”

  Dalila escorted Pandora and Willa from the house. Rhy picked the notebook up off the table and opened it to a page of writing. She read the notes in silence, blinking back tears. Her hands shook as she turned page after page, reading the pain in Arrick’s words.

  Finally, she closed the book and hugged it to her chest. She couldn’t bring herself to read another word, not after that last passage.

  She has given me new hope. A new reason to fight and a new reason to live. I want to give her the world. This world. Her world. Any world where she is safe. I want to protect her, and in the end, if that means sacrificing myself, then so be it. I’ll gladly give my life if I know that witch can’t harm her anymore.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The previous night brought danger and heartache. Tonight, with the sky clear, the light of a nearly full moon rippling through the atmosphere, and the whistling of the eerie nighttime wind through naked branches and dried brush, the ominous promise of the battles to come held their ground.

  Her patience paid off. Closing in on midnight, Dalila had finally fallen asleep. Rhy had taken notice of the patrol car cruising the street once every hour, never stopping, but keeping an eye on the house.

  An officer had driven by less than ten minutes ago, leaving Rhy in the clear to slink out of the house without questions and resistance. Tucked beneath the warm weight of her wool-lined cloak, hood pulled over her head, she kept to the shadows of the trees and houses, her steps light. A car would have been more efficient, but far more noticeable. She didn’t doubt for an instant that if Dalila realized what she was up to, she’d be shackled i
n her room indefinitely.

  The wind bit at the skin of her fingers. She rolled her hands in the edges of her cloak and pulled the warm item tighter. Head ducked against the brutal cold, she made quick time to the thick forest that led toward the outskirts of Nocturne Falls. Treading deeper into the haunting forest, she searched for any signs of energy lines in the earth, a thread that would lend her aid when she called upon her magic. She couldn’t risk her magic draining her of energy. Not so far from Dalila’s house and help and most certainly not while she carried the Heart.

  It took almost a half-hour, but at last a faded thrum of energy and magic reverberated along the soles of her feet through her soft slippers. She followed the vein of energy deeper into the forest. Every few feet, the vein pulsed with stronger magic. Soon, the gentle, soothing sound of water cascading over rock touched her ears and she realized the source of the energy. The magical waterfalls Nocturne Falls was named for.

  Rhy drew closer to the falls until the energy of its magic curled up through her legs and body, leaving her skin humming with power from the earth.

  “Woodland Goddess, I call upon your assistance. With the revered Queen of Andallayne’s spirit, I ask for your guidance,” Rhy murmured, absorbing the rush of power. The Goddess’s presence wrapped her in warmth and security. Closing her eyes, lifting her arms from her sides, she added, “Create a veil to Andallayne for me to pass through. I must return to my home on this night.”

  The air around her thickened and thrummed. Tendrils of cold and warm air caressed her cheeks and her hands. She kept her eyes closed, focusing on the energy siphoned from her as the air grew dense and hard to breathe.