by Elin Peer
“Tristan grew up in the Motherlands until he was fifteen.”
“Ahh.” Leo nodded. “That explains it.”
“He’s a… nice guy.” I pushed the words out as if they were covered with thorns that made my throat bleed. It would be so easy to hate the man that had taken my place in Willow’s life, and part of me did hate Tristan.
I looked away, putting on my stone face to hide the emotions that made everything hurt inside me.
Leo patted my shoulder. “For you to say that must be proof that you’re over her.”
“Uh-huh. It’s been seven years and she’s no longer the person I knew.”
“Keep an eye on Salma, I’ll check up on Willow’s brother.”
I looked over to see Tristan entertaining Salma now that Willow was getting ready to go on stage. The songbird no longer looked scared but was listening with her full attention, nodding and smiling at times. It pained me how easy it was for him to make people feel at ease.
I stepped back, making room for the choir to exit the stage and looked on as the darkness descended for Willow’s entrance. As I did yesterday, I watched every part of Willow’s dramatic dance. She was outstanding and seven years ago I would have told her so.
Again tonight, the audience went crazy, stamping their feet and whistling with excitement. Willow took a quick bow and ran to the side where Hunter stood with Zasquash. Hidden from the audience but visible to me, the three of them laughed together and Hunter picked her up in a fierce hug.
The dark-haired musician who had been chatting with Hunter and Zasquash gave them a warm smile before she walked on stage with the rest of her ensemble.
Hunter, Zasquash, and Willow stayed to watch, and Tristan and Salma joined them.
On my side of the stage, I stood alone in the shadows, my mood dark from the sight of my best friend, Zas, grinning with Hunter, who had once been like a brother to me. And Tristan, another former friend, hugging the woman I had once thought of as my mate. There were more than a thousand people in my near proximity, but I’d never felt as lonely as I did in that moment.
You don’t need any of them. You’re strong!
My face fell into the impassive mask I’d learned to put on to hide my true feelings. If anyone saw me they would think I was just having another day at the job. I was Solomon, named after one of the most powerful, wise, and wealthy kings the world had ever seen. I wouldn’t be crushed by jealousy. So what if the people I loved all left me? I didn’t need them anyway.
Leo came back and stood next to me. “Hunter is calm for now.”
“Good.”
“How are you holding up?”
“What do you mean?” Anger rose in me. The last thing I needed was his fucking pity.
“Aren’t you tired? You didn’t sleep last night.”
I was fucking exhausted but I just shrugged.
Leo patted my shoulder. “Zas and I are taking the shift tonight. You need eight hours straight.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re spread out in two different hunting cabins tonight. Salma, Willow, and the orchestra will be in our cabin. The choir and the technicians are going to a different cabin. It’s twenty minutes outside of town but I’m told it has plenty of rooms so hopefully you can get your own bed.”
“I don’t care. I can sleep in the drone if I have to. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“You’re not sleeping in the fucking drone,” Leo said and rolled his eyes.
Little did he know that two and a half hours later, I would be going to sleep in the drone. The seats could be adjusted to a lying position and even though it wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, it was much better than sleeping inside the cabin where the after party was taking place.
The cabin was massive with twelve decent-sized rooms, some of them accommodating up to four beds.
Tristan and Hunter had joined the performers and no one seemed in a hurry to get to bed except me, since I couldn’t wait for this nightmarish day to end.
Zasquash was in heaven with all the Motlander women and his idol, Hunter. He was entertaining them with stories and asking Hunter about all the other celebrity sports stars he knew.
Tristan was on fire and cracking jokes, and when I passed them with a pillow and blanket under my arm they were laughing and no one seemed to notice me except for Willow, who gave me a cold stare and turned to cuddle up on Tristan’s lap.
They were a collective, I was a singularity.
Two of the people in the cabin hated me, and I was pretty sure Hunter was on board with his sister in wishing I was dead.
Inside the drone, I lay down and pulled a blanket over me. The night was cool and still someone had opened a few windows in the cabin, letting the sound of an acoustic guitar travel my way. A female began singing; I recognized Salma’s clear voice. They were having a good time while I was out here, alone again. It brought back memories from my first year with the Huntsmen when they had treated me like a pariah. It had been the loneliest years of my life because not only had I lost Willow but I’d lost Hunter and my other friends too.
None of the soldiers had patience for a youngster in grief. They all believed I should have been executed for what I’d done and deep down I agreed. They despised me and there were times where death would have been the kinder option to the constant hazing that I suffered through. And yet, what had carried me through all the physical pain and loneliness were my memories of Willow’s love for me. Our promises to each other that I’d repeated thousands of times in my mind. My hand slit up to the tattoo on my underarm. The straw of grass symbolized the day we spoke our wedding wows and I put a ring of grass on her finger. Willow might have forgotten all about it, but I never would.
For a few minutes my mind taunted me with images of how wonderful it would be if things were different if instead of being unwanted, I was part of the fun in that cabin. I imagined Willow cuddled up in my lap, her head resting against the crook of my neck and my arms wrapped around her with a big fat smile on my face. If Khan hadn’t changed the age of brides from eighteen to twenty-one, maybe we wouldn’t have run away. What then? How would our lives be different? Would Willow and I have been married now? Would Hunter and Tristan still be my friends? I allowed myself a few happy moments thinking about an alternate reality where things had gone my way, before my imaginary bubble of paradise burst and I was back to being alone in the drone. With a deep sadness in my chest, I tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. I wanted to fall asleep so badly and escape the questions in my mind. Like where would Tristan sleep tonight and did Willow love him more than she had loved me?
CHAPTER 16
Where Is Solomon?
Willow
“Good morning.”
The sound of someone moving around in the room made me yawn and squeeze an eye open. “Good morning.”
Tristan stood by the window looking out. “It’s a beautiful day. We should go on a hike or something.”
“Did you sleep well?” I asked him.
“Yeah, you?”
Stretching my arms, I sat up. “I had some weird dreams. You and Hunter were dancing with me on stage.”
Tristan turned. “Were we any good?”
I laughed. “You were better than me, and I couldn’t understand how that had happened.”
“Hidden talents.” Tristan grinned and walked over to sit on the foot of the bed. “Dancing is easy. Any child can do it.”
I shoved at him and he grinned. “What? Did you think what you’re doing on that stage is special?”
“Why don’t you try it and let me know?”
“I’m a drone designer. We can do anything.”
“Then how about you do a split, right here, right now?”
He smiled. “I would, but the room is too small and I care about my testicles a little too much.”
Pointing my finger at him, I laughed. “Did you just admit that you can’t do it?”
Tristan nodded. “I might have exaggerated my talen
t for dancing, but I meant what I said last night, you know.”
I pulled my legs up in front of me and ran a hand through my unruly morning hair. “So did I. You’re a wonderful friend, Tristan, but I’m not attracted to you that way.”
“That sucks.” He looked down.
“If you don’t want to be my cover with Solomon, I understand.”
Tristan shook his head and placed his hand on top of mine. “As long as you want me to, I’ll proudly be your cover.”
“Would you stick around a little longer then?”
“Sure.”
“Great.”
Crawling out of bed, I walked out of the door and looked down over the railing to the large common area on the ground floor. Six of the rooms were located up here on the second floor and most of the doors were still closed.
“Ah, it smells nice,” I looked back at Tristan, who was still inside the room where we had slept. “There’s a cook preparing breakfast for us.”
“I know, I smell fresh bread.” Tristan smiled.
“Did you already shower?”
“Uh-huh. There’s a nice bathroom at the end of the hall. I’d hurry before the others wake up and there’s a line.”
“It’s okay, my stomach is growling. I’m going to eat first.”
Half an hour later I was full from feasting on fruit and warm bread. Hunter emerged with a drowsy yawn from a room downstairs with his hair all tangled.
“Shit you’re ugly in the morning,” Zasquash teased him and pointed to the nearest bathroom. “Go scrub up so you can look like the polished star we all know.”
Hunter lifted his hand in a slow movement and flipped a finger at Zasquash.
“Is that a morning greeting?” Salma, who was sitting next to me, asked. Motlanders didn’t flip fingers and I’d only learned its meaning when I moved here.
“Yup.” Tristan smiled at her. “It’s a quick way of saying I wish you a lovely day.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Salma sipped on her tea and spoke about how fun last night had been. “I like these cabins. I didn’t think I’d enjoy being mixed in with so many new people, but I can’t remember laughing so much, ever.”
“Yeah, Tristan has that effect on people,” I commented.
Zasquash raised his head, his mouth stuffed with bread and cheese. “Don’t give him all the credit. I made Salma laugh too.”
“You sure did,” she agreed and turned in her chair when Ben came down to join us at breakfast.
“Ben, look at what I just learned.” Salma lifted her middle finger with a warm smile. “It’s a local way of wishing you a lovely day.”
“Oh.” Ben returned the finger and smiled. “Well, same to you, darling.”
“What else can you teach us?” she asked Tristan, who kept his face a mask.
“Well, we Nmen can be a bit weird.”
“But I thought you were from the Motherlands. Willow said you were born there.”
“I am. It’s just that I’ve lived in the Northlands for so long that I see myself as a Northlander. But I guess I’m both. Anyway, we kind of get all mushy inside when someone compliments our ears.”
Salma blinked. “Your ears?”
“Yeah… we even have ear contests to determine who has the nicest ears. It’s a huge thing here. Ears and noses too.”
Salma and Ben exchanged a glance as he sat down at our table with a plate of food from the counter and a cup of coffee. “I never paid much attention to people’s ears.”
Tristan was messing with them and although it was innocent fun, I elbowed him in a warning that Tristan ignored.
“What do you say, Zasquash? Wouldn’t you get all mushy inside if a woman told you that you have nice ears?”
Zasquash raised his coffee and swallowed a laugh. “For sure.”
“But they are hard to see when your hair is down like that,” Salma pointed out to Zasquash, who resolutely sat down his cup and pulled his hair back.
“What do you think?”
“They are very nice,” Ben and Salma both agreed, being polite Motlanders.
“You have pretty ears too, Willow,” Ben complimented me. “Especially when you have your hair up in a bun like that.”
“Thank you.”
Leo came in from the outside and approached Zasquash. “Have you seen Solo?”
My spine straightened.
Zasquash frowned. “He’s sleeping in one of the rooms, isn’t he?”
“No. Everyone is up by now and I can’t find him.” Leo looked at his wristband. “It’s close to eight. Solo wouldn’t sleep nine hours.”
I cleared my throat. “He walked outside last night with a blanket.”
“What time?” Leo asked.
“Not long after we returned here. Maybe half an hour. We were hanging out down here and he left.” I didn’t tell them that I always knew when Solo was in the room or not. My senses were fine-tuned to pick up his energy, and yesterday I had wanted to ask him where he was going, but instead I focused on my charade and moved closer to Tristan.
“Maybe he slept in the drone.” Zasquash got up. “I’ll go check.”
“I already did. He’s not there.” Leo walked over to pour himself a cup of coffee. “I called him three times, but he’s not picking up either.”
“He wouldn’t do anything stupid, would he?” Tristan asked.
“Like what?” Salma picked up a strawberry. “What do you mean?”
Tristan lowered his brows just as Hunter came out from one of the bathrooms with his bag in his hand.
“Hunter, have you seen Solomon?” Leo took another sip of his coffee.
“Yeah, we just took a shower together.” Hunter said it in a what do you think tone of voice. “Why?”
“He’s missing,” Salma informed him.
“Should we worry?” Tristan’s jovial humor was gone. “I mean it can’t be easy for him thinking that Willow and I are a couple and all.”
I pressed my lips together, understanding before Tristan did that he’d just blown our cover.
Salma tilted her head at me, but Leo and Zasquash didn’t react so I figured they hadn’t picked up on Tristan’s mistake.
“Maybe he’s out on a morning run,” Zasquash suggested.
Leo frowned. “Then why isn’t he picking up when I call him?”
“I don’t know.” Zasquash tore at his hair. “This isn’t like Solo.”
Walking into the kitchen, Hunter picked up a muffin and took a bite. When the pretty musician from yesterday came in with her empty plate he lifted a hand and waved at her. “Morning, Darlene.”
“Did you see Solo?” Zasquash asked her.
Darlene stopped. “Who is Solo?”
“My partner.” Zasquash rose up to his full height. “He’s my size. Serious expression on his face. Dark blond hair, short beard, muscular.”
“Ahh, yeah, I know who you’re talking about but I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
Hunter spoke with muffin in his mouth. “When you see him, do me a favor and keep your distance.”
Darlene, who looked to be in her early thirties, widened her eyes. “Why?”
That made Zasquash groan and frown at Hunter. “Don’t tell her shit like that. She’s going to think Solo is dangerous or something.”
“He is,” Hunter insisted.
Zasquash shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You might have known Solo when he was an impulsive teenager, but I know the man he’s become and he would never hurt a female. Solo is my friend. I know him.”
Hunter snorted. “I would have said the same about him when he was my friend. Until he did hurt a female. My sister.”
“Hunter… don’t.” I tried signaling that now wasn’t the right time.
“Either way, we need to find Solomon. I don’t like that he’s missing.” Leo leaned his head back and downed the contents of his coffee cup, his dark bun of hair more messy than usual.
Tristan squirmed in his seat. “We
should go search for him in the woods. I worry he might have hurt himself.”
Guilt made me squeeze my glass of juice hard enough for my knuckles to turn white. I had said some horrible things to Solo. That I wished he was dead. That I hated him. That I would say he’d touched me. It was all spoken in anger, and now shame and regret filled me. My face flashed hot from my childish behavior the day before yesterday when I’d pushed him, provoked him, and involved Cameron in the power struggle between Solo and me. What if something had happened to Solo? My throat felt dry and swollen all of a sudden.
Zasquash snorted. “You people have no clue who Solomon is. To think he would hurt himself is just plain stupid. The man has been hated on more than anyone else in the Huntsmen unit. The mental and physical pressure he has withstood would break any normal man but not him.”
“Then maybe this was his breaking point,” Hunter muttered over the rim of his coffee cup. “Everyone has one.”
Zasquash took a step closer to Hunter. “You might be a tough soccer player, but trust me, you have nothing on Solo. We Huntsmen don’t mess around. I was twenty-four when I was selected to join the special forces and I was close to giving up many times. Solo was only seventeen when he was given over to the Huntsmen to keep an eye on him. A kid. But it still took a whole fucking unit of elite soldiers to keep him from going after Willow.”
Salma gasped and widened her eyes at me. A spark of energy snapped through my gut and my pulse raced like I was already up and running to find Solo myself.
“That’s right,” Zasquash continued. “Do you realize how hard it is to be the rookie in any elite unit? And that’s under normal circumstances. Solo spent his first week in the hospital because Commander Magni beat him close to death. We Huntsmen are proud men and when Solo pulled that stunt with Willow, he was fucking with the wrong crowd of men. Nobody humiliates a whole battalion of Huntsmen without paying a heavy price for his mistake. There are stories about the things he suffered through. I’m fucking proud to be his partner. Solo is young, but he’s a seasoned Huntsman and a living legend among us.”
Hunter looked unimpressed. “Your point is?”
“My point is that men don’t come better than him, so don’t you dare suggest that he would hurt himself.”
