by Camille Rae
Reggie handed me a looking glass from the bench, then stepped back quickly. I noticed everyone was giving me a wide berth.
I looked into the mirror and gasped. I had wide green eyes and my cheekbones had rounded. My nose looked similar, I thought, but my lips were round and pouty.
I looked like a cartoon princess walking in a Lingerie Fashion Show.
And I hated it.
I had never been generically beautiful, but my red hair, my grey eyes, my tiny breasts... those were things that I knew were mine, and real. Not some strange catalog model version of myself.
“I do admit the result isn't what I imagined,” Reggie said, sighing. “If the point was to give you a disguise, I should have hoped for a plainer appearance, honestly, to draw less attention. But the magic does as it wills.”
I lowered the mirror, glaring at everyone in the room.
“And you just thought you'd do this without my permission?” I turned to Loel.
“Stop being ungrateful. We had to get you into Queen's City somehow. And if the Blues capture us, we can't have them knowing you're the princess,” he snapped. “Get over it.”
“You changed the way I looked without even consulting me,” I growled, narrowing my eyes at him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cash and Silas back out of the room. Reggie and Lachlan were pretending to be busy doing something in the corner.
Loel rolled his eyes, throwing his hands in the air. “This is the best thing we could have done for you,” he said. “And you're being difficult.”
Lachlan and Reggie slipped out the door quickly.
I imagined steam was coming out of my ears as I stared Loel down for a moment.
“Difficult? Difficult? A month ago, you kidnapped me from the woods, told me everything I knew about my entire life was a lie, dragged me to a strange castle where I was held hostage by a power-hungry asshole, and I'm just supposed to be grateful?” I slammed my hand down on the table next to my leg and sparks flew.
“Oh, is that what you think happened? Because what really happened was I saved you from being captured. A magic spell made me obsessed with you. I took you to the only place where I knew you'd be safe. I did what I thought was best for the country I love. I gave you everything, every part of me, and you still left,” he yelled, his hands balled into fists.
“I had to save my friend,” I yelled back, white knuckling the table beneath me. “Don’t you see why that’s important to me?”
“You didn't even wake me,” he said, his voice strained, his hands gripping the hair at his temples as though he might explode.
“Because you wouldn’t have let me go,” I said, exasperated.
He worked his jaw, taking a deep breath. “You don’t know what I would have done,” he said finally.
I paused at that remark, trying to understand the connection he was making. “Well, then tell me what you would have done,” I said, taking a deep breath.
He sighed, leaning back against the table. “Told you it was a stupid idea to go running off into the night alone,” he said.
“You wouldn't have let me go,” I said, my voice pleading. “But you know I have to get to Jude. I have to save her. You escaped Queen's City, you know what danger she's in.”
He shook his head and said, “I just thought you valued my opinion. And if not that, then that you trusted me enough to understand.”
My vulnerable Loel. My chest squeezed in tenderness.
He furrowed his brow, staring at the ground. He looked as though I had hurt his feelings in my outrage, and although part of me still wanted to smack him, I felt guilty at my outburst.
I stood, testing the weight on my leg and finding it surprisingly stable. I crossed the distance between us. “I do value your opinion, and I do trust you. I made a mistake in running off without telling you, and…” I paused, trying with difficulty to set aside my ego. “I’m sorry,” I said, putting my palms up in surrender.
He grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me into his chest.
I pressed against him, having missed the feel of him, melting into his warm, bare skin. I was still wobbly on my feet, but in his arms, I felt steady. Strong again. Protected and supported.
“And?” I said, moving my head to look up at him, my cheek brushing the soft down of his chest.
“And... I just really prefer blondes,” he said dramatically.
I smacked his arm, lifting my head to wrinkle my nose.
“I’m joking,” he said, shaking his head. “I really prefer blondes… and red heads.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“I really just prefer one red headed woman?” He said in a question.
“Closer…” I said, rolling my eyes.
We stood in silence, our arms wrapped around each other. I knew there was still tension between us, but we had finally found solid ground to stand upon.
“I'm scared of what could happen to you,” he said, his voice pitched so low I could barely hear it. “If this is a trap...”
“I know,” I said, closing my eyes and basking in the steady feel of him. “But nothing bad can happen to us if we're together.”
I knew it was a lie as I said it, but I wanted, more than anything, for it to be the truth.
Chapter 25
Loel
We decided to test out Caia’s disguise in the village. Because it was a relatively small community and we’d had been there for a few days, it was a pretty low stakes entry back into the world.
Caia walked with Lachlan and Silas, with Cash and me following behind.
Caia zeroed in on the smell of roasting meat, and she tugged on Lachlan’s shirt, pointing.
“You and your stomach,” he teased, following after her.
I felt a lurch of jealousy, but didn’t try to interfere.
She was mine.
I couldn’t cut the tie between us even if I tried, and gods be damned, over the past few days, I had tried.
Caia and I had become One, Paired, Mated which meant something to me. and I had explained how she was my mate, and then she had left.
Without any explanation.
Or a goodbye.
I had awoken, feeling her terror, seeing Theo’s actions through her mind. I ran down to the kitchen, but Flora had stopped me short.
She gave me simple instructions. Find the pack, wait outside the back wall.
And sure enough, when Caia had climbed the wall, there we were.
The past week had been torture. I was so acutely attuned to her thoughts that they interceded in my own all the time.
I tried focusing on my pack’s thoughts, but even those weren’t enough to drown out Caia’s voice.
Especially when she was scared or upset. So, basically all of the past week.
We walked into a small market with three stands where vendors sold food. It looked like we had our choice between roasted meat, buttered rolls, and uta. I sent a silent thank you up to the gods for the uta.
“I want all three,” Caia told us with exclamation.
Silas snorted next to me. “Of course you do,” he said.
“Excuse me, I have been asleep for days. I am withering away,” I said, really leaning into the drama.
I snorted and she turned, glaring at me. With her disguise, she looked like a completely different person.
Maybe that’s why it had been so easy to forgive her back in the healer’s laboratory.
Caia stayed with the pack as we ordered the food, which was a pretty good idea considering the last time she had wandered off in town, three strange men had tried to kidnap her. Or worse.
We settled on a pair of benches near the market to eat, and I dug in. Caia ate her meal as if she were dying of starvation, but the rest of us ate slowly, keeping a casual but watchful eye on the goings on around us.
“This might be our last big meal for awhile, so eat up,” Lachlan said.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“We don't have any money after we pay Reggie,�
� Cash said calmly, taking a large bite of the meat, which had been skewered for ease of eating.
Caia’s face fell. She blinked, staring down at her bowl.
“Don’t take it personally. They had to heal me, too,” I offered.
“How will we get money again?” She asked. “I could… turn tricks?” The suggestion was met with a resounding “No” from the pack.
“I did have one idea...” Lachlan said with a small grin. He nodded his head in the direction of a building on the opposite corner of the marketplace.
I grinned.
Her gaze wandered to the small tavern. “Drinking our cares away? Count me in,” she joked, slurping the salty broth from her uta bowl.
I watched the broth wet on her lips, temporarily distracted from my thought.
“It'd involve... some... unsavory uses of our gifts,” Lachlan continued.
“Unsavory... how?” Caia asked, surveying the men.
I laughed. “Don’t worry, Spark. It will all be relatively legal.”
Ten minutes later, Lachlan and I sat at a card table with two gentlemen, a large man missing most of his teeth named Dirk and a man with a full red beard, Hendrick. Caia, Cash, and Silas sat at a table in the corner, nursing ales.
We were playing Veritas, a game that depending little on luck, but a lot on being a good liar. The point of the card game was to convince the other people at the table that your cards were of more value than theirs. It was simple in idea, but wholly complicated in execution.
That was, unless you could read minds.
Lachlan exuded an air of calmness for the table, keeping all spirits stable in case they might begin to suspect anything.
Dirk and Hendrick we were playing with were large, burly guys, and in a physical fight, they’d be tough to beat. If we could take their money fair and square — fair and square-ish — then there would be no reason to see just how good of fighters they were.
We threw the first couple hands, giving the other men extra confidence.
I glanced to see Caia in the corner, clearly concerned that we were losing.
If it seemed convincing to even her, then it might be convincing to the two men at the table.
As I looked over, I saw the Rebellion’s poster, the one where Caia was wearing the purple dress and wielding a large sword over her head. Astra inclinant, sed non obligant was written in script on a banner at the top. It was a small and unassuming poster, but one that people of the Rebellion would recognize, nonetheless.
I sent up another silent blessing to the gods for the foresight of changing her appearance. It had been Silas’ idea, but I had been the one to give the order.
I would have loved her even if she had come out of the procedure looking like a tiny, wart-ridden witch. The fact that she had flowing blonde hair and perky breasts was a mistake, but one that I wasn’t too upset about.
I refocused on my cards, then read Dirk and Hendrick’s minds to see what they had. I did my best to act as though I was unsure, but added more money to the growing pile in the middle of the table. I would win, but if they suspected I didn’t have a good hand, they might try to push me out with a few extra coin to call my bluff.
We shared our cards and I looked pleasantly surprised to see that I had won.
I knew I’d have to lose the next round to keep their confidence up.
I glanced back to the Rebellion poster, my heart heavy at the thought of leaving on bad terms.
Something had happened in the kitchen between Caia and Theo. The pack bonds that tied us to Theo had ceased suddenly. I was unable to feel or hear him through our connection.
Had that been Flora’s doing?
I hadn’t brought it up with the other wolves, but I knew they felt it, too. They had been leaning on me for leadership, but also on Caia. That confused me more than anything.
I lost a round, and won the next, doubling our earnings.
Lachlan clapped me on the back as I repeated, “I can’t believe it.” I slid the piles of coin towards me. We’d win once more and then leave.
Dirk and Hendrick eyed me with suspicion. Lachlan’s power pulsed over the table to calm them, but they were still staring at me with narrowed eyes. I could hear in their thoughts that they knew I was cheating somehow, but they were trying to figure out the details.
Quickly, they stood in tandem, screeching their chairs back on the floor.
Lachlan pretended to be surprised. “Gentlemen? Is something wrong?”
“He’s fucking cheating,” Hendrick said.
“Cheating? How?” Lachlan looked me up and down.
“I don’t know how, but I know he’s fucking cheating,” Dirk said.
They were drawing their swords.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cash and Silas standing slowly, trying not to draw attention to themselves.
“There you are,” Caia said loudly from beside me, and we all turned toward her. She had shifted her dress to show an alarming amount of cleavage and I resisted the urge to pull her shawl around her. Lachlan looked momentarily shocked, then tried his hardest not to stare at her chest.
“My brothers,” she said to Dirk and Hendrick. “Are they causing trouble again?”
She touched Hendrick, squeezing the hard cord of muscles underneath his shirt, and he put his sword back, but looked warily down at us.
In that moment, I realized Caia was a genius.
No man could resist an attractive woman.
Lachlan’s calming energy would be stronger with her near.
These men would be gullible enough to still let us take all their money.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“Trust me,” she responded.
She put on a false smile and gestured to the table. “Now, what are we playing?” She asked.
The other men exchanged a look.
“Lady’s choice,” Dirk said, and he smiled.
To her credit, Caia didn’t flinch at the sight.
She kept her smile plastered on. “How about poker?”
“Poker?” Asked Dirk, raising an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“It’s easy!” She said with a giggle, touching Dirk’s shoulder.
I cringed inwardly, but tried to keep my expression blank.
She began to explain the rules of poker while she sat and dealt cards.
She made sure to lean way over when explaining cards, allowing the dress she was wearing to gape at the buttons.
I lost the first round on purpose with a pair of fours.
“You’re so good at this already,” she said to Dirk and Hendrick. “Must be beginner’s luck!” She giggled, pushing her hair over her shoulder to show more of her skin.
My wolf growled, and I covered it with a cough.
“Stop that,” I heard her tell me.
She looked at her cards as though she was concentrating intensely. She had a pair of fours.
“Tooth guy has two pairs, but other guy has a flush,” I let her know, and she adjusted her bet from cocky to outrageously cocky.
Dirk laid down his two pairs, I laid down my three aces, and then Hendrick laid down his flush.
“You’re so good at this already,” she said, resting her hand on the Hendrick’s arm.
I grumbled at the sight, and Lachlan openly glowered at the men.
The door on the opposite side of the tavern swung open and three men in blue uniforms walked in.
The tension in the room went thick as everyone fell silent. The barkeeper slyly moved to stand in front of the Rebellion poster while toweling off the inside of a cup, and most people averted their gaze.
The Blues boots stomped along the hardwood floor of the tavern, the metal on their cloaks jingling slightly with each step, lending to their creepy appearance.
My heart pounded in my chest. I didn’t know them and knew they wouldn’t be able to recognize me or Caia, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. I watched as they scanned the crowd with pictures of her in their min
ds.
“Those fuckers,” Hendrick said under his breath, tapping his cards on the table.
The Blues sat at the bar and ordered drinks.
We finished our round and Caia won, but the other men didn’t seem to mind nearly as much as when Lachlan or I had suddenly begun winning.
Cash and Silas were standing in the corner, looking busy, but edging towards the door. I could feel Lachlan emulating calmness, as I scanned the room, looking for an escape that wouldn’t put us walking straight past the Blues. Money or no money, we needed distance before they began recognizing me or the Wolves.
Dirk dealt another round of cards and Caia’s hands shook as I held them.
One of the Blues soldiers stood from his place at the bar, drink in hand, and sauntered over to us. He stood at the edge of the table, staring down at our cards.
“What’s a beautiful woman like you gambling in a place like this?” He said.
She pretended not to hear him, shifting slightly in her seat.
“I said, why are you here, woman?” The guard repeated.
I let my hand casually graze my belt, ready for either dagger or sword, should the occasion call for one.
She looked up at the guard, keeping her face blank. “I apologize, sir. I’m very busy playing cards with my friends,” she said.
My stomach dropped and I could tell she knew it was the wrong thing to say the second it left her mouth.
“What did you say?” The guard said, his voice raising. I could see color flush his cheeks in anger.
“The lady said she’s busy,” Hendrick said, standing.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” the guard told him and turned back toward Caia.
In one swift motion, Hendrick drew his dagger and stabbed the guard in the stomach.
Before I could think or panic, Lachlan had his hand wrapped around Caia’s arm and was pulling her to stand.
She reached, scooped as many coins as she could into her hands, then her pockets as Lachlan tried to drag her away.
By that time, Dirk had stepped in, his sword completely drawn.
“We need to leave,” I scolded, and Caia grabbed one last handful of coins before being dragged from the tavern.
I blinked into the bright light of the outside world and found Silas and Cash waiting for us, but I didn’t have a second to focus on my surroundings before we sprinted away from the tavern.
