Determination coupled with sorrow flowed from Garin. “To give both you and the people of Crosshawk a chance to live and fight another day? Yes!” he said in a firm tone. “You know, as well as I do, that they would never survive a battle coming at them from two powerful fronts! If I don’t do this, the duchy could find itself stuck between two insane queens determined to tear the place apart and leave nothing standing by the time they are done!”
He was right, damn him! “And you really believe Bridget will try to invade Crosshawk?”
“Not right away,” he said with conviction. “She’s going to be cautious once she finds out her assassination attempt has failed, especially after our little show this morning.”
In regards to Garin’s conclusion, at least, they had both agreed. It was too much of a coincidence that Easton had been attacked on his way to the meeting with Asger. Bridget might not have known what the mage was intending to reveal, but her name was associated with too many heinous deeds in the North for her not to have been worried. And she had known how the king had planned to travel as circumspect as possible. The one and only time her husband had an infinitesimal contingent surrounding him, and she must have seen a golden opportunity to try to take control of Menapolin, using the most expedient of means.
“And by keeping Iantha away, you’re trying to buy us time to prepare for Bridget’s next move,” Mattie snarled, blinking tears from her eyes. “But why does it have to be with the greatest currency of all!?”
Garin moved until he was right in front of Mattie, got down on both knees, and used two gentle hands to pull her in close. She was a crying mess by the time their foreheads touched. He gave her a light kiss on the nose, which made her tears fall faster.
“Considering the curse was only designed to incapacitate me, I doubt Iantha is planning to kill me anytime soon,” he said with a whisper.
Mattie voiced her greatest fear. “But there are worst fates than death.”
“You can drag me back to sanity, kicking and screaming, when need be,” he said as he lightly caressed the side of her face with a finger. “She can’t keep us from communicating through our bond. Belladonna did say it was one of the strongest the world has ever seen.”
“It’s not the same as having you right here with me,” she said with a sob. “Damn it, Garin! We’re stronger together!”
He gathered her up into his arms, and she held on tight. “I know,” he said as his voice cracked. “I wish there was a better way, but I can’t see another one that gives both you and Crosshawk hope of surviving this storm.”
Neither could she. “Just promise me something.”
“Anything.”
Her voice was a heartfelt and broken whisper, “No matter what, come back to me.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to do so,” he said right before he kissed her, deeply and desperately.
That was all it took for Mattie to grab him and pull them both down to the ground. The couple didn’t care about the cold or the uneven terrain. Neither did they notice that the sun was beginning to set, darkening the woods about them. All Garin and Mattie wanted was to connect as fully as possible before the chance was stripped away from them. With no way of knowing when the universe might throw another catastrophe their way, the couple made love right there under the trees. And they didn’t make it back to the house until long after the stars appeared in the sky to help light their way.
***
“This is Esus we’re talking about,” said Garin with a shake of his head when he watched Mattie madly rummage through one of her father’s trunks. “I doubt he’d let me take anything that could hurt him, considering I’ll technically be his prisoner.”
There were only twenty-four hours left with the man, and he was making her growl in frustration. Breakfast had barely been cleared from the table before she had started her search for something, anything, to help protect her husband on this fool’s errand. “There has to be some way for you to sneak a small weapon with you!”
“He’s been trying to kill me since I was twelve, Mattie,” he said with a sigh. “He knows me well enough to do a thorough search of my person for such things. There’s no strange bump in my clothing that will go unnoticed.”
“But he might overlook this if it’s hanging about your neck.”
Mattie and Garin whirled around; neither of them had heard any approaching footsteps. Yet the couple found Gregory standing right behind them, a golden medallion dangling from his hand. It was similar to the ones both Mattie and her father wore, an emblem given to every Protector of Menapolin as a symbol of their station. However, instead of a bear or a hawk engraved within the required circle of ancient phrases—a howling wolf was showcased instead.
“Thankfully, I had this commissioned shortly before you publically announced your engagement,” said Gregory as he held the medallion out to Garin. From that position Mattie saw the word, Amoux, engraved on the back. She readily agreed with her father’s choice of names for her husband since it meant Eagle Wolf, two of Garin’s most reliable forms. “It was finished in enough time for Tobias, Belladonna, and Elita to place many layers of protection within it, including ones similar to what was in that missing amulet of yours. Apparently, Metis is still spitting fire about that unfortunate loss.”
Bewildered was a kind description for the look on Garin’s face. Swiftly, he held his hand up with the palm facing forward as if telling the older man to stop. “I wouldn’t feel right about taking it, sir. I’m not the Protector, nor am I of your bloodline.”
Gregory snorted like the younger man had just said something stupid. “But you’re still a part of this family regardless. Take it, lad, and let us all hope the various spells within it will help keep you in one piece.”
“Just tell that damn elf I gave it to you as a wedding gift, if he even bothers to ask,” Mattie said when Garin’s dumbfounded expression turned towards her. “Requisitioning medallions is easy; replacing you would be impossible.”
She almost wanted to strangle him because she could feel that Garin doubted he could ever be worthy of such a gesture. “But I’m not—”
Mattie’s father didn’t let the man finish before frankly stating, “I’m well aware that the land accepted you, lad. And I know that some of your reasons for going through with this scheme extend beyond just Mattie’s welfare. If that last part doesn’t define a Protector, I don’t know what else will.”
“And you are my husband!” added Mattie with a snarl. “Now, take the damn thing and put it on!”
Garin might have still been in a state of shock, but he meant it with all his heart when he turned to her father and said, “Then I’ll be honored to wear it, sir.”
***
When Garin announced tomorrow’s departure to Selina and Dougal, the whole house shook with the shouts of fearful indignation! Selina eventually screamed that she could no longer deal with the fact that every person for whom she cared kept abandoning her! She then headed for her bedroom, slamming the door in Garin’s face and giving him a bright red nose in the process.
While that was happening, Dougal quietly escaped out the back. A swift transformation later, and all Mattie could see through the window was a streak of black. Garin was debating on literally tearing the rest of his hair out because he wasn’t sure who needed consoling the most. His decision finally became clear when he rushed out the back door and transformed into a wolf, quickly trying to catch up to the fleeing boy.
That left Mattie with the other distraught youth. She went over and lightly knocked on the girl’s door. “Selina?”
The answer was a sobbing growl. “Go away!”
Mattie placed her forehead against the door and sighed. Only time would help Selina now. “Not a chance. I’ll be out here if you need to talk.”
“Sounds like my too-noble brother is still going along with this insane plan.”
Because there had been no sound of anyone entering the house, the male voice made Mattie jump! Damn it!
With Tem and Gan starting to stand guard outside the estate, she and Selina should have been the only ones in here! Garin had just begun chasing down Dougal. Her father was at the inn, explaining the situation to the Brewers. Tobias and Leto were at Belladonna’s, trying to figure out what manner of creature had attacked the king.
Mattie poked her head around the corner and found the last person she ever expected to see under this roof! “Renard?”
“More or less,” he responded with a shrug of his shoulders. The seamstresses must have come to his aid, because the leather he wore was both unadorned and elegantly sewn. A simple style complete with a cloak that suited him better than any fancy clothes he had ever worn at court. His straight black hair was tied back, allowing Mattie a good view of all the various scratches and bruises on his face before he began to turn away from her. His fascination in the house as he glanced about was obvious.
“Wow,” he said, sounding amazed. “You grew up here? It’s almost like a real home.”
“That’s because it is a real home,” she said tentatively, not sure if that was a compliment. Past dealings with the man had taught her that it could have just as easily been an insult. “Renard, how did you get in here? More importantly, why are you even in my house?”
He must have heard the edge of distrust in her voice because he let out a weary sigh. Turning towards her, his brown eyes filled with another thing Mattie thought she would never see—his remorse. “First, I had hoped to make another attempt at talking Garin out of this madness, but I have a feeling he can be just as stubborn as his wife. I won’t be able to change his mind, will I?”
Mattie blinked back tears when she simply answered, “No.”
“Unfortunately, that’s what I thought,” he said before crossing his arms and bowing his head. He took a deep, shaky breath before lifting his gaze to her again. “The second reason I stopped by was because I finally have a chance to apologize to you.”
Well, that was truly unexpected! Mattie let her surprise be apparent when she asked, “For what, exactly?”
His chuckle was a sad and quiet one. “We’d be here for a long, long time if I had to list everything out. But I know I wasn’t a good friend to you when we were children, Mattie. While my mother had already started to exert her will on me even then, my behavior wasn’t entirely her doing. I can’t even blame those moments when I was awful to you on a dark spell because that was before I stumbled across the stone.”
Mattie remembered those times all too well. It was because Renard had locked her in a trunk for hours on end that she often suffered from a fear of tight spaces. “So what do you blame it on?”
He winced, hearing the underlying anger in her voice. “Myself. I was jealous, Mattie. Your parents obviously loved you a great deal while mine often acted like they couldn’t care less. It’s no excuse for treating you badly, just the truth. And after all this time, you deserved to hear that I was the one at fault.”
This conversation was beyond imagining, which caused Mattie to whisper the first thing that popped into her head, “You’ve changed.”
The smile on his face was wry. “Not really. Just got out from under my mother’s thumb at last. She wanted me to be someone that the nobility hated, so that is what I showed the world. I became a rather good actor over the years.”
Having seen how fully the spell could overtake a person, Mattie had no doubt there was more to the story. “But what about everything after you found the Soul Stealer? Surely the Darkness you found within it has been partially to blame for some of your bad behavior.”
“It has a strange pull on me sometimes, I admit,” he said with a sigh while he rubbed at a spot on his lower back as if it were aching. “But what is another’s curse has been my blessing.”
That made no sense to her. “How can you say that?”
Mattie then backed away when she saw swirls of black creep around the edges of his iris, the dark power starting to dull the magical sheen about him. Muscles in his forearms tightened before he took a step forward and pointed forcibly at the ground. “Because there has been only one thing I ever wanted, Mattie—to not lose myself completely under my mother’s iron will! And except for spells as powerful as the one that made me attack Garin, I’ve been mostly immune to her manipulations. The Darkness has been the only thing keeping me sane and whole all these years!”
After that vehement request for understanding, his eyes swiftly turned back to their normal brown. Mattie was only staring at him, the shock on her face not hidden one bit! Not only had she watched the blackness fully disappear from his eyes in less time than it took for her to blink, but the spell itself had also been pushed completely beneath his golden power. Had anyone else been able to perform such a feat without a struggle, as if they had full control over the spell? She honestly didn’t know!
Misinterpreting her silence, the expression on his face became one of utter desolation. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here,” he mumbled as he headed for the door.
After he had come to give her a real apology, Mattie couldn’t let the conversation end like this! “Renard, wait!” He paused and looked at her with hope flashing in those eyes. Mattie pointed at the kitchen and said, “I could make something warm for us to drink while we’re waiting for Garin to get back. I’m not sure how long he’ll be, but he will probably want to see you.”
“Please don’t go to all that trouble for me, Mattie,” he said in a sad tone. “I promised my father I’d take the time to visit him today, and maybe I’ll even have a chance to talk with that Leto character again. I’m sure I’ll bump into Garin soon enough while I’m wandering about, but thank you for offering me a chance to wait for him here.”
Even though she was confused, her tone came out as kind, “And thank you for the apology. It’s both accepted and greatly appreciated.”
A genuine smile finally lit up his face before he gave her a respectful nod. “You are most welcome.”
And with a turn of a doorknob, one of the most unexpected moments of Mattie’s life was over. Renard left the house in what seemed to be high spirits, as well as leaving her to reexamine all she had known about him. Mattie’s eyes looked towards the ceiling, wishing she could find out whether or not the universe was laughing at her. Because it seemed like she was required to learn the same lesson over and over again, one that had ironically been first told to her by the man who had just proved his point—
Nothing in this world was ever what it seemed.
Chapter 59
The elves were obsessed with rituals, and negotiating treaties was no exception. While people were beginning to appear in windows and doorways along the thoroughfare, they unconsciously knew to stay as far away from the Silver Pheasant as possible. Especially when their Duke was standing on the front porch, outfitted in his finest attire and creasing his face into a permanent scowl.
Garin and Mattie stood just behind Lord Gregory, both wishing things could be handled differently. Garin glanced over at his wife with admiration once again. He couldn’t help it; Mattie had chosen to wear a new dress that the seamstresses had just finished. Colored a deep and smoky blue, the V-necked dress highlighted her tumbling auburn hair enough that the wavy strands seemed to have a new glow about them. Hugging his wife in all the right places, the garment highlighted her figure beautifully. Soft pleats within the billowing skirt helped to cover her growing belly, making the fact she was carrying his child less obvious. And while her cascading hair hid the topmost part of the branded wings on her back, the pale dragon mark above her left breast could be clearly seen by anyone who was looking for it.
Despite the fact that he was wearing the dark brown jacket and trousers he usually wore to court, he felt underdressed compared to her. To Garin, it appeared as if a goddess had joined him as they stood on the very edge of Hell. If it weren’t for the fact that the scouts had said Esus was nearly here, he would drag her into the inn for another round of desperate lovemaking like they had last night. Hell, he
still might do it anyways.
It is tempting, chuckled Mattie sadly. She tilted her head to the auburn-haired man standing in front of them. Though I think my father would have some vastly different things to say if you carried me off right now.
Garin smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood and placed his hand over the medallion hidden beneath his dark green shirt. He was amazed at how heavy the metal hung about his neck, raising Mattie higher in his estimation. How in the world had she carried such a thing around all these months? But even with the unfamiliar weight, he hoped the elves would believe the story about the piece of jewelry being a wedding gift from his wife. A wife who had double-checked the magic within it before she had put it on him this morning so he could truthfully say she had given it to him. She wasn’t sure what was in there, only that the power seemed asleep at the moment. And they were hoping like hell that it would wake up when needed!
All too soon, the sound of hooves began to echo through Crosshawk. Four horses and their riders appeared, trotting at a steady pace. Garin was relieved to see only two guardsmen riding behind the elf and his prisoner, one protector for each. Such an action alone meant the elves were serious about avoiding war if possible, giving him hope the proposal would be accepted.
After that thought crossed his mind, his eyes fell on Bran. The bear of a man had an angry express on his face, but, other than some dirt and the start of a bright red beard, he didn’t really look the worst for wear. However, Garin’s gratitude that the man appeared unharmed was interrupted by a quiet and vengeful hiss.
Garin turned to his wife just as rage began to radiate off her like wildfire, though not quite yet in a literal sense. He saw a drop of blood hit the ground because her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails were piercing skin. Her whole body shook as it was taking every ounce of control she had not to launch herself at the elf.
An Inhibitor stone! she finally growled after she had taken a few steady breaths. That’s why my cousin never escaped! Damn it, I thought we had found them all before leaving First Keep!
Unraveled Homecoming Page 40
