by Linda Kage
I’d called after him, trying to gain his attention, so unless he was hard of hearing—which wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility, considering his age—he had flat-out ignored me. On purpose.
Not very polite.
For all he knew, I’d just wanted to buy a damn loaf of bread off his trolley. Why’d he have to do me that way?
The fucker had moved fast too. There was something off about that as well. For as much as he’d limped when I’d first seen him, all off-balance as if he were hindered by a bum leg, one would think he wouldn’t have escaped so easily. But as soon as I’d made it through the horde he had disappeared into, I’d found his cart of bread abandoned by the side of a road, and he was nowhere to be found.
Tilting my head, I frowned at his wagon, then closed my eyes and let the mark take over, guiding me in the right direction. Oh yeah, I was definitely locked on to his essence now. From this point on, no matter where he went, I’d be able to follow.
Curiosity took over as I tracked his trail, catching sight of him up ahead of me every so often. Seriously, why was he running? This made no sense.
His attire seemed to change every glimpse I caught of him, too. He’d lifted a green scarf to cover his head once, then had acquired a straw hat from somewhere the next time. When I saw him dart into an alley not long after that, my grin spread.
“Gotcha,” I whispered.
I was so sure I’d be able to catch up to him there with fewer crowds and obstacles obstructing my path. But when I reached the mouth of the backstreet, I found him leaping into the saddle of a waiting horse with way too much agility and grace for a man of his advanced years.
“Hey!” I yelled, growing frustrated by the injustice of the moment.
But he wasn’t supposed to get away.
Besides, what had I done to scare him off in the first place?
I started after him on foot, as he wheeled his horse around and took off toward the opposite end of the alley. I’d just reached the halfway point and noticed that odd bell hanging from the wall when someone had rung my bell.
I swear, I had literally heard my brain gong inside my head when I was struck.
I don’t remember hitting the ground, but I did open my eyes once, not long after that, I think, because I heard footsteps race off as whoever had hit me fled the scene. It couldn’t have been my one true love who’d struck me, either. He’d clearly been ahead of me, escaping, and the culprit had come up on me from behind.
Then something had licked my face, probably the damn cat who was even now approaching to wind its body between my feet and rub its tail up against my calf.
“Indy!” Hands suddenly clapped in front of my face, and I blinked the Queen of Far Shore into focus. “Say something,” Nicolette demanded impatiently, as if this wasn’t the first time she’d tried to get my attention. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m fine,” I murmured, shoving her hand out of my face so I could pat myself down to see if I’d been mugged. “Someone else hit me,” I finally answered. “Not my true love.”
“Oh. So you do remember? Thank God.”
Finding all my weapons and money still on me, I frowned. Huh. I guess whoever had attacked hadn’t been interested in robbing me.
Had they been in league with the old man, trying to help him get me off his trail?
That didn’t make sense.
But nothing made sense right now, so I wouldn’t scratch the idea off the list, either. This must mean it was likely my mate had an accomplice.
But an accomplice to what?
And why hadn’t he acted so old when he’d been avoiding me?
Why hadn’t he even wanted to talk to me?
I knew none of these answers, but I was going to figure all of them out.
If it was the last thing I did, I’d find out the truth about him.
“Indigo.” Nicolette took my arm firmly. “Why don’t we take you back to the royal caravan waiting at the edge of the village and have a healer look you over? Alright?”
I didn’t have time for a fucking healer. My true love was getting away.
“No. I’m okay. Really.” But I let her lead me along anyway, because, come to think of it, it’d probably be smart to return to the waiting carriages and horses so I could gather some supplies and borrow a mount before taking off after the old man again.
But I only went a few steps before the cat tripped me up, darting between my legs and trying to keep up with me so it could tag along.
After catching my balance, I took a sweet treat from my pocket—something I’d stolen from Nicolette’s carriage—and I leaned down to feed the scraggly animal. Its coat wasn’t as pure black as I’d first assumed. All four paws and the tip of its tail were white, as was its belly and nose. The thing seemed cuter now that it was up close, as well as softer and maybe even younger too.
It sniffed the food with interest, then snagged it from my hand and wolfed it down whole before returning to my fingers, looking for more.
I smiled softly. “Sorry, little buddy. I wish I had another for you, but that was it.” Guilt swamped me as it kept sniffing and licking my hand. I wondered when the poor, pathetic thing had eaten last.
When I glanced up at Nicolette to ask if she was carrying any food on her, the cat took that moment to use my arm like a tree, and it climbed right up me, digging claws straight through the cloth of my tunic until it reached my shoulder, where it perched itself like it was some kind of pet bird.
“Uh—okay.” I guess that meant it was coming with me. Smiling slightly at my new companion, I reached up and patted its side, then held it steady there on my shoulder so it wouldn’t fall off as I rose to my full height.
Nicolette lifted a curious eyebrow as she blinked back and forth between us. “Looks like you made a new friend.”
“Seems like it,” I answered.
Strangely, the feline didn’t stink. It smelled kind of like vanilla beans mixed with campfire smoke. Two of my favorite fragrances.
At the opening of the alley, the guards under my command eyed me and the cat on my shoulder with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
“The queen’s returning to her cavalcade for a few minutes,” I instructed them. “Clear a path for her.”
They took off without question, and Nicolette, Farrow, and I walked along through the streets of Pinsky, with the villagers parting the way for us and gaping as if we’d lost our minds for strolling amongst them. I honestly couldn’t imagine how it all looked from their point of view. It was one thing for the new young queen to visit her people in their villages, but I’m sure it was quite another for her to be darting down a side alley and checking on men who’d been bashed unconscious.
I leaned toward her. “You’re the most unconventional ruler they’ll ever see, you know that, right?”
“Oh, pooh.” She waved an unconcerned hand. “They’ll get used to me.”
“They’ll have to,” Farrow threw in from the other side of her. “Because she certainly won’t change her ways.”
Not that he wanted her to; the prince consort was completely satisfied with the queen just the way she was.
I had to admit, I also preferred her as is. She was like a sister to me and was probably the closest companion I had left alive.
“You really don’t have to walk me back to the carriages,” I told her, though. “You have your duties here to see to. Besides, I don’t plan on staying long, just gathering some supplies and a horse, and then going out on my own.”
“Your own?” She slammed to a stop and whirled toward me. “You’re leaving?” A second later, she gasped. “Like, leaving, leaving? For how long?”
When I realized I had no idea, a heated ball of regret formed in my chest.
Because I might never return.
I probably should’ve worried that she might forbid me from going. She was my queen; she could very well do that. Except Nicolette and I didn’t have that kind of relationship.
So I murmured a
soft, apologetic, “Nic, I just found my true love. And he got away. I need to find him.” And discover what was going on with him, because nothing about him added up.
She nodded, but still looked concerned. “Of course. But when do you think you’ll be back?” Then she swallowed audibly. “Will you be back?”
“I…” I shared a solemn glance with Farrow. He nodded as if he understood before he wrapped his arms around his wife from behind and kissed the side of her head in comfort.
Turning back to Nicolette, I winced when she blinked repeatedly and wiped at her cheek. “Why does it feel as if I’m saying goodbye to you forever?”
I focused on her for the first time since sensing my true love nearly an hour ago. Her gaze was wide with worry, and more tears glimmered in her eyes.
Taking her hand, I smiled softly. “Nic, Jesus. Don’t cry. I promise I’ll come back if I can. But until then, I recommend you consider the knight Renwick to take my place as commander of your armies.”
She sniffed but nodded. “Okay, but it won’t be the same without you. I do understand, though. I really do.” She glanced toward Farrow, who her mark had prompted her to leave her homeland and come to Far Shore for. Then her gaze softened, and she stiffened her shoulders bravely as she turned back to me. “I would be doing the same as you right now if I were in your boots. And yet…” Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know about this, Indy. I just have a bad feeling.”
I had to admit, I didn’t have the best feeling in the world, myself. There were too many inconsistencies and unanswered questions. But the mark was never wrong, and the person I had just chased into the alley was my future. That I was certain I could trust.
I was just enough of a drifter that I was okay with pulling up my roots and taking off into the unknown. But I was going to miss Nicolette, so I experienced a painful moment of indecision.
I had a good life here. A home, a friend, a purpose.
I could stay. I could just ignore having ever seen the scowling old man and remain in Far Shore: the leader of an army, living in a castle, and happy with my companions.
But my temple gave a sudden twinge as if to remind me of what I could be heading toward if I didn’t stay. The mark knew who I needed at my side to help me become the best person I could be. And so, I had to go. No matter what I found out there, it was going to begin the rest of my life.
“I’ll be okay,” I told my queen, pulling her into an impulsive hug, which made the cat on my shoulder screech in protest until it found its balance again and caused the villagers around us, watching the show we put on, to gasp in shock.
“You better be,” Nicolette instructed, only to pull back and point at the cat with a severe squint, instructing, “Keep him safe, you hear me? That’s a request from a queen.”
I smiled. “Thank you,” I told her. “Thank you for being the best ward a bodyguard could have, and the best friend a man like me needed. I’m going to miss you.”
“Then you better come back and visit,” Farrow instructed, tugging his wife back to his side so she would let me go.
Nodding to both of them, I stepped back, took in a final look at the people I was leaving, and then I turned away, ready to begin my journey.
Chapter 4
Indigo
With an exhausted sigh, I dismounted from my horse and took a break from riding, stretching my sore muscles and pulling a snack from a side pouch on the saddlebags.
Grandpa Atchison had always told me that once I sensed my true love, my entire life would change. But I was realizing I’d had no idea what he’d really meant by that.
Until now.
Since getting near enough to my mate to lock on to his essence, my entire life revolved around simply catching up to him and figuring out what had him so spooked, so I could fix it.
Nothing else seemed to matter.
It was like an itching obsession that had set up residence in my brain, and I couldn’t focus on anything else.
After that, however, once I caught up to him, introduced myself, learned all the mysteries surrounding him, and then solved them all...
I wasn’t sure.
I guess that depended on him. Maybe he’d enjoy living life in luxury at the Far Shore castle and wouldn’t mind escorting me back to Blayton where Nicolette and Farrow lived so I could continue leading the kingdom’s armies.
I could handle that.
Or maybe I’d give all that up and go with him if he had some different determined destination in mind.
I’m sure I could handle that too.
All I knew was that he would be there, involved in the rest of my life, wherever I went.
This wasn’t the first time my entire world had been disrupted, and I’d had to start fresh in a new place with new people. I was an old companion to change and travel. But it would be the first time I’d be doing it all for a complete stranger and some as-yet-unidentified goal they might have.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was a little unsettling how strong the mark was to make me so willing to rearrange my entire life for my true love, to give up everything I knew, and follow an unknown, yet the other part of me controlled by the mark simply didn’t care. I just wanted my person at my side. The need was stronger than any addiction I’d ever felt before.
Made me wonder if the root of the magic used to make the love mark was actually a dark, forbidden enchantment. It hampered free will, made a person feel almost mindless to get to their mate’s side, and yet...
Here I was, still having logical thoughts, and I was cognizant enough to question it all. Would something bad and so mind-controlling allow for rational reasoning to intrude?
For someone who’d grown up in a kingdom where everyone had the mark and had been told what to expect by family and friends and had known what should happen, plus looked forward to being afflicted by it, it felt acutely new and foreign right now. Its intensity was a bit overwhelming, in fact.
How had Grandpa and Grandma, my parents, and everyone else dealt with this?
Finishing my break, I climbed back into the saddle, clicked my tongue, and urged my mount forward. I couldn’t explain how I knew I was going in the right direction to find him; I just knew. He was this way.
To my logical brain, I’d been wandering aimlessly for the past two days. But my instincts felt on course and insistent, certain they were locked on to the correct target.
My mate had wound around in a loop away from the village, yet now was circling back toward it.
I wasn’t sure if this whole exercise of running off and now returning was because of me, because he’d wanted to evade me, but I didn’t want to take the chance of spooking him again. So I decided to meet up with him in the village and not out here alone in the forest he’d been traveling through.
Instead of plowing forward, toward him, I retreated and planned my approach. Since he was so skittish, it’d have to be an extremely non-threatening, innocent encounter.
Maybe I could act as if I’d been hurt and was seeking his aid. Except he hadn’t struck me as the type of man who helped others.
Ask him for directions?
Accidentally bump into him as we crossed paths? Then start up a conversation about the weather?
God. I had never felt so inept about simply approaching someone before.
I would advance from behind this time, I finally decided, get close before he saw me coming and didn’t have time to run before we were right there, face-to-face, and he could ascertain for himself that I meant him no harm, not in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact. The rest of my life was dedicated to making sure he got whatever he needed.
Waiting for him to arrive in the village was the worst. It was early the next morning before my senses kicked in, telling me he’d moved back into close range, close enough for me to experience some of his stronger emotions.
He felt a wary uncertainty. I think I’d definitely spooked him last time.
I couldn’t do that this time.
Re
turning to the market, I felt his fear and then his determination as he remained in the bazaar. Was he trying to sell more bread? I hoped so, that would give me the best excuse to talk to him.
I reached the square a few minutes later.
Except...
The man I remembered was not among the faces. My frown deepened as I ruined the covert, stealth part of my search, and I stepped out into the open in the center of the bazaar, then turned in a confused circle. This couldn’t be right. I could feel him. Right here. Somewhere.
How was this possible?
Frustrated, I stopped dead and drew in a deep calming breath. Then I closed my eyes and relied on nothing but the mark to guide me. Following the source of my true love through instinct alone, I tilted my face slightly to the right and let my lashes flutter open.
A dark-skinned girl stood among the throng staring at me with wide eyes. Less than ten years of age with two of the cutest buns high on her head, she edged a cautious step in reverse as if intimidated by me. I offered her a warm smile and a wink, merely trying to calm her. But instead of smiling back, she turned tail and fled into the people.
That’s when I realized she’d had a pack slung over one shoulder, from which she’d been selling bread. A moment later, the sensation in my mark started to flee as well, and I finally realized the girl had been the source of it.
“Son of a bitch.” I darted forward, not sure what the hell was going on, but not about to lose the only clue I had in getting some answers, either.
I had to find that girl.
Maybe the old man had given her a piece of his clothing or something, and the mark was smelling that. I didn’t think that was exactly how the mark worked, but fuck, what did I really know? I’d had my official “first sighting,” as it was always called, only a few days ago. What did I honestly know about the finer workings of any of it?
