The King's Unexpected Guest

Kael's hand steadied mine as I climbed onto his horse. My injured knee protested, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. He noticed anyway.

"Can you manage the saddle?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He waited until I settled before taking the reins and leading the horse along the road. One of his men remained with the three riders who had tried to seize me. The other walked several paces behind us, his sword still drawn.

I watched Kael's dark head beneath the branches. The Lycan King was walking through mud while I rode his horse in a ruined wedding dress. It seemed the kind of story someone would tell over supper, laughing at its absurdity.

I could barely remember what laughter felt like.

A lantern appeared between the trees. Then another. A stone outpost stood beyond a wooden gate, its courtyard crowded with horses and armed sentries. The guards straightened when they recognized Kael.

"Prepare a room," he told them. "And send for the physician."

An older woman hurried from the doorway carrying a ring of keys. She looked at my dress, then my face, and her expression softened.

"Come with me, miss. There's warm water upstairs."

I slid from the saddle before anyone could lift me down. Pain shot through my knee. Kael caught my elbow, steadying me until my feet held.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He released me immediately. "You'll be safe here."

I wanted to believe him. That day, Damon stood before the council and promised I could return when my name was cleared. The promise had sounded almost kind until I remembered he was the one sending me away.

The woman introduced herself as Mistress Elara. She led me into a small room with a narrow bed, a fireplace, and a window overlooking the courtyard. A clean linen dress lay folded on a chair.

"The king asked that you have some privacy," she said. "I'll bring hot water."

After the cell's damp stone and filthy cot, the room seemed impossibly warm. I touched the blanket and felt tears gather again.

Elara returned with a basin and helped me loosen the torn dress. When the fabric slid from my shoulders, I saw the bruises circling my wrist and the angry scrape along my knee. Dark marks had bloomed where the man on the road had grabbed my cloak.

"Who did this?" she asked.

"There were men on the road."

Her mouth tightened. She washed the cuts carefully, then called for the physician, who cleaned my palm and wrapped my wrist. He examined my knee and advised rest. Neither asked why I'd been walking alone dressed as a bride.

I appreciated that more than I could say.

When they left, I sat beside the fire in borrowed clothes. My wedding dress lay in a heap near the door. I had sewn a tiny blue ribbon into its lining for luck. I searched the ruined fabric until I found it, still tucked beneath the stitching.

My mother had taught me to sew when I was little. She would have laughed at how badly my hands trembled as I pulled the ribbon free.

A knock sounded.

Kael stood outside with a covered tray. "May I come in?"

I nodded, hastily wiping my eyes.

He placed the tray on the table. Bread, soup, and a cup of tea sent steam into the room. My stomach tightened with hunger, yet I suddenly remembered the council watching me in my stained gown. I held my hands in my lap.

"Eat while it's warm," he said.

"I don't know how to repay you."

"You haven't incurred a debt."

I looked up. "People rarely help strangers without wanting something."

His golden eyes rested on me for a moment. "Then you have good reason to be cautious."

He moved toward the door, leaving me alone with the food. I ate so quickly the hot soup burned my tongue. Halfway through, I began crying. I kept holding the spoon, ashamed of the sounds escaping me.

A soft knock interrupted me again. This time a soldier stood outside.

"His Majesty requests your presence downstairs, Miss Vale. A notice concerning you has reached our border patrol."

The soup turned heavy in my stomach.

I followed him into a room where Kael stood beside a table covered with maps. A royal officer held a document marked with Silvercrest's black wolf seal.

I recognized the notice immediately. The men on the road had shown me another copy. I remembered the scarred man gripping my wrist and the horse stamping beside my mother's hairpin. My knee throbbed beneath my borrowed dress.

"Silvercrest circulated this during your imprisonment," Kael said. "It explicitly warns other packs against sheltering you."

I stared at the paper. For one terrible moment, I wondered whether Damon was searching for me. Perhaps he had discovered the truth and wanted me home. But the notice merely repeated the accusation.

"Does this mean I must go back?" I asked.

"You were expelled," Kael replied. "You haven't escaped custody."

The officer cleared his throat. "The warning is still circulating, Your Majesty. Their investigation remains open."

"Their investigation may continue," Kael said. "But their warning grants no one authority to seize her."

I looked down at my bandaged hand. "If I go back, they'll lock me in that cell again."

Kael stepped closer to the table. "Seraphina, do you wish to return?"

My mother's grave flashed before my eyes, the roses bending against the fence. I wanted to go home so badly it hurt.

"I want my name cleared," I said. "I want to visit my mother. But I can't go back like this."

Kael took the notice from the officer and folded it once.

"Tell the royal patrols no one may seize her under this notice." 

The officer hesitated. "And the woman's status?"

Kael's gaze met mine.

"Seraphina Vale is under royal protection. Any attempt to remove her from this outpost will be treated as a challenge to my authority."