Chapter 3: A Mystery in Daikon

Izzy walked through the castle, knowing she should be resting, but unable to lie down without feeling ill. She rested a hand over her stomach, cradling the new life that was growing inside her. A warm feeling flooded her chest as she thought of the child she carried.

Without her hand cradling her stomach, no one would know she was pregnant. She was barely six weeks along, but with each passing day, she grew more and more ill, unable to keep most foods down.

No one had told her this was how pregnancy went. Not that she could have changed anything.

The last two weeks had been calm at the castle. Almost the entire castle of dragons had gone to the front line to meet the shifter army marching on Daikon. They had been gone ten days already and she prayed to every Fate listening, hoping that everyone she loved would be ok. She couldn't bear more grief.

She walked gingerly down the stairs, taking each step with care, moving toward the kitchens. She didn't want to fall and hurt the baby, she was so weak from lack of food that she was shaking as she wobbled down the steps.

She should be resting. She swore to Nate she would lay in bed and take it easy but she was so hungry. It was such a foreign feeling in the last few weeks that she needed to get food in her stomach before it passed and she felt sick once more.

She had been forcing food down, and then heaving it back up, for so long that the appeal of eating felt like a celebration of sorts. If only the kitchen wasn't so far away. Her stomach grumbled loudly and her soul grumbled silently along with it.

The kitchens were strangely empty. It was mid-afternoon between lunch and dinner and the cooks were likely taking a break, or changing shifts. She imagined dinner prep started soon but she would find something to eat before dinner was ready. The walk down had worn her down, she was feeling lightheaded from the lack of food. In hindsight, she realized, she should have called Nate to help her.

'Izzy, where are you?' She felt the panicked voice of Nate in her head. 

'Sorry, Nate, I just ran down to the kitchens. I was hungry,' she replied, waiting for his reprimand. She should have told him at least. She just didn't want to bother him. She had felt like nothing but a bother since The Hunt. She always needed someone to take care of her. The feeling of helplessness was unwelcome but steady.

'You're hungry?' he asked, his voice a veil of relief and confusion.

'Yeah, I thought I should eat before it passed,' she replied.

'You should have told me, I would have come to get you,' he answered, a slight rebuke in his tone.

'I know, but the castle is safe, there's no one here to hurt me. I didn't want to bother you,' she replied.

'You're not a bother, Iz,' he replied. 'I'll come down to meet you.'

She smiled to herself as she moved around the kitchen, finding bread and butter along with a ham to slice. She fixed a plate and walked slowly out of the kitchen toward the back garden. She would eat in the sun, it would almost seem like she was back in Elail at home with her father and Uncle Marcus. She could pretend for a moment that she wasn't here in Daikon carrying the child of her rapist.

'I'm going to the garden, in the back of the castle,' she said, knowing Nate heard her. He was always in tune with her thoughts and her feelings. He knew better than her sometimes what she was feeling and how to fix it.

'On my way,' he replied. She knew he was rushing down from the gym where he had been working out. 

'Don't rush, I'm fine,' she replied as she sat on a bench and balanced the plate on her legs. She was still hungry and that felt like a small win. 

The gardens were surrounded by forest, the large trees growing tightly together making it impossible to see more than five feet through the dense growth. Izzy sat close to the castle, she was still skittish sitting so close to the forest. She knew she was safe in Daikon, but she still felt uneasy knowing someone could easily hide in the forest and pounce on her as they had in Elail on the ride toward Kreil.

She took a few bites, they went down easily enough, so she took a couple more. She could feel herself regaining the small amount of energy that the food provided. She was tired all the time, it never seemed to pass. For once, though, she wasn't dead tired on her feet. The thought of walking upstairs wasn't enough to make her cry.

As she leaned against the wall behind her, closing her eyes against the bright sun she felt someone sit by her. It was a presence she was unfamiliar with. She let herself have a few moments of peace before she opened her eyes to face the newcomer. She knew it wasn't Nate, she couldn't smell the intruder, which was intriguing all on its own, so she opened her eyes, turning to face the man in black sitting next to her.

She felt her heart stop in her chest. 

"How did you-?" She started to say but was cut off by a cloth covering her mouth and nose, the pungent odor filling her nostrils and suffocating her lungs with the knowledge that she was going to pass out. She was so stunned she sat still, letting him drug her before she remembered where she was and who he was. A few moments too late, she struggled against the hand holding the cloth over her face and the last thing she saw before darkness overtook her were the dark, desperate eyes of the man she had spent the last several weeks running away from.

"Hello, my sweet angel," Cliff murmured softly as he swung her into his arms and took off toward the castle wall. As if on cue, an explosion sounded near the garden and several sections of wall flew into the air, crashing down to the ground, creating a sea of chaos. A trio of men, clad in dark clothes and keeping to the shadows, carried the small, blond girl out of the castle grounds toward waiting horses. 

They piled her onto the nearest horse and one of the men climbed onto the horse behind her, the other two swinging swiftly into their saddles and taking off at a gallop through the dark treeline. The sound of their horses was drowned by the screams of those in the garden at the mercy of the flying stones.

The minute the explosion sounded through the castle, Nate jumped out of the nearest window, fell two stories to the ground, and landed lithly on his feet. He raced toward the garden, his mind trying to connect with Izzy.

'Izzy, where are you?' He was met with silence.

'Izzy, tell me you're ok!' His voice was getting frantic, the longer he waited for her to reply the more dread filled his chest. His brow was covered in a sheen of sweat and his face was red from the exertion as he rushed through the rubble.

"Izzy!" his voice called out, no longer trying to link her. He couldn't get through to her, so he knew she wasn't awake. She had been knocked out in the blast. She had to have been.

He rushed through the rubble, trying to find her. She must have been knocked out from a flying stone. She wasn't dead, he couldn't feel the pain of losing her and that brought a small measure of relief as he raced around the garden, searching desperately for her.

He finally caught her scent against the wall near the fountain. There had been no explosion here. She must not have been hurt. Where was she, then?

His mind raced, he had felt unease the last few days but he couldn't explain what had caused his discomfort. It would seem this had been the cause.

His eyes scanned the area, searching for something, anything to give away her location. He looked toward the forest, and his stomach lurched. He couldn't see anything but a bad feeling rushed through his stomach as he raced toward the exit through the wall and to the trees beyond. He could pick up Izzy's scent, it was there, against the wall and on the leaves of the bushes as he passed by. Her scent was more potent than normal since she was pregnant. It had changed her scent slightly but if anything, it made her more enticing.

Someone had taken her. 

He raced toward the barn, looking for a horse, anything he could take with him to follow her. He took the first stallion he could find and raced off, no saddle, no reins, nothing to help him ride, just sheer determination and willpower. He wouldn't lose her. 

He would rip Cliff apart with his bare hands to keep her safe and he felt a fire of hatred burn deep in his chest, driving him on. If there was a way to burst into flames from the power of one man's fury, Cliff would be a pile of ash.

Nate's eyes were determined, and he took off, following the trail left behind by the three horses. The three men may have a headstart, but Nate had sheer willpower, a fiery hatred, and an overpowering protective need to find his mate pushing him forward after her. It would take an act of the Fates for him to sway from his path now.

The trees flew by as he raced ahead. He had chosen his horse blindly, taking the first one he could find, but he realized now that he had been lucky, or maybe the Fates had been kind to him for a change. His horse was barely winded as they sprinted across the country without the need for a break. He thought for a moment he had seen a glint of silver on the feet of his horse but it had gone as fast as it had appeared and he shook his head, pressing on harder and faster than he ever had before. 

A lesser horse would have been run to death, and Nate would have had no remorse, but his horse held steady. 

Every so often, he would catch a whiff of Izzy's scent. It would reach him as he rode past leaves and branches blocking the path. It would fuel his anger. He would push on harder knowing he was on the right path. The prints of the horses were still stark on the soft forest ground. He could smell the horses, he was close enough that he could use his senses to follow their path without needing to get down and track their prints along the soft ground. 

They may have had a few minutes' head start, but they would have to keep their fast pace to stay ahead of Nate. He would never tire on his hunt for his mate. He would never leave her to a fate with that man again.

This was his chance, he thought with glee. He would end Cliff once and for all. He would end them all so Izzy would be free of the fear of being caught. She would never have to worry about Cliff again once Nate got his arms around his neck. The grim satisfaction sat well in his chest. 

He knew they hadn't hurt Izzy again, not yet at least. They were still running at full steam, desperate to get away from Daikon before someone caught them.

After a couple of hours, the desperation in his chest grew. The feeling within was taking on a life of its own, overwhelming him as he looked ahead with dread. He had traveled most of the country, both Elail and Daikon, and he knew the path he was traveling well.

This was a path he had traveled many times. It was a path that he dreaded following, one that he had promised himself he would never have to travel again. Yet, here he was.

He knew where Cliff was going and it wasn't a place friendly to shifters. Cliff was taking Izzy to see the witches.