Maeve
The next person who enters the suite is familiar, and it’s a relief. Patton, only half an hour after Jane left to start spreading the word to those we trust, arrives in a hurry, his face washed in concern, then frustration, when he races down the hallway with Niall hot on his heels.
Niall, tall and muscular, with dark hair and brown eyes, his skin a rich golden brown against the deep crimson of his guard uniform, skids to a stop when he sees me on the floor in nothing but a nightgown and robe with a stranger’s head in my lap–a stranger who broke into the castle, no doubt, sliding past my guards, and my shields, for Goddess’s sake.
“Maeve,” Patton rushes out, trapped between what he feels is duty to me as a friend, as Soren’s friend, and being in the presence of a royal. A queen. He gives me a weak, awkward bow before giving Niall an unsure glance and moving closer to us.
Niall, unaware of the situation and what he was walking into, grabs Patton’s arm, but I shake my head, holding out a hand.
“Niall, please help me put this man in bed. You and Patton can lift him. I… I can’t.” I motion to my stomach, giving my guard a flat smile, but my tone leaves no room nor invitation for argument.
Soren is out cold, which I expected. His arm is no longer bleeding heavily, but I’m worried that’ll change when the herbs start wearing off. The food and new clothing hasn’t been delivered yet, but I’m under the impression Jane is waiting until the coast is clear, giving Niall time to fetch and deliver Patton. She might be meek and shy, but she’s smart. She knows how precarious this situation is, and judging by the look on Patton’s face as he gazes down at me and Soren, it’s worse than I think.
Soren isn’t just hurt. Something else is wrong–very wrong. Wrong enough for him to break whatever unspoken vow we made in that run-down cottage when we tore ourselves apart and parted ways. Something that brought him here, mangled, bleeding, and desperate.
I keep my lips clamped shut as I watch the men pick Soren up. I wordlessly rise and direct Niall to put him in my bed, ignoring the look of shock and curiosity flashing behind his eyes when he and Patton deposit Soren there. I hang back, my arms resting on my stomach, but then follow Niall into the hallway, stopping him with a touch to his forearm.
He nearly shies away in shock from me touching him but recovers himself as I say, “Keep quiet about this.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I mean it. I trust you, Niall. These men are my guests. Jane is already tending to his injuries, and I am safe.” I step closer to him, keeping my gaze locked on his, dominating him despite our small difference in height. “I want extra guards on patrol–at least double the normal amount. The main gates are closed to the public until further notice, and any deliveries made to the clinic and the staff entrances will be limited and heavily overseen going forward.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
I step into him, closing the distance between us to the point I can almost feel him on the cusp of shying away, but I squeeze his arm, keeping him locked in place. “You’re a fantastic guard. You’re respected and admired by your colleagues, and I see that. I want you leading them. You do this for me, keep this quiet, and keep the castle locked down, and I’ll make you head of security. You have my word.”
His jaw goes momentarily slack before he takes a sharp breath and nods, eyes wide.
“Go,” I say under my breath, releasing him, and he swiftly disappears, the main door to my suite snapping closed. I race to the door, locking it tight, before whirling and rushing back to my bedroom where Patton is pacing at Soren’s bedside looking immensely stressed.
Soren groans weakly before slumping again.
“What happened?” I ask, but Patton rounds the bed, his blue eyes shining in the fading light of sunset. In two quick steps, we collide in an embrace.
I didn’t realize how much I needed this. Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away, squeezing him back. My hand drifts down his arm until I reach the silver band he still wears, and shy away, stepping away from him. Why hasn’t he been freed yet? That was the whole point, wasn’t it? The whole reason Soren remained trapped in the Viper’s clutches? To save Patton and pay their debts?
“Are you all right?” he asks, genuinely concerned.
“What do you think?” I squeak, unused to the amount of… feeling choking my body. “Of course I’m not okay. Soren just walked back into my life and is–is so hurt. What happened? Why did he do this to himself?”
Patton chews his lower lip before replying, “I warned him. He was adamant he had the band removed.”
“But I removed his band months ago!”
“He went to the Viper to pay the debts–our debts. She… she wouldn’t let him go.”
My stomach hollows out. “But he could have paid the debt this past summer? I don’t understand–”
“He’s been lying low. He had to–”
“He hasn’t, though.” I step toward him, balling my hands into fists at my side. “I know everything, Patton. I know he’s working for someone he calls the Architect. I know three more Alphas disappeared, and two more died since this summer, among a slew of others either dead or in hiding. You have no idea what I’ve had to do here, as queen, to keep Soren safe–”
“The Viper wants you–she wants the baby. She told him the baby was his next mark. He didn’t know you were pregnant before that, Maeve.” Patton closes his eyes, a shiver running through his body as he begins to recount what happened. “She put him in a band again. He was held down, from what I believe, and she forced the matter. He came straight to me in a panic, saying–” He cuts himself off abruptly, shaking his head. “Saying he needed to go to Moonrise. We came straight here. I don’t know how he got into the castle–”
“I do,” I murmur, closing my eyes against a burst of frustration. “He told me I needed to go to Veiled Valley to be with my family.”
“And you should–”
“We’re safest here. Both of you are safe here. I can’t promise I can keep you safe if we involve my grandfather, though. You both need to understand that.” I open my eyes and hold his gaze. “He’s like me. Suspicious and cold. It’ll take time to talk him out of killing you both. He’ll act on impulse first.”
Patton swallows hard, nodding. Someone with his level of knowledge about my family would know that there are two men in my family that shouldn’t ever be fucked with. The rest… well, they would at least hear them out.
But Grandpa Ryatt and Ryan wouldn’t waste that kind of time, especially the former.
“You’re going to stay here, in the castle,” I tell him. “There’s a suite next door. It’s Jane’s, my assistant. She’s trustworthy and knows Soren, knows he’s the father of my baby. She’s already aware of the situation.”
“I can stay in the hotel.”
“No, you’re a guest. A friend,” I cut in.
His mouth twitches into what I could describe as a smile if he’d let it happen, but he takes a breath, nodding.
I step closer to him, though, motioning for his arm. “You’re not going back to that life, Patton. When I said I knew everything, I meant… everything. Everything you’ve been forced to do, as well.”
His cheeks heat, and he drops his gaze to the floor.
“You’re going to stay here, with us. You can live here, work here if you want. I miss your baking.”
He chews his lip in an effort to not look excited. “I have my chickens to think about.”
“They can come, too,” I offer with a small smile while my chest tightens. “This is over, okay? I’ll deal with the Viper. The two of you have been through enough.”
“Soren won’t stay.”
I ignore the pang of disappointment radiating through my chest. “It’s not up to him anymore. I’m not letting him go this time.”
Patton finally smiles, but it’s brief.
I gently take his arm, my powers already simmering, waiting to strike. “This isn’t going to hurt that bad. I promise. I’m stronger than I was when I did this for Soren.”
“I don’t care,” he says, meeting my eyes. “Just do it.”
I grip his arm but keep my eyes locked on his as I send a painless rush of my magic over his skin. I hadn’t noticed it the first time, but the band isn’t just silver. When I’d taken it off Soren, we’d been in the middle of a terribly violent fight, and I’d thrust every bit of my power into his, breaking past what I think is some kind of shield–magic. It has to be. The silver shimmers as I tighten my grip. Patton winces, exhaling in a growl of pain but holds himself steady. My powers tear through whatever binds the silver in place, shredding the metal until it pops free of his arm and falls to the ground with a clank.
Patton stumbles a step back, smoothing his hand over his gnarled skin.
I step into my bathroom, gathering a towel and a few healing drafts from the cabinet. They’re not as strong as what I gave Soren, but the unhealed burn on Patton’s arm will take to this easily.
“Take both of these, and go rest in the suite next door for a few hours. No one will bother you. I’ll have food and drink sent up, and I’ll check on you after a while, but don’t leave the suite without me, okay?” I press the healing drafts into his hand then bend, my belly straining, to pluck the silver band off the floor with the towel, wrapping it tight.
“Is Soren going to be okay?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I reply, stepping out of the bedroom with him and shutting the door behind me. I walk the length of the hallway toward the sitting room and toss the towel in the fireplace, sending a blast of fire from my fingertips to ignite the fabric. “His arm is… I can’t fix him, Patton. Whatever the ironsmith did to get it off, it’s… I can’t take him to the clinic or bring nurses here to mend it, given the circumstances, and even if I could, I don’t think they’d have the ability to fix the damage.”
“He’s going to lose the arm. I told him that. Even the ironsmith told him that, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Maybe not. I’m working on something, but I just haven’t decided yet. But I swear to you, and to him, that I’m not going to let him lose his arm, or his hand, or his fingers. I’ll fix this.”
I walk Patton across the length of my suite to a connecting door that leads into the adjoining, much smaller, suite. “This entire floor was for my grandparents’ private use,” I tell him, leading him into one of my favorite spaces in the entire castle. “I just finished renovating, but this suite used to be my grandmother’s. They shared a bedroom, of course, but she liked her space, and he wanted her to have a studio that faces south because it has the best light.” The smaller suite opens up with a simple, airy living space and three adjoining rooms. Grandma Ella’s old studio is lit from within by the last light of the sunset as Patton looks around in awe.
“The bedroom is to the left. It’s a brand new bed. You’ll be the first to break it in. Jane still likes to sleep in her old room downstairs in the maids’ quarters, but she does keep some of her things up here.”
“I’m not in the way?”
“No, I’m happy you’re here.” I squeeze his arm before leaving, walking steadily back to my suite, closing the connecting door but keeping it unlocked.
Silence swells, and it’s welcome. I move into the bedroom where Soren is lying on his side, his mangled arm open to the air.
I gather some from a kit in my bathroom and sit beside him, careful not to wake him as I wind them bandages over his skin.
But he stirs, twitching, his eyes opening to slits as he takes in his new surroundings… then turns to me.
I don’t say a word as I slide into bed beside him, exhausted, my back and lower belly aching from the strain of my advanced, nearly overdue, pregnancy.
He turns to curl his body around mine, tucking his arm under my neck so I lay my cheek against his bicep, his hurt arm draped over what’s left of my waist, which isn’t much these days.
I watch the sun slip below the mountains and the sky turn a deep, starry purple, then close my eyes to try to catch a few hours of sleep before I make a decision that will change everything.
But only if he stays.