Chapter Fourteen

KEYARA

She stared at him in shock. He had known, just as she suspected. “You knew all along?” she asked him. “Did you come because of me?”

“No, that’s not why I came. I didn’t know until we arrived.”

For some reason that she could not fathom, her eyes filled with tears.

“Key, what is troubling you, hmm?” he asked her softly.

She realized it was the first time he had used her nickname, and irrationally, it only made her emotions worse. Tears spilled from her eyes. He wiped them away gently with his thumbs, cupping her face.

“I don’t know,” she cried, and burst into sobs.

She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips into her hair. He spoke soft words of comfort, and although they were unintelligible, they were calming and made her feel safe.

She had no idea what sparked her tears. Maybe the acknowledgment of the truth from someone other than her small circle, or perhaps the emotions of the day were simply catching up to her.

He said nothing else, he just held her and let her cry. After a few minutes, she calmed down and stepped away from him.

She felt embarrassed for losing it in front of him. She was usually very reserved and rarely displayed such emotion.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled quietly. “I’m not sure where that came from.”

He kissed her forehead. “No apologies, Keyara. You have had quite the day.” He touched her bruised cheek lightly.

She closed her eyes, savoring his touch. It was amazing how it took away the dull ache in her face.

“Now, do you want to tell me what you’re upset about?”

She shook her head softly. “Honestly, I’m not sure.” She took a deep shuddering breath. “I’ve had to keep the secret for so long, I guess speaking the truth just lifted this weight off me.”

She pressed a hand to her chest as if it had been a tangible thing.

“Would you tell me, Key?” he asked. “The whole truth? I can only tell you have royal blood, I know not from where it comes.”

He could tell? “What…what do you mean, you can tell?” she sputtered.

He tapped his nose and smiled.

“You can smell it?!”

“Yes, I can smell it.” He laughed. “I can smell all kinds of things about you.”

She blushed deeply and looked away. From the way he said it, it was clear he meant something intimate, but she was too afraid to ask.

“I will tell you,” she said, pushing what exactly he could smell to the back of her mind.

“I’m glad,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Let’s continue our journey, and you can tell me as we ride.”

She nodded and laced her fingers through his, amazed at how comfortable she already felt with him. ~It must be part of the mate bond~, she thought.

He untied the horse from the tree, and she watched him, admiring his human body. She looked at it differently now that she had seen him as a wolf. In some ways they resembled each other.

His hair was the same color as his fur, and his emerald eyes were the same as both wolf and man. Both were oversized; he was larger than most men, and his wolf was much larger than any she had happened to glimpse.

He mounted the horse and held out his hand, and she settled comfortably against him. She was getting used to the tingle that ran through her whenever they touched, but she was curious about it nonetheless.

“That feeling…,” she asked. “Is it as strong for you as it is for me?”

“I can’t be sure,” he replied. “I suspect it’s stronger for me as a wolf and especially as an alpha. But it’s strong for you as well, no?”

She could not even begin to explain how strong, so she simply replied, “Yes.”

His chest rumbled with laughter, and he held her tighter. “It will be even stronger soon, once…” He trailed off, seemingly unsure.

“Once what?” She turned her head up toward him, but he was staring resolutely ahead and did not look at her.

“I believe we are getting off topic,” he said, clearly avoiding her question. “You have a story to tell me, after all.”

She sighed. He clearly wanted to drop the topic. And she had promised to tell him.

She cleared her throat. “My real parents were King Sebastian and Queen Lenara.”

“The former rulers of Levia?” he asked. “But they had no heirs.”

She nodded, swallowing down her fear. Speaking of this felt so wrong after all the years of keeping it tightly under wraps, but she knew she could trust him with anything.

“I was only two days old. They didn’t tell anyone. They had lost so many, they wanted to make sure I would live before announcing their successor. That’s what Anne told me.”

“Anne is the woman who raised you?” His hand around her waist moved in small circles, a comforting gesture.

“Yes. She was my mother’s maid. They were good friends, though, despite their difference in station. When the castle was breached, she took me, and hid. Anne had just had a daughter of her own, and she raised us together.”

Tears threatened once more, and she blinked them back, not wanting to give into emotion again.

“Everyone who knew I was alive perished in the battle,” she continued. “Anne and Jenna were the only ones who knew the truth.”

Ash grunted softly. “So Pershing knows not who you are?”

“No,” she said sternly. “I doubt he even knows my name.”

“Why did you not come forward sooner?” he asked her.

“What good would that have done?” she replied angrily.

“I was just a child and had no proof. He could have had me killed in a heartbeat. I have just now come of age but still have no means of unseating him. There’s no one left who is loyal to the old regime.”

“So that’s what she meant, your mother. About me being an ally.”

Key felt flustered and embarrassed that he had overheard how she planned to use his position to her advantage.

“Yes, but I don’t expect anything of you,” she assured him. “It is not your fight.”

“Keyara,” he said with emotion, “I would do anything for you. I need you to understand that. If the throne of Levia is what you want, we will march on them as soon as we return to Kodia.

“But ask yourself, truthfully, is that what you really desire?”