Page 162 of Enchanted Heir
Hatcher reached into his tailcoat and pulled out something in his hand. “The heart bonded couple are a couple I know personally. I let it slip that Iron Will might be the reason the forest is beginning to bloom in places, and I was able to get you a small sample of blood fairly easily.” He sat the vile on the table, a small amount of red in the bottom of the little tube. “This is the blood of someone with Iron Will who has been given a drop of magic. The only living person in the kingdom I could find.”
My breath caught. Hatcher had just hand delivered all my questions, everything I needed to make an informed decision about this.
“It is your choice, my dear, if you allow the king to test it or if you would like to,” he said.
I thought on that. If I took it to the king, he would be intrigued and think we were still playing nice. But if I gave it to the king, I’d also have to tell Krew and come clean to him about why I wanted to test the healing properties of that blood.
My eyes went to Owen, his already on mine.
“Your call, Jorah,” he said.
And then I knew. In a split second, I knew the choice I wanted to make. I trusted no one with this. Not with this kind soul who had given up their blood to be tested.
“Can we walk you out?” I asked with a smirk. “I believe Owen and I have a test to run.”
Hatcher grinned. “As you wish.” He paused. “I should note that this heart bonded pairing is not of Valanova blood. A drop of Krew’s blood would make you much stronger that the case I found, but we also have no evidence that the bonding changes the chemical makeup of the blood at all.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
Hatcher cocked his head as he looked at me. “And this is of your choosing? You want magic?”
I shook my head. “No, I do not. I’ve never wanted magic, however, I believe that if I want a future with Krew, it is needed. If I want to survive his father, it is needed. I don’t choose the magic, I choose the man.”
Hatcher gave me a nod. “And you know that the bonding is permanent? Should you ever want to break the bond, it would weaken you both?”
Me more so than him. I took a deep breath. “Yes, I know that too.”
Hatcher gestured for the door. “Then let’s go run your test, my dear.”
* * *
I groanedand wanted to pound my head into the cold, snowy ground. It’d been four days since we put the sample of blood into the ground by a tree in the meadow. And there was still nothing.
I knew it could take two or three weeks. I knew that. But for some stupid reason, I’d hoped I’d have an answer right away.
I had also worried we did this the complete wrong time of year. The ground was frozen. Maybe we should have brought some soil inside and then hid it from Krew. Then again, my tears had made dozens of blooms on the frozen ground.
Still, it had been just enough time that I began to wonder, what if nothing ever grew? What if I was faced with the decision of trying to heal this forest or trying to protect Krew? Both things important and dear to me.
“I don’t want to have to pick one,” I muttered to Owen.
He patted my shoulder. “I know. Give it another week before you go all doom and gloom on me, okay? We have to give it time.”
I let out a sigh. “Fine.”
“Fine.”
Back up in Krew’s wing, that afternoon Krew came back from his daily meetings angry. I knew it in how tense his neck looked and how his magic seemed to be flashing within his skin every few minutes. I didn’t quite know why, I just knew he was off. Since declaring his love for me, he’d seemed so happy. We’d stolen as many moments together away as we possibly could. Since the attack, everything had finally settled down. Or so I thought. Today proved maybe not.
“Krew?” I asked, peeking my head into his room where he was pacing. “Are you all right?”
He pulled at his hair. “No. But yes. You are to come to dinner here in a bit.”
I knew the way he said it meant it wasn’t optional. The king had demanded it.
“All right,” I said, “I’ll go tell the guards to ring for Silvia.”
Krew strode for me, taking my hand in his. “I apologize, love. I knew I couldn’t keep you from him forever, but I had foolishly hoped that after taking a whip to your shoulder, you could at least avoid him for a while.”
