Rowan’s fingers ghosted along my side, as though he wanted to hold me but struggled with knowing how. “You were an orphan like me?”
“Yeah.” I tilted my face to the starry night sky. “Not to sound cheesy, but I didn’t know what love felt like until meeting Maddox and Briar. Then, Lake came into my life and deepened that love. They’re my family now. So are Callum, Duke, and the other knights. Prince Sawyer and Kuya too.”
Rowan withdrew his arm and returned it to his drawn-up knee. “Families are a burden. They chain you to one place. It’s better to be free of those attachments.”
“Is that why you left Axel and Wren? So you wouldn’t form any attachments?” I kept my gaze on the stars.
Silence.
I chanced a peek at Rowan. He stared at the crescent moon above us, jaw tight.
“You’re the boy Axel was talking about, aren’t you?”
“As I told him, that boy died long ago.” He rose from the roof and dusted off his pants. “Come on. I’ll take you back before the wolf comes hunting for you.”
The journey back to the inn was quiet. He didn’t tease me or grace me with his smart-ass mouth. We walked along the road instead of flying across rooftops, something that should’ve made me happy but didn’t. Our footsteps echoed against the cobblestone street. Well,myfootsteps. His were soundless.
“Sorry if I upset you,” I said once we’d walked for several blocks. The street was mostly deserted, apart from the occasional groups of people shuffling in and out of the nearby taverns—the only places with light spilling through the windowswhile all other shops remained dark. Everyone must’ve been either sleeping, at the festival, or drinking themselves silly.
Rowan kept his gaze forward.
His lack of a response amped up my anxiety. I was a total people-pleaser and hated when I did something wrong. Just as I was wracking my brain for something—anything—to say, he grabbed me by both arms and shoved me into a narrow alleyway.
“Rowan, what—”
“Shh.” His mouth pressed to my ear as he pinned me to the wall. “We’re being followed.”
My scalp tingled as his words registered. Heavy footsteps then came from the direction we’d just been. I tried not to breathe too loud as those steps grew closer. A familiar form then took shape at the head of the alley. I’d recognize that mountain anywhere.
“It’s Ban,” I whispered. “He’s one of the guards escorting me.”
Rowan placed his hand over my mouth. “Stay quiet.”
My visual of the guard distorted a bit, as though a dark cloud had wrapped around us. Rowan’s magic. He was cloaking us within the shadows, hiding our presence. But why would he hide us from a guard ordered to protect me?
Ban stood there for several moments, staring directly at us, it seemed like, before moving on. His heavy steps retreated, the echo growing fainter.
“Okay, why did we hide from him? He—”
“You can’t trust anyone,” Rowan interjected, still pressed against me. The heat of his body seeped into mine. “Not the coachman. Not the guards. Not even the two knights you call your family. Trust no one except for your wolf.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
I lightly huffed. “I’m not a kid, Rowan. I can handle the truth. All of this cryptic craziness is making me… well, crazy.”
“The truth?” His topaz eyes bled through the darkness. “The kingdom of Haran has infiltrated the Order of Knightsandmanaged to shift alliances of some men already within the ranks. Friends could now be foes. A knight you give your silly little muffins to one day could be the one who drives a blade through your captain’s heart.”
“Please don’t say that,” I said, sick by the thought. I would’ve given anything to see Maddox right then. To hold him and know he was okay.
Rowan’s brow wrinkled. “Your captain is too stubborn and irritating to fall victim to an enemy’s trap. So stop worrying. Before we left, I gave him names and what I know of their plan.”
“Which is what?”
“First, attacking the knights from the inside,” he answered. “Do you recall the patrol of Third Order knights who were killed in the dark wood?”
I nodded. “I met Captain Braun the day after the attack. He was upset over the death of his men.”
