Due to the situation with the dark mage in the kingdom, my men had insisted I go with them to the castle that morning. Lake told me he and Miles would take care of the café and not to worry.
“It’s a beautiful day,” he’d said before I’d left, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Perfect for sitting beneath the oak tree in front of the clinic with a good book.”
“Or for sitting on the back porch with you.”
A smile had surfaced in his purple eyes. “We can do that this evening once you return home.”
I was then guided to Maddox’s horse, placed in the saddle, and taken to the castle. Once dropping me off at the clinic with Briar, Rowan and my two knights then left with the others to begin their search. The knights would patrol the roads and sections of the forest with Reign, while Rowan used shadows totravel through the kingdom, checking rundown buildings and places the mage could be hiding out.
After spending most of the morning with Briar and Thane, I decided to take a walk. My basket of pastries was still much too heavy. Since I wasn’t a forest witch who could build the most amazing cottage ever out of desserts, I kissed Briar good bye and set out for the barracks.
The Second Order knights not on patrol might like a treat or two.
Birds chirped and the sun shone bright, ushering in warmer air. The cold clutches of winter were slowly receding. Spring was right around the corner. Give it another month and flowers would sprout again, branches would regrow their leaves, and hibernating animals would awaken.
Strolling along the path, I lifted a hand to my necklace, taking comfort in the weight of it. Protection magic flowed through my veins, almost like a warm current. The sensation had been strange in the beginning, but I’d gotten used to it. And as I thought of the possible doom endings I faced, I was thankful for that magic.
“You have no sense of self-preservation, do you?” a voice said from above me.
I nearly jumped out of my skin and reflexively karate-chopped the air. My gaze then found a familiar face. A masked one, but still. “Draven?”
He perched on the lowest branch of the tree, everything covered apart from his blue eyes and a peek of his blond hair. He dropped to the ground without a sound and rose to his full height, standing a head taller than me.
“Are you stalking me?” I asked.
Draven rolled his eyes. “I swore to Shadow I’d watch over you in his absence. A valid concern of his. You’re too unmindfulof your surroundings. If I were a threat, you’d be choking on your own blood as we speak.”
“Shadow?” I smiled. “Is that Ro’s code name?”
He stared at me.
“What’s your code name? I bet it’s Tom, isn’t it?”
The spy sighed.
“What will happen when they find the dark mage? Kill him? Torture for information?”
“Torture will only come if he refuses to talk,” he responded. “Your physician also has a truth serum that will force him to give us answers.”
“Ah, I see.” I then had an image of Rowan, masked and delicious, taunting someone with a dagger as he straddled them in a chair.
“Gods, boy!” Draven caught me by the arm. “Careful where you step.”
“Sorry.” Fire burned in my cheeks. No way in hell was I about to tell him I’d lost my footing because of a steaming hot fantasy about my redheaded boyfriend. A fantasy we might have to act out someday.
Jesus.Had I just unlocked a new kink?
“Shadow owes me quite the debt. You make my head ache.”
“Wanna know what helps my headaches?” I reached into my basket and withdrew a chocolate chip cookie. When he didn’t take it, I waved it in front of his face and made my voice higher in pitch. “Eat me, Draven. I’m not poisoned. I’m filled with love.”
“What is that voice?” Even with most of his face covered, I saw the amusement he tried to hide.
“It’s your conscience speaking. It wants you to eat the damn cookie.”
He snatched it from my hand and lifted the bottom of his mask, revealing a sharp jawline and set of cupid bow lips. Aftershoving the cookie into his mouth, he lowered it again and watched me as he chewed.
I swallowed hard. Not sure what I expected under his mask, but an Adonis-looking mother-trucker wasn’t it. That one quick glimpse left little doubt in my mind that Draven was fine as hell.
