Page 54 of Hidden Fate

Thorn snarled so loudly the sound hurt my ears.

“Donotfinish that word,” he seethed. “You were going to let that arrogantdouchemarry my fated mate.”

“I didn’tknow.” The pain in her voice was evident. “I didn’t have a clue.”

I was tired of everyone’s bullshit. “When Drake forced me to meet you two at breakfast, you thought you caught a whiff of Thorn’s scent as I sat down. You reacted so strongly that the table almost toppled over.”

Errol and Vlad moved closer, coming to stand on our other side so we could all see one another. I could smell Saphira and Tyson and hear them breathing at the threshold of the door.

“If that was the case, Mira,” Errol said, frowning, “you would’ve known she was mated to Thorn.”

“I couldn’t believe it.” Her voice sounded so sad…so weak. “First, I learned that the son I thought was dead had been alive all this time, and then the son I did know brought home a fiancée who reminded me of the son I thought was dead, and things just spiraled out of control. I didn’t want to face what any of it could mean.”

She’d been in denial. Gods, I understood that. I’d seen what Mom went through when her entire life changed. Though this situation wasn’t a terminal illness, it was still life-altering. Sometimes it was easier to turn a blind eye to something that could change things fundamentally than it was to deal with it…until you had to.

Some of my anger fizzled, but Thorn’s didn’t. He hadn’t gone through anything like this before, not really.

“That’s why you kept the announcement generic.” Vlad rubbed the scruff on his face. “You didn’t mean Drake when you were saying that. You meant Thorn the entire time.”

“Yes. I willnotbetray Thorn…not again.” Her voice shook as if she were suppressing a sob. “Drake went too far in killing Arman, but he threatened to injure more people I care about if I didn’t partake in the video and make it look like I supported him. I…I can’t…handle causing more pain through my decisions and indiscretions.”

Errol clenched his jaw. “He’s threatening you?”

“No, but he will if I don’t play the doting mother. He isn’t aware that I know he killed Arman. He told me it was Thorn, and that opened my eyes to what’s been happening all along. Thinking back, Arman and I ignored so many signs. We focused everything on him because of our guilt and grief over what we’d done to Thorn.”

That all-too-familiar stream of emotions swirled between my mate and me. Again, Thorn felt hurt, sad, and betrayed, but with hope also blending in. The sensation was so intense that my body weakened. Even the buzz of our connection didn’t ease what he was going through, and I wished I could do something beyond just standing next to him. I wanted to fix the problem…but it was something only time could heal.

“How did you find out?” he asked roughly.

There was a pause. “I can’t tell you. I promised them.”

It sounded like someone the queen trusted had told her everything.Do you trust her?I connected with Thorn, needing to hear his unbiased opinion before the inevitable group conversation.

He glanced at me and took my hand.I do, which makes this harder.

Just like the king’s death had taken a bigger toll on him than he wanted to address, I could sense his sadness. It was easier to think of his biological parents as bad people than as flawed beings who had made a terrible mistake.Me, too.

He nodded.

“What’s your plan, Mira?” Errol covered his mouth with his hands.

She sighed in relief. “Someone in Drake’s inner circle is feeding me information. I can tell you where Drake’s going and what his plans are so you can save the people he’s trying to…”

The silence was thick, and the four of us glanced at one another. None of us spoke up to finish her sentence. If she was saying what I thought she was, then I neededto hearheracknowledge it, and we needed to find out how much she knew.

“That he’s trying to k-kill.” Her voice broke on the last word, but she’d said it solidly enough for us to understand.

She knew everything.

“I can’t get over that. The way he’s been manipulating us while hurting our people.” She sniffed. “And my poor, sweet Arman paid the cost for our obliviousness. But no more. This has to end.”

“That information will help us save our people, but to stop the coronation, we need to know more than the locations Drake plans to attack or search,” Thorn said, tugging me to his side so our bodies pressed together.

The sizzle of our connection exploded, but I couldn’t enjoy it in the current situation.

Queen Mira exhaled. “I’m figuring that part out, but we need allies. I need you to help thunders and find the guards who fought for you. That’s your first assignment. A dragon shifter flying near Pilot Mountain in North Carolina noticed a group of ten warriors in the woods. They think the guards are loyal toyou, Thorn. Drake is preparing to send fifty warriors there tonight to kill them. You need to get to them first.”

Our group became silent. This was a huge risk, one that would surely send us into a trap if she was working with Drake. But if she was telling the truth, we would have ten trained men fighting alongside us. That would be a huge increase to our extremely low numbers.

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