Sander had more reason to despise me and bring me misery than anyone, but he offered up a truth about my husband’s nightmares.
Jonas only fevered with fears of losing those he cherished.
Dammit. I did not know what to think.
Near a dark pond, I slid off the horse and allowed her time to drink. After a few gentle strokes to her neck, I left the mare and wandered along the water’s edge. Trees were tall and made of dark trunks and limbs. The wood did not smell of blossoms and sweet honey like on Natthaven. Here, it was like clean mist.
I’d felt accepted here, valued. Now my mind battled to convince me it was all a ruse to meet the condition of the alliance.
The horse whinnied across the pond, plodding her hooves with impatience. No wonder. Through the gaps in the branches, a tumult of darkened clouds rolled across the sky. I let out a sigh. If I wished to beat the storm, I would need to confront the prince sooner than later.
I kept walking around the pond, already halfway back, but on my next step, the ground gave out and I fell into nothing but empty black.
Chapter 29
The Nightmare Prince
“Have you seen the princess?”I took hold of a gardener’s arm.
The man wiped damp off his long hair from the rain. “No, can’t say I have.”
Skadi was not in her side of the chamber, not in the great hall, nor the gardens. Dorsan was nowhere to be found, and there was a heat in my blood that something was not right. I strode toward the front of the palace.
Heavy sheets of rain pounded against the glass panes of every window and dark skies let out the anger of the gods with booming thunder.
I took a few steps up a spiral staircase until I could peer out one of the lancet windows. Only some of the staff raced across the front drive of the grounds, seeking refuge from the storm.
Where the hells was my wife?
A side door crashed open. Sander was soaked from his pale tunic to his hair, slicked to his brow from the storm.
And he wasn’t alone. Dorsan wiped his eyes free of water.
“Jonas.” Sander lengthened his strides. “Did Skadi return?”
“Return from where? I’ve been looking for her.”
“Dammit.” Sander dragged his hand over his soaked hair. “She left at least three clock tolls ago a little upset.”
Dorsan stepped forward. “I might know why. She inquired on the condition of the alliance where she was given the choice to return to her former betrothal. She mentioned something about it being prudent for you, Prince Jonas, to keep her comfortable in that time, and she left shortly after.”
“I met her in the stables during my inventory,” Sander explained. “Now it makes a bit more sense. I think she’s under the belief you might be showing her affection merely to keep her from Arion. She said something about not wanting to be a prize.”
Bleeding hells. “And you let her leave during a storm?”
Sander’s fist shoved against my chest, eyes narrowed. “I’m not an imbecile. It wasn’t raining at the time, but I wasn’t going to chain her to a post when she insisted she wanted a bit of time to think on her own.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“All right, we need to find her. The storm might have her trapped out there.” I looked to the elven guard. “Dorsan how well do you ride?”
“Impeccably, sire.”
“Then prepare horses. I’ll get others to start the search.”
Sander followed Dorsan back into the storm. I rushed deeper into the palace. A panic took hold deep in my chest, making breath difficult to draw. Not unexpected, not after the ferocity of the mesmer fever. Images of Skadi trapped, sobbing, hurt, flashed through my mind until my movements were made on instinct.
I never wanted this, but it couldn’t be denied—I’d fallen for my wife, and I could not lose her.
