“Oh, honey, didn’t Kade tell you? Bears marry for love. Always. We don’t do the arrangement thing like the cold wolves—”
“Mother,” Kade said, a slight warning in his tone.
She waved a hand. “I’m sorry, but it’s weird to me. Breeding for dominance, mating for pedigree…”
It was weird. I’d never been a fan of it, but the way she put it, so bluntly, it really struck me how odd it actually was. Why didn’t we marry for love? Why didn’t we teach our young that it was okay to do that? Lineage should come second, love first. But when you grew up knowing that was the way, it was hard to break.
“You’re right. It is weird,” I said, and she smiled.
“Yep, but then again, so is a bear and a wolf. It took some getting used to, but I knew you had to be a special woman. Kade’s been talking about you since your coronation.”
“Is that right?” I said, raising my eyebrows at the king.
Kade grinned then, and I could see that cocky confidence he was so well known for. He always owned his feelings. His gaze remained on my face, before he gave me the slightest of winks. Damn bear.
“So, Mother, how was Florida?”
Annette went with the change, starting out with a hilarious tale of a few bear cubs in the Orlando den.
Our breakfast was brought out then, huge piles of bacon, eggs, and sausages, fruit platters, small rolls and sweets. I might have lost my throne, but this morning I’d still eat like a queen.Annette and Kade had huge appetites. For once I was the one eating smaller.
I realized that I had barely stopped smiling for thirty minutes. It was so warm and friendly at this table. I was starting to see where Kade’s beautiful heart and soul had come from. I’d never known what his father had been like, but his mother was wonderful. And funny. She gossiped and told tales, all of it in good humor. Once we finished eating, Annette announced that she was going to head back to her house.
“It was so lovely to meet you,” I said, standing and bowing into a curtsy.
Annette grabbed me and hauled me in for another hug. When she pulled back she kept her hands on my shoulders. “I’ve lost my husband and my eldest son, so Kade is all I have now. I want a big fancy wedding to help plan, and a couple grandbabies one day. You got it?”
A grumble rocked Kade’s chest, but I just laughed.
“Yes, ma’am,” I told her, and she winked, giving Kade a long hug before leaving the room.
Once she was gone, Kade turned to me. “Sorry, she’s a little intense.”
I smiled. “She’s wonderful.” It was refreshing to have someone so brutally honest, although Annette and Baladar in the same room might be too much to handle.
“What now?” he asked me.
My features hardened. “Now we make a plan to get Violet back. Starting with the tree in your yard.”
Kade tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. My heart rate picked up and I almost missed when he asked, “The old fae tree you can talk to?”
Kade had tried to communicate with the tree in the same way as me, but nothing happened. No voices, no energy. I really should ask the faeling why that was, but for now I was more interested in hashing out a rescue plan.
I nodded. “Hopefully he can give us the right information to help with our plans to rescue Violet.”
Kade nodded, trusting me without explanation. I led him out onto the front lawn, both of us striding toward the huge, ancient, gnarled tree. By the time Wednesday arrived I wanted a map of the fae lands, names of the leaders of the courts, and any information that would help me get my best friend back.
The days passed quickly,and before I knew it, it was Wednesday morning. We were finalizing the plan to rescue Violet, armed with all the knowledge I’d managed to glean from many hours beneath the fae treeling. It’d had much toshare, although most of it was outdated. The tree spirit couldn’t be sure of the current leaders of the courts, only those who were in power when it was in the Otherworld. With their long lives, it was hopefully still the same leadership.
More importantly, the terrain and way of life wouldn’t have changed. I had my rough map and some clues as to where the dark court would have taken a prisoner.Prisoner.That word was like a punch to the gut.
I stood before my inner circle, preparing to give everyone a job for tonight. Kade’s job, which he’d only just learned, was to stay back here and rule the bears, keep everything calm while I was gone. I wanted a stealth sneak attack; a big party in fae land wasn’t on the menu. I’d known he was going to fight me on it, but I had to try. It was the best thing for his people, and … I couldn’t lose him too. Or be responsible for taking him away and then having Selene attack his people when she found out he was gone.
Of course, one should never argue with a bear; they were immoveable.
“It’s not going to happen, Arianna. I will never let you go to that land without me.” Kade wasn’t even mad. He just crossed his arms.
Immoveable.
