I exited the tent, but my niece followed after me. I untied Lucien’s lashings, waiting for whatever she wanted to say.
“There’s something I want to tell you before you go.”I lifted my brows, waiting.“I don’t trust Claire’s wolves.”
I shook my head.“There is nothing to worry about.”
“What if they are werewolves?”
“Preposterous.”
She stomped her foot. “She’s keeping things from you. You said it yourself!”
I stabbed my cane into the hard-packed snow.“It’s not her fault. It’s that choker. She can’t tell me who did this to her without it killing her. But she wants to.”
“Doesn’t that seem like the most suspicious part of all of this? That someone would risk her life to keep their secret?”She threw her hands into the air.“Wake up, Uncle. She’s a spy. A spy who grew up loving Witches of the Light, and that has two wolves that she conveniently got while you were away.”
“That’s enough,”I snarled.“You don’t know her as I do.”
She set her hand on her hip.“Right. I can’t possibly understand her, because I don’t share her bed.”
I lifted my cane, holding it precariously between us.The fragile alliance that we had built on the ride over was disappearing.“You are out of line.”
She said nothing, only glared at me.
I mounted Lucien, ready to leave.
“Fine. Maybe I am out of line,”Natalia admitted. “But that’s why you made me your second in command. Because I see things other people don’t. And right now, I’m seeing trouble.”
I’d grown weary of these arguments. I squeezed my calvesaround Lucien’s big body and clicked my tongue. He started back in the direction of the gate.
“If you don’t listen to a thing I say,” Natalia shouted after me,“at least separate her from those wolves. And for goddess sake, don’t let her keep them in your room.”
I pulled back on the reins. The disrespect. To shout at me like this. I swiftly dismounted, set on stripping her of command. But when I stared into her eyes, I saw the young girl who’d just told me her most closely guarded secret. I saw the fiercest fighter of her age, shunned by a father who wouldn’t accept her words as truth. I’d sworn to her that I’d never be that person. That I’d never punish her for speaking her truth. And that I’d believe her.
Now, I was going back on my promise.
“And what do you suggest I do with them?”
Pleadingly, Natalia said,“Give them to me! I’ll tie it up for you!”
“What kind of message would that send to my mate if I tied up her wolves?”
For the longest time, Natalia had been the most important woman in my life. I cherished her counsel. But now I had someone else. And I had to think of my wife first. I had to.
She let out a frustrated breath and shook her head. “Fine. Don’t listen to me. I’m probably just seeing threats in the woods. I just…” Her voice trailed off. “After what happened at Kemp Manor, I worry about you.”
I nodded. She disappeared back into the commander’s tent, and I turned back to my horse. I rode back through the streets of Roselyn alone, contemplating all that was on my mind. But I wasn’t alone with my thoughts for long. As I trotted by, mothers and children emerged from their homes with baskets of flowers. Theythrew long stems of baby’s breath along the dirt road. A ritual offering to soldiers before they left over the pass.
I stopped for a little girl, who was no older than three, holding out a flower for me. She was dressed in rabbit fur that didn’t look nearly warm enough for the weather. Her pretty golden blond hair was whipping around red cheeks.
Dismounting, I knelt beside her and took the flower she was offering.
Her mother, who was hovering an arm’s length away, said, “Your curtsy, Annalise! Don’t forget your curtsy!”
The little girl tried, but nearly fell over. I quickly steadied her with a hand. “Annalise is a very nice name. My name is Bastien.”
Smiling, I removed the brooch holding my cloak around my shoulders, then draped it around her little shoulders.
“That’s not necessary, Your Grace,” her mother said.
