She dropped her hands and frowned. “I’m not the queen. I told you that already.”
Mathos frowned back. “You thought you were the princess. Now you know that you’re the queen.”
She pursed her lips and then shrugged. “No. I’m just a normal person. I’m not this Lucilla person, my name is… ah… Claudia.”
Mathos could feel his blood pressure rising, and he fought the very strong desire to roll his eyes. The guard in the tavern leading the squad that was looking for her had been a Lieutenant Claudius…. Had she seriously just named herself after him? “There’s no point in denying it. We all know that you are Lucilla. And now you know that we’re not here to hurt you, you can admit it.”
She shook her head more forcefully. “I’m not the queen, and nor do I want to be the queen.”
Mathos narrowed his eyes. “Of course you want to be the queen. Once you’re the queen, you can do anything you want. Everybody wants that.”
“Alanna didn’t want to be queen,” she said slowly.
His beast twitched as his irritation grew. “Alanna was never really the queen. You are.”
She gave a small shrug, as if the subject meant nothing to her. “Thank you for this, ah, lovely dinner. And for telling me all of this news, of course. But I’m not the queen. I’m—” Her eyes darted to the side and back again. “—Claudia.”
She smiled encouragingly, and he imagined it was a look that she was used to using to get her way. “I don’t want to be involved in any of this. If you can maybe help me find my way out of these woods, I’d be very grateful, and then we can go our separate ways.”
It had been so long since Tor spoke that the deep rumble of his voice startled them both as he declared firmly, “You must go back and do your duty.”
Lucilla frowned, biting her lip. Then she seemed to realize how much she was giving away and schooled her features back into the haughty princess look that was starting to really get on Mathos’s nerves. “I’m not this person you’re looking for, and I don’t want to be. I want to be free. I want to travel and see things. Meet people, maybe make some friends. I’m tired of constantly being watched and told what to do by my father’s staff. I’m sure it’s even worse for queens.”
Hell. Just when he was starting to feel sorry for her, she had to pull out the spoiled princess card and make him want to throttle her. “We have been searching for you for weeks. As we speak, we have people, including Alanna, working to prove your birthright, to make sure you can take your throne the second we get back. There is no one else. The kingdom needs you.”
She shook her head slowly, denying his words. “You need to find this… Lucilla woman. Or otherwise, find someone else. I’m sure there are lots of people who’d like to be the queen. Or king. Ask one of them.”
His scales flickered up his arms in a slow wave. Gods, she sounded just like his mother. A million and one things she wanted and didn’t want; meanwhile, he was the one working like a dog to hold everything together.
And, when it came down to it, what had all that hard work meant? Nothing. He had still failed. But he wasn’t going to fail at this.
He stood up, not caring that he was looming over Lucilla, fully scaled. “We are trying to save the kingdom from civil war. Do you know how many people will die? What it would mean to have our people fighting each other?” Mathos snarled. “I know that you’re too spoiled—”
A heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he swallowed the nasty observation he was about to make, allowing Tor to continue for them both.
“I don’t think you understand,” the Apollyon rumbled in his deep voice. “We’re looking for you because your kingdom needs you, but we’re not the only people hunting for you. Lieutenant Claudius and his men are also looking for you. And Dornar—the new Lord High Chancellor—he’s looking for you too, and I wouldn’t wish that conniving bastard on my worst enemy.”
It was one of the longest speeches Mathos had ever heard Tor make, but his friend wasn’t done. “We could have walked away and left that asshole Dornar to take the throne. We could have allowed the inevitable civil war that followed when the council and the nobles split into factions, all trying to take power for themselves. But we didn’t, because we are guards of Brythoria and we will always protect her people.”
Tor gave Lucilla a stern look. “We want you to be queen. The others… well, I can guarantee that Dornar has no intention of letting you make your own decisions; he’ll have you married to him and under his control so fast, you won’t even have taken a breath. Now, you can come back with us, sit safely on the throne where you belong, and protect your people at the same time. Or you can take your chances out in the woods until one of the others finds you and makes the decision for you.”
Mathos glared at Tor. “After all this, you’re just letting her go?”
“Yes. And if you weren’t being so irrational right now, you’d do the same.”
Mathos looked at Tor and then back at Lucilla. Then he stared up at the canopy of trees over their heads in silent contemplation as his beast churned unhappily. Fuck it all, Tor was right. They couldn’t kidnap her, however bloody unreasonable she was being. But it didn’t mean he had to pander to her either.
Finally, he sighed, met her eyes, and swept one arm out toward the dark woods. “He’s right. You’re free to go.”
Lucilla peered over her shoulder to the cold, dark woods, her eyes widening.
“But then we’re leaving without you,” he added firmly.
Chapter Five
Lucilla sank back downonto the log.
She’d been about to stand up, hand them back their plate, and walk away. Back to the dark woods on her own. Back to being hungry and thirsty and cold and lonely. Back to having no idea where to go or even how to get out of the forest.
