He bowed politely. “Mistress Izabel, I’m glad to have found you.”
“Good afternoon.” She returned his bow, trying to place him. She’d seen him before, but where? Was this someone she’d treated in her clinic?
“I’m Sergeant Dashiell,” he explained with a dimpled smile. “The knight commander sent me.”
So, this is the man who found Narya.
She remembered now; she’d seen him in the corridor the night she’d rushed to help Shane. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Dashiell. Did Commander Luka have a message for me?”
“He told me that you needed a guard and asked me to accompany you home.” A flicker of mulberry-purple scales gleamed at Dashiell’s throat as he settled into a relaxed stance, his hands clasped behind his back. “The knight commander will join you there as soon as he’s free.”
Izzy frowned. “I thought….” She paused. She’d thought Luka would avoid her for as long as possible, but she wasn’t going to say that. “I hadn’t expected a guard.”
His relaxed smile didn’t falter. “My instructions were to follow at a distance and see you safely inside your shop.”
Izabel wavered for a moment—the rich scent from the dining hall was hard to ignore—but she wanted to go home, and thiswas exactly the sort of thing Luka would do. He would want her to be safe; she knew that. And if he was coming to see her later, she could share her concerns with him then.
Luka obviously thought it was okay for her to leave, and she remembered him mentioning that he was considering Dashiell for a place in the castle guard. “Okay. I’ll just ask a messenger to let Commander Luka know.”
“Of course.” Dashiell gave her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you write him a note?”
That was a good idea. Izzy had a pouch with a small selection of portable inkwells and parchment. She settled at the end of a table in the dining hall and wrote a quick letter to Luka, telling him Dashiell had found her and she was going home. She sealed it with a double fold, tucking the flap inside.
The sergeant took the note politely and strode to a messenger at the side of the hall. She watched as he handed it over with a few low words.
Good. She would be safe walking through the market. Sergeant Dashiell would see her home, and she could catch her breath before she had to face Luka. Izzy lifted her satchel higher on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Of course.” He dipped into a perfect bow. “You go ahead, and I’ll follow ten paces behind. Don’t worry about anything.” He smiled. “I’ll watch over you.”
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Luka stormedthrough the castle as if there were firebats on his tail. He had no intention of explaining anything, especially not to Shane, Iona, and Danikha.
And you don’t want to admit what you did.
Of course he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t even want to think about it.
Maybe Danikha can help.
Luka slowed to a walk, took one more step, and stopped, letting his shoulder sag. He didn’t want to talk to Danikha or anyone else. He wanted Izabel. Was she in the clinic looking for a murderer, holding her chin up while Melo took swipes at her? Was she thinking about him? Or had she finally decided he was too much of an asshole to bother with? In a few hours, she would leave. And why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t as if she needed him….
Gods, he’d been so wrapped up in himself, he hadn’t even realized thatshedidn’t have claws. The agony of that sudden understanding seared through him like a hot blade. His beast knew Izzy was his mate, but hers did not.
Whose fault is that?his beast roared.You pushed her away again and again!
Luka put an arm out to support himself on the wall as his heart broke. The pain was visceral, bleeding through his hands, his belly, his chest, as his beast howled inside him. He didn’t even look up when Shane wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him, stumbling, down the corridor to his office. The same office they’d met in the night they’d found Narya’s body.
So much had happened since then, and yet, they were still in exactly the same place. No… they were in a worse place.
Luka sank onto a leather sofa beside the fire and let his head drop into his throbbing hands. He was utterly exhausted. He didn’t know what to do. He had no plan. No sacrifice to make. No bargain to try. Nothing left at all. He was alone in a strange and fearful place. Again.
“Here.” Shane nudged him with a clear crystal glass filled with… something.
Luka waved it away. “I don’t want it.”
“It’s water.”
