Amos’ mind reeled. She hadn’t planned on coming home to him? He’d thought they’d travel to the Mountain Kingdom together. There had to be a misunderstanding. “She and I are going together.”
Ruth and Sariah exchanged a brief glance and Amos wanted to bang his fists on the table like an angry child.
“When was the last time you heard from her?” Ruth asked.
“Ten days ago.” He looked between the two women. “When did you?”
“You might want to check the post,” Sariah muttered. “We received a letter five days ago, just before we left.”
“If Isabella were in another kingdom, I’d check the post every day,” Rainer cut in, unhelpfully.
Amos grabbed his dagger and flung it at his cousin. “I’ve been a little busy putting out fires.”
Turned out, when you took over as king because you executed the old one, not everyone was happy. The old king was a tyrant, but that didn’t seem to matter. Amos didn’t want to address the kingdom again until he had his mate with him, so everyone would have to wait.
Rainer snagged the dagger out of the air by the hilt. “Then it’s better Clover travels with Rennick and Amelia. You can handle things here with no distractions before leaving.”
Amos ignored his cousin. Like hell was he going any longer than he had to without seeing her. “Callum said Rennick plans to marry Amelia during his coronation celebration.” Amos picked up an envelope from the middle of the table and pulled out the invitation. “This has all the information. Rainer, I want you and Isabella here, watching over the kingdom while we’re gone.” Rainer and Isabella both had royal magic and could protect the kingdom from Paul just as well as Amos and Clover could. “Ruth and Sariah,” he continued, “I want you to come with me to the Mountain Kingdom for extra protection.”
Lester shifted in his chair to lean forward. He hated traveling to the capital but he was a highly respected highborn. His backing of Amos had done wonders with the other highbornswho weren’t terrible enough for the Hydra to kill but weren’t trustworthy enough to be brought into the fold.
“I know you want to see your sister,” the old man started, “but leaving the kingdom right now isn’t smart. As soon as Paul realizes you’re not here, he’ll attack.”
“He won’t know we’re gone,” Amos replied and pointed at Rainer. “He has the good fortune of getting to glamour himself to look like me.”
Rainer flipped him off.
TWENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY
Something warm and hard held Clover tightly, and the world rocked gently beneath her. Cool morning air brushed against her cheek—the cool morning air?
Clover forced her eyes open to find herself on a horse with a solid presence pressed against her back.
The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her room at the boarding house. How the hell did she end up passed out on a horse with a stranger?
“I can feel your panic, little viper,” Amos’ smooth voice rumbled. Pieces slotted into place. Clover’s mind snapped to attention, and she tried to twist out of his hold. “Stop moving,” he chided. “You’ll make us both fall.”
She tilted her head back to glower at him. “Did you kidnap me?”
His handsome smile held no apology. “I did.”
“Amos,” she shrieked with outrage. “You can’t kidnap me because you feel like it.”
“It seems I can.” He kissed the top of her head like they were on a fun little adventure.
Fucking men. Clover surveyed herself. He’d put her in one of her wool dresses with a coat, but the skirt was torn in several places. “What did you do to my skirt?”
“I made it easier to put you in the saddle.”
She counted to ten to keep from screaming. “You ruined one of my favorite dresses to make it easier to kidnap me? Am I understanding that correctly?”
“It sounds bad when you say it like that,” Amos said, not sounding the least bit remorseful. “You won’t be needing that dress anymore anyway. I’ve already had your clothes from Vetta moved into our home.”Our home.Her heart flipped traitorously.
“Just because I’m moving home doesn’t mean I won’t need cold-weather clothing. You can’t go around destroying people’s clothing. I need dresses for the Mountain Kingdom.”The Mountain Kingdom.She cursed. Rennick would come for Amelia soon. “We have to go back to Friya,” Clover insisted, kicking herself for momentarily forgetting about her friend. “Rennick is coming for your sister, and I need to be there.”
“Stop wiggling,” Amos grunted, pulling their horse to a stop.
“Let me down,” she ordered. “I don’t want her going alone.”
