It was the morning of the third day after we’d returned to Easteria when a messenger found me poring over an ancient text in the castle’s library. Clearing his throat to get my attention, he waited until I looked up to tell me Lord Roan and his wife, Lady Dawn, had arrived.
I blinked back at him in surprise. It took me a second to remember that Stryker had told me Zander also went by the name Roan. Dawn and Zander. They came!
I’d sent word to Dawn about what had happened to Stryker and finding the Shadow Heart, but hadn’t requested any aid. What could they do for us that Stryker’s healers and physicians weren’t already? They had their own kingdom to worry about, but it was sweet of them to drop everything and come.
The messenger nodded and I quickly shut the book I was reading and rushed out of the library. I’d taken it upon myself to do research on the Shadow Heart. Stryker’s library was vast, and when I wasn’t sitting vigil at his bedside, I was usually deep inside the ancient texts, trying to figure out what we were supposed to do with it to stop the curse.
So far, I’d come up empty, but I was trying not to let that be another thing that discouraged me. Right now it was a problem for another day. Or possibly another princess. It was not lost on me that the Wise Ones had only told me to find the Shadow Heart, not to use it.
The castle guards had led Dawn and Zander into the throne room,which was customarily where royalty greeted each other and where I waited for them now. I’m sure more than one eyebrow rose when I ran forward and flung myself in Dawn’s arms. Ethereum wasn’t so different from Faerie, so the castle staff probably weren’t used to their leaders being informal, but I couldn’t care less. I was scared and needed a friend.
Dawn’s strong arms came up around me instantly and she squeezed me back just as hard.
“I can’t believe you battled a shadow dragon,” she said when we finally broke apart, concern shining from her eyes even though I was no longer in danger from the vicious beast.
I gave a wobbly half-laugh. “It’s an experience I hope never to repeat. And Stryker did most of the battling.”
“How’s my brother?” Zander asked from behind Dawn.
She shifted to the side and he stepped up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist to draw her near. I didn’t even think he realized he was doing it, but I could tell that his concern for his brother was making him anxious and he needed her physically close.
Seeing them interact and how they leaned on one another made something twist in my chest. I could easily picture Stryker and I being each other’s rocks and safe places, but what if we never got the opportunity to have what they did?
I mentally shook myself, knowing that wallowing in fear would get me nowhere. Besides, that’s not what Stryker needed from me right now. He needed my strength, not my weakness.
“The same, I’m afraid,” I told him. “He still hasn’t woken. The healers and physicians think he just needs more time, but …”
I let the sentence trail off, not knowing what else to say. The grimness in Zander’s face told me he understood what I left unsaid. That he should have woken by now.
“Come,” I said, turning and gesturing that they should follow me. “You must have come to see him for yourself. I’ll take you to him.”
When I glanced over my shoulder to see if they were following, I caught them exchanging a look that made my stomach plummet to my toes. That’s not why they were here. At least not the only reason.
“What is it?” I asked bluntly, turning back to them.
Zander sighed. “I do want to see my brother, but before that, can we go somewhere to talk?” He cast a glance around the throne room, his eyes catching on the few guards stationed around us. “Somewhere private?” he added, and a feeling of foreboding settled in my chest.
Stealing myself, I took Dawn and Zander back to the library and then instructed the guards that followed us to wait outside. I shut the double doors behind us and turned to face them. “What’s going on?”
“We think there’s a rogue group planning a coup against Stryker,” Zander said plainly.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest. “Why would you think that?”
“You may or may not know that my kingdom was taken over by rebels led by a creature from darkness called the rondak. They killed my brother and then seized the kingdom from me. It wasn’t until Dawn arrived,” he said, shooting his wife an affectionate smile that she returned, “that I was able to reclaim what was mine.”
I nodded because Dawn had filled me in on what happened during our time together, so I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Ever since that happened I fortified my spy network,” Zander continued. “I never want to be caught unawares if something like that starts brewing again. I have several trusted spies embedded in what’s left of that rebel faction. Two days ago I received word from them that news of Stryker’s condition has reached the rebel leaders, and that they are planning on trying to take this kingdom while my brother is unable to do anything about it.”
I gasped and pressed a hand to my stomach. Stryker was literally fighting for his life right now, and this group was planning on taking advantage of his weakness? To take away everything that meant anything to him.
Anger rose up on the heels of fear and disbelief. I wouldn’t let that happen. This was Stryker’s kingdom, his land. I wouldn’t let him lose it.
I started back toward the doors, already forming a plan in my mind.
“What are you doing?” Dawn called to me before I reached them.
“Getting ready to defend my mate’s legacy,” I said with conviction.
