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He’s clean, demonstrating that he has at least been using the amenities of the chamber, even if he prefers the floor.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper into his ear as my throat finally unlocks and my words are set free.
Arwan and Godric share a look. The royal was right. It was some sort of “bond sickness,” as he had called it, that was giving me strange side effects. Black-tipped fingers from being away from Arwan.
And the inability to speak from being away from Ze’ev.
What would being away from Godric do to me?
This complicated things, but I shove all those concerns out of my mind as Ze’ev presses a reassuring kiss to my brow.
“She’ll need to remain here with both of you for the night,” Godric says as he locks the door and returns the key to the wall. “I’ll be back in the morning to take her for training. We’ll alternate her to keep the sickness at bay until the train arrives for the games.”
My stomach drops.
“You can’t just keep all of us locked in here,” I say as I glower at him. It feels good to have my voice back, and I use it at its full capacity.
“No, he’s right,” Arwan says, surprising me. He curls his dark fingers over my shoulders and gives me a reassuring squeeze. “Ze’ev and I can stabilize you without any cameras snooping around. No one will think to look for you down here. It’s actually the safest place on the isle for you right now.”
I blink at him, then regard Ze’ev, who is giving my mouth a hungry look.
“Stabilize?” I ask, only to earn a smile from the Outcast.
Arwan’s grip on my shoulder tightens. I might be wrapped in Ze’ev’s arms, but Arwan isn’t going to let me go anytime soon.
“Now that Ze’ev and I are getting along, I think we can do that quite well,” he coos in my ear before nipping my skin, making me jolt.
Godric huffs a short laugh, as if he knows exactly what he’s done. “Leave her in one piece for when I return. The cameras will want a show in the morning, and I’ll give them one.”
I have no idea what he means by that as I watch his back retreat down the hall.
And Ze’ev growls in my ear as Arwan traces his touch down my shirt.
I’m not going to survive the night.
At all.
CHAPTER 38
Seductive nights with Ze’ev and Arwan leave me almost as sore as Godric’s training does during the day.
Not even the warmth of the springs seems to banish the chill from my bones. While the bond sickness seems to be sufficiently kept at bay between the ministrations of my sponsors, whatever King Njord did to me sits like a rod of iron inside my chest.
I haven’t told any of the men about it. I figure they don’t need something new to worry about, especially if I’m to meet my end in just a few weeks anyway.
But I decide this place has grown on me, in a weird way. The calm before the storm makes me uneasy, and I’m itching with the desire to make sure no stone is left unturned.
There is one mystery left in the Blood Moon Pack, and I stare up at it after two weeks of physical training that still has my limbs shaking.
There’s an empty pole where a body had once rested like a warning over Godric’s tent. It feels like an empty place now that it’s gone. I hadn’t noticed until now that it must have disappeared quite some time ago.
“Whose body used to be hanging up there?” I ask as we return to his tent after an entire day of tumbles, rolls, and sparring on the training sands. The day had left little grains all over me, and I don’t think I’ll ever get the grit out of my mouth, even after scrubbing for nearly an hour in the springs.
He pauses, his braids damp after having joined me, and he regards the empty pole as he reaches for the tent flap.
“It was Ulara’s mate,” he says, ignoring my shocked expression as he ushers me inside. “He was killed after a run-in with a rival pack.” He trails his fingers over the necklace now hanging around his neck. “My crest can keep a soul from traveling into King Njord’s domain and ultimately entering his control. It’s not a power I’ve ever used, because it comes with… consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?” I whisper.
