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Was he even a man? Most of the time it didn’t seem that way. He had become the Boogeyman to Camdaria, and his reputation was well earned.
I was going to track him down and make him suffer, I knew that much. It didn’t matter how powerful he was—I was determined. First, however, we needed to get some answers. I was full of an alpha’s natural fury at the thought of someone endangering my mate. I also wasn’t an idiot. I hadn’t managed to rise to the rank of a captain by flying off the handle.
No, I needed more information. I needed to find out as much as possible so we’d discover his weakness, because he had to have one. He wasn’t immortal.
I wanted to break Ayla’s curse more than anything, but it couldn’t be rushed. Not after everything we’d done to even get to this point.
“All right, all I have to do is rebandage this, then you’ll be good to go.”
“Thank you. You’ve done excellent work.”
“No, thank you, Your Highness. I appreciate this opportunity to serve.”
I gave her another nod and saw myself out, my head stuffed full of thoughts as always. I’d never exactly been a low-key person. After all, I was leading a whole fort on the borderlands during a generational war, but things had certainly ramped up lately. I hoped one day, and perhaps soon, I would be able to go back to that same much more sedate pace. Or even…
Well, it was a daydream I returned to often, but I just couldn’t help myself. Because if the war in Camdaria was finally over, really truly over, then I’d be comfortable leaving the military. I’d know true leisure and be the most wildly overqualified house husband to my brilliant witch of a wife.
Was that an alpha reaction? No. But I’d fought for so long and bled in so many battles. I’d cut my teeth on our enemies’ armor, and I’d dealt with more than my fair share of tribulation, so I didn’t think it was out of pocket that I wanted to just spend as much time around my mate as possible. Not just bending her over every available surface, but also being in the moment with her, helping her weed in her garden, or rubbing her shoulders because I’d seen how she hunched over when she was working on a new spell. I would hold her at night, kiss her softly in the morning, and hire a chef so both of us could learn how to cook with a real oven, not just a campfire. Goodness knows, years of having the cafeteria at Canid certainly spoiled us.
But thinking of my possible future with Ayla if peace ever happened made me think of what it’d be like if she were the one I could take to the ball.
The idea bloomed in my head like paint falling into water, rippling out in a blurry image at first, then quickly solidifying into something oh so tangible. What would she look like dressed in all the finery a future queen deserved? I could take her in my arms and dance with her in front of everyone, just drinking her up, with no more secrets, and no more clinging to the shadows. I could show off my love for her, my undying affection, and we float across the dance floor, completely in the moment.
Still, if I ever got my fantasy of abdicating all my responsibilities and disappearing to the woods, staying in a secluded cabin with her, I got the feeling we wouldn’t be too welcome back at the palace.
Well, that was fine with me. I’d take gently dancing with Ayla in our humble living room over a thousand grand balls with all the pomp and circumstance that came along with them.
We just had to get to that point, and that required breaking Ayla’s curse and stopping the war.
So…no big deal, naturally.
The first step was getting more information. Ayla was still sleeping off the effects of her magic interacting directly with a personified version of the curse. Instead, I headed toward the quarters Darla was sharing with two other females from our entourage. Well, she had been, but I had been told that there’d been certain…updates to the sleeping arrangements of my soldiers.
I grinned thinking of that development. I’d encouraged Oren to shoot his shot because he deserved it, but I hadn’t thought he would follow through, especially so soon, but honestly, good for him.
I knocked politely once I reached Darla’s door. I didn’t hear any panicked scuffling—although the doors were soundproofed—and it opened a moment later to both of them fully dressed. Darla was sitting at a small table, a couple of notebooks spread out around her as she wrote intently in one, while Oren stood in front of me.
“Your majesty!” he said, his eyes going slightly wide. That was about as much of a shocked reaction as he’d allow himself. “When we discussed your schedule earlier, I was supposed to escort you from the healers in a half hour or so.”
“I’m aware. Things wrapped up early and I figured it’d be quicker for me to just come to you.”
Oren frowned. I knew he was upset I’d walked through the palace alone, but the place was teeming with so many guards after the attempt on my life, I was certain a mosquito couldn’t even get its teeth into me. Over time, cracks would slip in, as they always did, but we were locked down tightly for at least a week.
“I see.” Oren shook it off, however, and straightened up. “Well, since you’re here, sir, do you have orders for me?”
“I do, but I’d like to speak alone.” I glanced at Darla behind him. “No offense, Sergeant Khan.”
She didn’t even look up from her notebook. “If you’re about to send Oren out on another top-secret mission, I humbly request to be sent with him.”
I didn’t think Darla was the clingy type, so she had to have a different reason for asking other than just the pleasure of my best friend’s company. “Why is that?”
“Well, because I’m getting bored and restless, which isn’t the best combination, and Ayla’s going to get testy if I keep trying to coddle her all day.” The psychic let out a sigh and finally raised her head from her notes. “I know she’ll be fine, she always is, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to hover whenever I don’t have something urgent to occupy myself with. There are only so many times I can traipse through the minds of everyone here before I get a migraine.” She wrinkled her nose and flipped her notebook closed with perhaps more force than necessary. “I’ve been writing it all here. Anything important gets logged.”
Huh, Darla really was taking her work seriously, not that I ever doubted her, but she always made her psychic abilities seem so effortless. I wasn’t used to seeing her expend so much energy. As much attention as Darla often drew to herself, I got the impression there was a lot to her that most people didn’t see.
It was flattering that she was showing me that part of herself—a little sign of trust I didn’t take lightly. I was getting ahead of myself, but between her, Oren, Mad Dog, and Ayla, our group was really beginning to feel like a pack.
“I can’t say I haven’t experienced that impulse myself,” I said with a chuckle. “But, yes, Sergeant Khan, you may attend Oren on his mission. I’m sure your abilities would be a boon for him.”
