Page 6 of A Castle of Broken Memories

“Ah.”

“You know we're not actually going to see them, right? That was just a ruse.”

“Sure, sure.”

“I won't have you meddling with their happily ever after. You've put them through enough already.”

He let out a mock gasp. “Meddle? Moi? How dare you. I would never.”

“Mm hmm.”

“Besides, I'm completely over old-what’s-his-face, anyway.”

“Sure you are.”

“What about you?” he countered.

“What about me?”

“Not wanting the pack along, these little, freckled furrows you keep getting right here whenever Mondue is mentioned.” He leaned forward, pressing a fingertip between my eyes. I flicked his hand away with an annoyed huff, but his smirk only widened. “Seems I might not be the only one hung up on the past.”

I stashed my potion box and brushes inside the bag and cinched the straps closed with an exaggerated scoff. “Please. I couldn’t be more over it if I tried. I just prefer working without a crowd of nosy wolves hovering about. And Mondue is literally the grayest, dreariest village in the forest. Anyone would be grumpy traveling there.”

“Mm hmm.” Tenebris leaned back on his hands, watching as I slung my rucksack over my shoulder. “So you’re completely over Jack and as previously implied, not interested in a serious relationship of any kind. Mind if I ask what your future plans do include?”

“Turning into a haggard old crone who haunts the hilltop and scares tiny children every time I go into town, obviously,” I replied, pulling him up off the bed.

He grabbed his outside-world backpack and slung it onto his back with a sage nod. “I could see that. And you’re sure you don’t want someone creeping around with you? Someone to tell all the young werewolves to get off your lawn?”

“Are you interviewing for the position?” I bumped my hip against his as we cut through the living room.

“If we were meant to be together, we'd already be well on our way,” Tenebris stated. “No, I'm thinking someone new. Say, a sexy vampire from Mondue? Seeing as we're headed that way.”

I shot him a look as we stepped out the door. “We're going south, yes, but I have zero plans to do any socializing in vamp village. We’ll meet with the council, pray to goodness Abuela’s right about these beans and we don’t kill ourselves going through the cloud barrier, and find this ‘lost soul’ she’s so worried about, whoever they may be. In and out.”

“We can’t even stay for one night of celebratory drinks when we’re done? I haven’t tasted Mondue wine in years.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll think about it. Happy?”

“Yes, thanks.” Tenebris grinned triumphantly as we followed the trail down into the woods.

“That makes one of us,” a voice growled from the trees, and I swore as Calum stepped out onto the path in front of us. He crossed his arms over his broad, flannel-clad chest as he glared, a muscle in his chiseled jaw twitching. “Care to tell me why you're talking about seeing the vampires when just an hour ago you told the rest of us you were off to visit your brother?”

I should have known Calum wouldn't buy my crap story. Damn him and his lack of gullibility. I could hardly send him back now—if I did, I'd end up with the entire pack tagging along. Which would really suck. Calum, at least, would be quieter.

“Come on, then.” I sighed, brushing past him. “I'll catch you up on the way.”

4

If it'd been just me and Calum traveling south, we would have shifted into our wolf forms and been there in a day’s time. Tenebris, however, added a complication. Since neither Calum nor I fancied carrying him the entire way on our backs (and let's be honest, he wouldn't have been up for it even if we did), that meant horses were in order. Fortunately, the town of Bremen located at the base of our hillside had a sizable stable of mounts for lease, and I was able to secure three of them in trade for updating the wards on the city walls. Ironically, those wards were used to keep the pack out of the city during the full moon, when the moon madness could turn us into vicious beasts. Something that'd been less of a problem since Tenebris's cursed influence had been sealed two years ago. The full moon still had an effect on us, but it mostly just made us surly.

Thank gods that was still a fortnight away.

We spent the day traveling south, arriving outside the gates of the royal castle shortly after sunset. Gretchen flew out to greet us with her husband—the goblin king—following at a more sedate pace. Tenebris tensed beside me, undoubtedly nervous about their reaction to his presence (he did, technically, kidnap Gretchen and hold her in an underground bunker for months), but Gretchen's smile never wavered while she greeted us. In fact, she seemed legitimately happy to see him as she wrapped him in a tight hug that he hesitantly returned. None of this was surprising to me, however. I'd long since learned that Gretchen was nothing if not forgiving.

She was also annoyingly observant and impossible to lie to (literally—she had an innate power that compelled people to speak the truth), so I knew there was no point in hiding the reason for our visit when she cornered me in the castle library after dinner.

“Two nights of Mariana in a row.” She sat on the other end of the window seat I was ensconced in. “I can't remember the last time you left the hilltop this often. Rapunzel and I had to practically drag you down for girls’ night, and then you disappeared before dawn.” She left the unasked question dangling.