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She sniffed but nodded. “Okay, but it won’t be the same without you. I do understand, though. I really do.” She glanced toward Farrow, who her mark had prompted her to leave her homeland and come to Far Shore for. Then her gaze softened, and she stiffened her shoulders bravely as she turned back to me. “I would be doing the same as you right now if I were in your boots. And yet…” Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know about this, Indy. I just have a bad feeling.”
I had to admit, I didn’t have the best feeling in the world, myself. There were too many inconsistencies and unanswered questions. But the mark was never wrong, and the person I had just chased into the alley was my future. That I was certain I could trust.
I was just enough of a drifter that I was okay with pulling up my roots and taking off into the unknown. But I was going to miss Nicolette, so I experienced a painful moment of indecision.
I had a good life here. A home, a friend, a purpose.
I could stay. I could just ignore having ever seen the scowling old man and remain in Far Shore: the leader of an army, living in a castle, and happy with my companions.
But my temple gave a sudden twinge as if to remind me of what I could be heading toward if I didn’t stay. The mark knew who I needed at my side to help me become the best person I could be. And so, I had to go. No matter what I found out there, it was going to begin the rest of my life.
“I’ll be okay,” I told my queen, pulling her into an impulsive hug, which made the cat on my shoulder screech in protest until it found its balance again and caused the villagers around us, watching the show we put on, to gasp in shock.
“You better be,” Nicolette instructed, only to pull back and point at the cat with a severe squint, instructing, “Keep him safe, you hear me? That’s a request from a queen.”
I smiled. “Thank you,” I told her. “Thank you for being the best ward a bodyguard could have, and the best friend a man like me needed. I’m going to miss you.”
“Then you better come back and visit,” Farrow instructed, tugging his wife back to his side so she would let me go.
Nodding to both of them, I stepped back, took in a final look at the people I was leaving, and then I turned away, ready to begin my journey.
Chapter 4
Indigo
With an exhausted sigh, I dismounted from my horse and took a break from riding, stretching my sore muscles and pulling a snack from a side pouch on the saddlebags.
Grandpa Atchison had always told me that once I sensed my true love, my entire life would change. But I was realizing I’d had no idea what he’d really meant by that.
Until now.
Since getting near enough to my mate to lock on to his essence, my entire life revolved around simply catching up to him and figuring out what had him so spooked, so I could fix it.
Nothing else seemed to matter.
It was like an itching obsession that had set up residence in my brain, and I couldn’t focus on anything else.
After that, however, once I caught up to him, introduced myself, learned all the mysteries surrounding him, and then solved them all...
I wasn’t sure.
I guess that depended on him. Maybe he’d enjoy living life in luxury at the Far Shore castle and wouldn’t mind escorting me back to Blayton where Nicolette and Farrow lived so I could continue leading the kingdom’s armies.
I could handle that.
Or maybe I’d give all that up and go with him if he had some different determined destination in mind.
I’m sure I could handle that too.
All I knew was that he would be there, involved in the rest of my life, wherever I went.
This wasn’t the first time my entire world had been disrupted, and I’d had to start fresh in a new place with new people. I was an old companion to change and travel. But it would be the first time I’d be doing it all for a complete stranger and some as-yet-unidentified goal they might have.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was a little unsettling how strong the mark was to make me so willing to rearrange my entire life for my true love, to give up everything I knew, and follow an unknown, yet the other part of me controlled by the mark simply didn’t care. I just wanted my person at my side. The need was stronger than any addiction I’d ever felt before.
Made me wonder if the root of the magic used to make the love mark was actually a dark, forbidden enchantment. It hampered free will, made a person feel almost mindless to get to their mate’s side, and yet...
Here I was, still having logical thoughts, and I was cognizant enough to question it all. Would something bad and so mind-controlling allow for rational reasoning to intrude?
