AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter18
Flint
“I’ll take her to her quarters so she can keep sleeping this off,” I told Lex and Jagger when we arrived at the palace again. Arden had fallen into such a deep sleep that she was limp, sagging against my side. “Can you two handle the artifact and the protection spells around it?”
“We will,” Lex said, smoothing his hand over Arden’s hair as I pulled her out of the van. “Just make sure she’s okay.”
I carried her upstairs, making sure that I had a fleet of enforcers around me.
“Wait outside,” I said to them as they opened the door to Arden’s quarters. “And don’t let anyone in. She’ll need her rest.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” an enforcer said, shutting the door once we were inside.
I locked it, just in case. Jagger’s habit of bursting into rooms, whether Arden was around or not, was irritating, and I genuinely didn’t want him to wake her. I pulled back the sheets of her bed with one hand, then pulled off her shoes and tucked her in. She sighed, sinking into the pillows.
I sat down next to her. She was paler than usual, the vibrant energy that she radiated all the time dampened in her sleep. My heart tightened as I looked at her. She was still beautiful like this.Especiallylike this, when no one was around to interrupt me as I studied her. I stroked her thick auburn hair out of her face, my touch light enough not to disturb her. Looking at her face settled something within me that I hadn’t realized was agitated. I’d tried to get rid of this attraction, but it had only grown, expanding across my thoughts.
The need to keep her safe was equally strong, which I didn’t understand. She was still a prisoner, a fact I had to repeat to myself more and more. But she was a nymph shifter, a fae so rare that she was going to be a target for anyone who knew her secret. My protectiveness had to come from that, or at least part of it.
But she was with Jagger and Lex. As close as I was to them, I didn’t share my females. She was off limits.
Arden slept for another twenty minutes before stirring, yawning, and rolling onto her back. She squinted against the light of the room, throwing her forearm across her forehead.
“How long have I been out?” Arden asked, her voice hoarse.
The distress on her face pulled at something inside me. I couldn’t stand seeing it.
“A while. You fell asleep in the van.” I ran my hand up and down her arm to soothe her. The knot in my throat loosened when she relaxed.
“Oh, wow.” She leaned into my touch, pushing her hair over her shoulder. “I feel so different.”
“It would be shocking if you didn’t,” I said. “You had no idea that you were a nymph shifter?”
“Not a clue. I used to hate that I didn’t have a shifter form, like I was a defective fae. But I’d come to terms with it. I guess that doesn’t matter now. I don’t know why the artifact was involved.” She looked at her hands again, her brows furrowing. “I don’t even know how to use my earth powers.”
“It’s like shifting—just relax and focus.” I looked around. “Try it on that plant over there.”
Arden focused on the plant. Nothing happened at first, then it grew several feet in seconds, the once sturdy plant flopping over. It wilted, its greenery fading into a dull brown. She let out a sound of surprise, looking at her hands.
“We can teach you how to use your power more accurately,” I said.
“I need the help. The power going through me is crazy. It was even more intense when I shifted,” she said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Is that how it feels every time you shift? That you’ve unlocked a part of yourself so you feel complete in a way you never dreamed you would be?”
“Yeah. I first shifted into my wolf form as a teenager, and it was a rush. A relief, almost,” I said. “Other members of my family can shift into wolves, so I thought I knew what to expect. But going through it myself was completely different.”
“I don’t know where I came from. No parents or siblings or even a distant cousin. So maybe I came from a long line of nymph shifters.”
Her frown deepened, and her focus drifted to a point across the room. I touched her shoulder again, pressing my thumb into one of her tight muscles until it loosened.
“The whole reason why I stole the artifact the first time was to get information on my parents,” Arden said, her voice soft and sad in a way I’d never heard from her before. “The Moon Oracle said she had the information, but she never gave it to me. The only thing I know about my parents is my mother’s last name: Hardy. That’s why I tried to pick up that book in the vault. It had her name on it.”
“I promise to help you find out who they are. You don’t need to rely on the Moon Oracle,” I said.
She gave me a weak smile, her eyes damp. I slid up to sit next to her on the bed, putting an arm around her. She snuggled against my side like she belonged there.
“You said that most of the other members of your family are wolf shifters,” Arden said, not lifting her head from my chest. “What was it like growing up with them?”
“It was…” Trying to put words to my childhood was difficult. “Intense. A lot of my time was spent learning what it took to be a Royal. The times when I was able to shift and run in the countryside were my favorite. And I had a few tutors who I had good relationships with.”
