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“Yes, right now.”
She angled a thumb over her shoulder. “I…I have work to do—”
“Then we’ll speak here if we must. I’m not willing to let this matter stretch on a second longer. I’ve gone to great lengths to ensure no one and nothing will come between us—between this matter at hand—until I’ve said what I’ve come to say. I’d prefer we speak before Verdian’s brothers return.”
Cora focused on the last part of his statement, not the parts that made her heart feel like it might take flight from her ribcage. “Where are Lord Kevan and Lord Ulrich?”
“Hunting with your brother and his council.”
She pulled her head back. “Hunting?”
“Yes, in the royal forest.”
That cured some of the fluttery madness writhing through her. Dimetreus had gone out hunting with the council…and he didn’t even tell her! What was he thinking? Should he even be going on such an excursion? What if something happened? What if he had another breakdown in front of those men—
She closed her eyes and forced the thoughts from her mind. Her brother may not be in the most stable of states, but he was king. He’d proven that he could hold his own at the council meeting. Royal hunts were expected of a monarch. What was the worst that could happen?
Her stomach sank. Perhaps she shouldn’t let her mind go there. Plenty of things could go wrong, but—
The blood drained from her face.
Valorre!
She cursed under her breath. Valorre was out there somewhere, well beyond the castle wall. She extended her senses to try and connect with him, but it seemed he’d yet to return to close range. If Kevan or Ulrich caught sight of him…
She remembered the clairsentient warning she’d felt at the council meeting; she knew some of the councilmen were eager to continue hunting unicorns.
“Are you all right?” Teryn whispered.
Her eyes snapped to his, and she was forced to recall just how close he stood to her.
“Yes,” she said in a rush, caught between worry for Valorre and anxiety over what Teryn had come to talk to her about. Perhaps she could handle both issues at once. She swallowed hard and gestured down the stairwell. “Very well, Teryn. Let’s go speak in private.”
24
The air between Cora and Teryn crackled with tension, thick enough for Cora to feel even through her shields. They walked side by side down a narrow path through the woods just outside the castle walls. The three feet of space between them meant their shoulders were in no danger of touching, yet she felt Teryn’s presence with every fiber of her being as if he were pressed to her side.
She’d brought Teryn outside so she could check on Valorre and ensure he hadn’t crossed paths with her brother’s hunting party. But with Teryn so close it was hard to focus on anything else. Not even the presence of the two guards who tailed them lessened her awareness of him.
Shaking thoughts of her distracting companion from her mind, she extended her senses and sought Valorre’s familiar energy. She’d tried it several times since exiting the castle to no avail, but this time she felt their connection snap into place. He was just barely within their communication range.
Valorre! Where the hell are you?
She felt a tinge of annoyance coming from him, but it melted away. Softened. His voice reached her without an edge.I’m not too far.
My brother is in the royal forest with a hunting party. I don’t trust his councilmen when it comes to your kind. You haven’t crossed their path, have you?
He scoffed, and she could almost see him puffing his large white chest with pride.They are a pathetic hunting party. They could never find me or my kind. I could trot beside them and they’d pay me no notice. They rely on hounds to alert them of prey, not their brains.
They have hounds? How is that supposed to comfort me?
Hounds like me.
She waited for him to elaborate, but that was the only explanation he gave.Fine. Just be careful.
Who’s being the female chicken now?he said with a smug chuckle.
The phrase is mother hen—never mind. I guess we’re even.
