AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wasn’t giving her my full attention. I was actually focused on Naaro, who was clearly affected by the news. While at first, I thought he was a stoic person, it was clear to me after having spent some time with him that he was an emotional person, he just did not display them flamboyantly. However, if you knew what to look for then the signs were clear. I could see the worry in his eyes and I could hear the anxiety in his voice.
“I should have been with him. It was my duty to protect him. How could this have happened…” he said.
“This isn’t your fault Naaro, don’t blame yourself. I sent you here to guard Emilia. I never thought anything like this would happen in the pride. I need to speak to Axanar and Volkan.”
“And I shall go and find my brother. I will scour every inch of Orestes until I find him. I will sift through every grain of sand, scale every mountain, and rip up every blade of grass,” he said defiantly, and his words had the ring of truth around them. He was already heading towards the door.
“Naaro, you must wait for Axanar and Volkan to form a plan. They will send other lions out with you.”
“I need no other lions. I cannot wait. Divad is my brother and I am responsible for protecting him. He is the future of the pride. I cannot see it be taken away. I must leave,” he said, and it was clear that nobody was going to stop him.
What happened next came without warning, and although the words leapt free from my mouth I was taken by surprise as much as Kara and Naaro were.
“Wait,” I said. It stopped Naaro in his tracks. “Your mother is right. You shouldn’t go out there alone. I’ll go with you.”
What the hell was I thinking? Even now I don’t know what possessed me to make such a declaration.
“This world is not like the one you come from. You should not take things so lightly. Your place is at home. Mom will take you back,” Naaro said.
“I will not have these things decided for me,” I said stubbornly. “Perhaps it will do you good to have some illogical thinking out in the wild. This man who has captured Divad might be able to anticipate everything you’re going to do,” I said.
Before Naaro could reply, Kara walked up to me. She had the eyes of a worried mother, a look I had seen many times in the eyes of my mom. “Why do you do this? Naaro is right, I could send you home. You have already spent too long in Orestes, and I can only apologize for that. You do not have to stay here. It would be a risk to you.”
“When I was in danger your sons brought me here because they thought I needed help. They could have left me behind and abandoned me, but they didn’t. I’m not a fan of what happened or being taken away from my world against my will, but they had good intentions. I can’t really fault them for that. I don’t feel right in leaving Divad like this. And in a way I feel responsible as well. If I had told you or Naaro about what I overhead then maybe you could have prevented this from happening at all. I’m not the kind of person who walks away from my responsibilities. Please, let me help,” I said. I couldn’t believe that I was actually asking to stay in Orestes rather than returning home when I had so much waiting for me there, but perhaps there was something about this place, something that was tempting me to stay.
Chapter Nine
Naaro
We stood at the base of the tower. A bow and a quiver of arrows were slung around my back. I carried a long sword with me, and wore my customary leather armor. Emilia had been fitted with her own armor and had been offered a dagger. At first, she had refused, but I had reminded her that this was not earth. The creatures that lurked in the wild were things that she had never seen before, and there would surely be a moment where she required a knife. After I said this, she took it and placed it in her belt. She looked good in the traditional clothes of Orestes. The leather wrapped around her body and arms, leaving her shoulders exposed, but protecting her neck. Her figure was curvy, and the clothing was so tight that it gave the impression her voluptuous figure was aching to break free. It played havoc with my mind.
When she had asked me if I had anyone in mind for a mate I had spoken carefully, replying that nobody in the pride made me feel that way. I did not say that nobody made me feel that way, for she inspired strong feelings inside me. I was more certain of this than I had been with many other things. She was maddening in her way, yet also intoxicating. I could not escape these twisting feelings, and the more time we spent together the more intense these feelings became. The fact that she had chosen to come on this quest with me was impressive as well, and showed that she was not like others of her kind.
If I had not been so consumed with worry for Divad then I may have thought about letting her know my feelings, even though I hoped to keep them guarded, as my father had warned.
Axanar and Volkan stood before us. “Go with our blessing Naaro. We shall be forming hunting parties and sending them out as far as we can reach, but time is of the essence. You have been bonded with your brother all your life. If there is anyone who can find him, it’s you,” Axanar said. It was rare to see the Alpha worried, but in his eyes, I saw true fear. So much rested on my shoulders. The whole future of the pride relied on Divad becoming Alpha. I needed to make sure that future came to pass.
Volkan placed his hand on my shoulder and nodded. “May the wind guide you,” he said. That was all he needed to say. He had trained me and prepared me for this duty. My instincts had been honed to be as sharp as possible, and now was the time for me to use them.
But I was not alone. Emilia was with me, and perhaps she would indeed provide me with a valuable chaotic element.
We strode away from the village. Emotion filled my heart and I set my jaw in grim determination as we headed towards the cave where the scent of his trail ended.
“I wanted to thank you personally for coming with me. It would have been easy for you to return home and leave this all behind. I did not intend to get you involved in something like this when I brought you back here,” I said.
“I know, but like I said, I would only blame myself.”
“It was not your fault. If anyone is to blame then it is I. I should have been more careful. If there were people plotting against him then I should have known.”
“I’m guessing they took lengths to keep their plans well hidden. Who is this Char anyway? Have she and Divan been together for long?”
“She has always been a part of the pride. They knew each other as children, but it was only when we grew older that they began spending more time together. It seemed like the kind of relationship that was destined to be. Char always spoke of being married and ruling the pride together. She was always the ambitious sort.”
“Did you trust her?”
I paused for a moment. It was never in my nature to speak ill of people. “I suppose that I always had my misgivings. Char and I never got along. I assumed she was annoyed that I was such a constant presence in Divad’s life, and had promised myself to guard the Alpha even when he ruled. I took it as jealousy because she wanted to rule the pride herself without any guidance from me. I thought that things would get better as we grew older, but it was easiest to just stay away from each other. Now I wonder if she had a deeper motivation. She wanted to get in between us, and I let her. I should have been more suspicious.”
“Sometimes it’s good to be suspicious, but other times it can lead you into trouble. If you had started speaking out against her then maybe Divad would have taken offense and she might have gotten what she wanted. I think you did the right thing. Sometimes it’s possible to lose even when you haven’t done anything wrong.”
