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Chapter 1
Elix
Ifiddled with my hands nervously as the bus stopped again, my brain screaming at the vehicle to keep moving like I did every time it halted to let passengers on or off. This was the third bus I’d been on in two days, and my wits were completely frayed now, as I hoped to get to my destination. It was all taking much longer than I had expected in my mind’s eye when I’d first put the plan together in my head, and it didn’t help that I hadn’t slept a wink since I’d left my brother’s apartment in Geldon after hearing his conversation with the king, my lover.
Echoes of Jace’s last words to Saint replayed over and over as if he had spat them into my face, the sentiment burning into my soul.
I wasn’t good enough, my blood tainted with black magic, my lineage ruinous for the kingdom. No wonder I wasn’t getting any sleep, and I was sure it was written all over my face, but I hadn’t looked in a mirror since my last transfer. It didn’t matter how I looked. I sure as hell wasn’t trying to impress anyone. If anything, I needed to blend in. I didn’t want anyone to take a second look at me and report that they had seen the Alpha King of Goldhaven’s fiancée traveling by commercial bus toward Ironhelm.
As if on cue to my thoughts, the driver’s voice piped through the speakers, making me jump.
“Ironhelm Kingdom is up next,” the driver announced, and my head jerked up at the familiar name. I didn’t know why I was so shocked to hear the words. It was where I had intended to go, as far away from Goldhaven as I could without entirely leaving the continent of Mystara. I needed to put as much space between me and my brother as I could.
My half-brother.
Saint was my half-brother. That’s what the blood test had revealed, wasn’t it? The blood test that he had known about all along. The blood test that he could have saved me the humiliation of ever taking.
A small voice in my head whispered that he had tried, but I quickly dismissed it. His efforts weren't enough. He never came forward with the full truth, never told me outright.
The driver remained stopped, and I realized he was looking at passengers in the rearview mirror before continuing on with his route. My head swiveled around to take in the remaining riders, too. There were only a handful of us left.
Are we going or what?I asked silently, my fingers fidgeting faster now. As if he could hear my thoughts, he spoke his mind.
“You’ll need a transfer once we get to Ironhelm,” the chubby operator informed us, but it felt like his beady eyes lingered on me the longest.
Does he recognize me? Will he call someone and tell them I’m out here?
Again, I shoved the ridiculous thought aside. Who would he call that would care?
“The bus doesn’t cross the border,” he continued. “You’ll have to go through customs.”
My hands clutched the backpack I’d packed in the apartment, unzipping the bag to look inside. I had a few thingsto get me going on this impromptu trip: some money, changes of clothes, my identification.
But I couldn’t use that when I arrived in Ironhelm, not to cross the border. They would run my name through the computer system and find me in a heartbeat.
Assuming anyone was looking for me.
Why didn’t I think about that before I came all this way?
I was furious with myself, having been blinded by impulse and upset. When Jace and I had come to Ironhelm, we’d visited on his private plane. There had been no exchange of paperwork because he was the king. Prior to that, I’d never left Goldhaven. I didn’t know how these things worked, passing over borders. But I knew enough to know that I’d be required to show some form of ID.
Now, I was at the far end of the kingdom, my funds almost depleted. I likely had enough for a motel room for a couple of nights, and a little food, but that was about it. Even if I wanted to return to Geldon, I don’t think I’d have enough to do it.
I didn’t want to return to Geldon, anyway. I needed to be far away from the palace and Jace, where I couldn’t hurt him anymore.
The bus began to move again, and I exhaled in quiet desperation, setting my head back against the upholstered headrest.
The odd smells that had initially offended my senses on the bus no longer affected me. I had grown used to them over my two-day trip, and while they still lingered in the background, they didn’t make me wrinkle my nose like they had before.
I closed my eyes, and immediately, flashes of Jace’s gorgeous face sprung into frame, his full mouth so close, I could almost taste him.
Gods, I wanted to taste him, despite his reaction to the discovery about me. I wanted to let him go, his hurtful words stillechoing through my mind, but I couldn’t. I loved him in spite of everything.
In my mind’s eye, I went in for the kiss this time, but as I did, he opened his mouth and started to speak, his soulful dark eyes shadowing more.
“You’re tainted,” he whispered, drawing back and baring his wolf fangs at me. “You brought danger into the palace!”
My own eyes popped open, and I refused to shut them again, more nervous energy spiking through my body to keep me from drifting back into any sense of submission. I would never sleep again at this rate.
