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In seconds, I was left sitting there alone, more frustrated than ever.
I had to make a decision, for me and for them.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A couple of days passed while my fever lowered to just above normal and the tension in our suite skyrocketed. They’d had their say, and I didn’t disagree with anything about their words. I wanted to mate them, and my dragon was all in. But I couldn’t say yes. Not yet, not now. And I couldn’t explain to the guys, the high council, my dragon, or myself why not.
I had vague ideas…
But nothing I could do to thin the silence in our home. They’d been very patient with me, and I didn’t even have a good reason to give them for refusing their suits. It would serve me right if they decided they didn’t want to bother with me anymore and asked me to leave. It would, however, break my heart.
What is wrong with me?
I came out of my room only to grab something to eat and went back inside. Despite my frustrating him so badly, Jude had gone to check on Hilda more than once and left me a note on the kitchen counter to say she was doing better. He didn’t even want to speak to me to say that much. Again…who could blame him? Not me, for sure. I scribbled a thank-you on the bottom of the note with the pen that hung from the fridge magnet.
Then returned to my cave. We couldn’t go on like this forever. I wanted to go see Hilda myself. If she truly was doing much better, I knew she’d have come here to check on me, so while she might have been able to put on a good front for Jude, I’d have seen through it. With that in mind, I got up on the third day after the argument, if I could call it that, and got dressed to go out. Jeans, a tank, shoes…socks even. I needed to see my foster mother with my own eyes and confirm that she was fine or at least more or less fine.
But when I came out into the living room, I found all three of my mates-to-be seated at the table eating breakfast. I had deliberately taken my time, hoping they’d all be busy, but there was nothing for it but to continue as if I had every right to do what I was doing. And didn’t I? I hadn’t given anyone the right to boss me around.
I was halfway to the door and thinking they weren’t going to call me out on it when Nico said, “And where are you going?”
I considered not answering, I really did, but my steps faltered, and I stopped and faced them. “I’m going to see Hilda. Maybe she needs something.”
“I told you I already did that and she’s doing fine.” Jude’s voice was tight, very little of my chef buddy and warm dragon there at all.
“You wrote a note that said she was better, for which I thank you. But I don’t know if she’s fine or if she needs food or fire fuel or anything. Has she been in the caves at all?”
“I don’t know,” he said, looking chastened. “I just asked how she was.”
“You cannot order me around. I’m going to check on her. Hilda will swear she’s perfectly well while she has one leg hanging by a thread and an aneurism happening at the same time. She’s not a complainer. If she hasn’t worked, she’s not—”
What cut me off was a loud rumble. The rooms shook but not nearly hard enough to match up with the noise. “It sounds like it’s coming from the council chamber or somewhere in that area,” Soren said. “We need to check.”
Nico was already lacing up his shoes, and Jude halfway out the door when he stopped. “Freya, just stay here, all right? We will be back as soon as we make sure nobody is hurt.”
“Not that it would be a bad thing if it was those high council bastards,” muttered Jude.
“Anyway, promise us you’ll stay here?” Soren asked. “It’s not an order, just a request. We don’t know what is going on, and as soon as we find out, we’ll come back and figure out what to do about Hilda and well, and everything. Promise?”
I didn’t want to, but with the echoes of the quake being overtaken by shouts, I couldn’t stop them from helping. And arguing to go, too, would slow them down. “If you aren’t back in an hour, I’m coming to find you.”
And then they were gone. Leaving me to fuss and worry about them and watch the clock. Yes, we had a wall clock that was probably over a hundred years old, big and had to be wound. And the hands were moving so slowly, I’d swear someone forgot to wind it. A check on my phone showed that it was accurate, unfortunately. I’d never been a pacer before I moved into this suite.
At least the earth seemed to have settled down and the cries from the other parts of the caves had died back when, forty minutes into the hour I had to wait, a knock came on the door. Even knowing that the royals would not knock on their own door, I still rushed over to open it, disappointed to find the messenger girl holding two envelopes. She held them out to me then turned and ran away as if I might be going to do something to her. I didn’t know her well, but I didn’t think she would have any reason to fear me.
With a shrug, I closed the door and went back into the living area, studying the two envelopes. One was addressed to the three dragon royals, and I left it on the table by the sofa. The other, to my surprise, was made out to me. The writing was rough, and not the same as the names on the other envelope, and what was inside was scrawled in the same course hand.
Freya,
Be on alert and do not mate the royals. They and the high council won’t be in power for long. You must choose between the higher-ups and your own kind. Either way, the prophesy will be fulfilled.
It was not signed.
My own kind? While I’d worked among them, the lessers had not treated me as one of them. And now they—assuming it was the rebels who had written this letter—wanted me to choose them over the three royals? Three who could have treated me better than any of “my own kind”?
I sat on the edge of the sofa and tried to decide what to do… The other envelope was sitting there unopened. It wasn’t addressed to me, but I wanted to know what was in it.
Or did I? It was probably a line I shouldn’t cross, but with things the way they were it was probably better to leave it lie until one of them returned.
Probably…
