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He made sure of that.
I’d done what my mother refused to do. I claimed my heritage, accepted my place in the Bone Clan and my title as princess and would be forced to marry the demon wolf god.
But I still had one trick up my sleeve. One last play to make that could knock all the pieces off the board.
“Where are you going?” Valerie called after me. “I’ll come with you.”
“I’d rather go alone.” I quickened my pace, pushed open the door and covered my face with my arm to block the blast of cold air that threatened to steal my breath.
“I think it’s probably for the best if I go with you. You’re a princess now and while Bjorn is happy you’ve stepped into your role and accepted your responsibilities, I can think of a few people who might not be.” Valerie stuck to me as if she’d been super glued to my side and matched my pace.
“Let me guess, the runners up in the princess pageant.” I pulled the cloak’s hood over my head, tugging down past my brow and tucked my chin against my chest and pressed on, fighting the arctic wind as I walked. “Fine. You can come with me.”
I’d already had my ass handed to me by Bjorn, and had no desire to add my being literally stabbed in the back to the ever growing list of horrible things that happened since we arrived in Prudhoe.
“Safety in numbers.” Valerie smiled and dipped her chin, leaning into the wind as she walked.
Ice crystals formed on the tips of my eyelashes. My lips and the tip of my nose went numb before we reached the clinic. I cupped my hands in front of my face and huffed out a breath of air, catching it in my palms to thaw myself out.
The wind was relentless and the cold intolerable. It settled into my bones, but unlike the residents of Boot Hill, it hadn’t settled into my heart.
At least not yet.
The clinic’s air lock door hissed as we entered the building. An oscillating space heat kicked on and blew warm air around a small waiting area. Five chairs lined two adjacent walls and met in the corner. End tables with magazines piled on top were situated at both ends. It looked like any other waiting room at any other express care center.
It looked normal.
Except Boot Hill was anything but normal. It was a place where the old ways meshed with modern times.
“Can I help you?” A round middle aged woman dressed in bright pink scrubs with a white thermal underneath, stepped through a swinging door and dropped into a half curtsey. “Princess, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize-”
“Please, you don’t need to do that and have nothing to apologize for.” I loosened the cloak, pushing it back off my shoulders, to prevent overheating inside the heated clinic. “A man was brought in here earlier.”
“Your friend, Galen Long Claw.” The nurse put heavy emphasis on the word friend. “He’s a bit groggy from the tranquilizer. He’s in and out, but he has been asking about you.”
“Tranquilizer?” Perhaps I spoke too soon. She might have had something to apologize for after all. “Why would you tranq him?”
“He was pretty out of it when they dropped him off. I don’t think he realized we were trying to treat him, not hurt him. He was trying to fight us.” The nurse flicked her gaze to the reception desk and the phone that was ringing off the hook. “He’s in room four. Excuse me.”
“Would you mind, Valerie?” I gestured to the chairs in the waiting area.
“Of course, not. I don’t mind at all.” Valerie navigated a few children’s toys scattered on the floor and claimed one of the uncomfortable looking chairs against the wall.
Her downtrodden expression as she searched the stack of well read magazines said otherwise. She minded. A lot. Valerie wanted to play the role of lady in waiting. See wanted me to trust her. I assumed to spy on me and gain favor with Bjorn or the demon wolf god.
It was a solid plan, but it wouldn’t work because I didn’t trust her.
I left Valerie in the waiting room and made my way down the hall in search of room four.
“Galen?” I knocked on the second door on the right, marked with a black number four stenciled in the top center. “It’s me. It’s Talia.”
“Talia, is it really you?” Galen draped his forearm over his eyes, blocking his eyes from the bright overhead fluorescent lighting. He licked his lips and then smacked them together.
“Thirsty?” I pulled a small cup from a metal dispenser fastened to the wall by the sink and filled it with cold water. “Here, drink some water. It’s just the tranquilizer wearing off.”
“They drugged me?” He downed the contents of the paper cup, crushed it in his hand and tossed the wadded up wax coated paper onto the floor. “Again?”
“You were fighting the nurses.” I brushed sweat soaked strands of hair matted to his face, leaned in and pressed a kiss against his forehead, taking care to avoid the cut and swelling above his eye.
