Bound to Blackwood (44 page)

Kaden watched Thorn carefully. The guy had been emotionally closed off since Kaden had dragged him out of the shower. To begin with, Kaden was relieved, but now he wasn't so sure. Thorn had been a wreck since this thing with Lena started. Kaden couldn't believe all that turmoil had just gone away.

As soon as Lena's name was mentioned, Thorn got lost in his thoughts for a moment and his iron-clad grip on his emotions faltered. Anguish and shame hit Kaden like a heavy-weight boxer had just punched him in the gut. He girded himself against another assault, but nothing came.

He looked a Thorn again. The King's face showed no emotion at all, his eyes were their normal shade of amber on gold. He knew with absolute certainty, Thorn was hiding something.

Without thinking, Kaden's mind went in search of Lena. He found her staring into the mirror of her en-suite, wiping tears from her face. Her emotions were so unguarded, he could feel the sadness and confusion as if he was in the room with her.

Kaden felt his lip curl as his own anger rose to the surface. "What did you do?" Kaden asked.

Thorn's golden eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I said, What. Did. You. Do?"

Thorn swallowed. "I…um…"

He never finished. The metal door to the Command Centre swung open and Mercury and Ryver strode in. Kaden narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at Thorn. The guy wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You hear what I said, Boss?" Mercury said.

"What?" Kaden replied as he finally stopped looking at Thorn and turned to face the two Guardians.

"You're never gonna believe this," Ryver chimed in.

"Surprise me," Kaden said.

"Well, we found Lucine at House Meadows," Mercury said.

"The same Lucine?" Thorn asked.

"The very same," Ryver replied.

"And?" Kaden asked exasperated.

"And, she wouldn't tell us shit," Mercury said.

"What do you mean?" Kaden said.

"I mean she wouldn't tell us shit, except to confirm who she was. We pulled the House Blackwood, in the name of the King, Guardian of the Order, the whole kit and caboodle. She wouldn't say nothin'."

"Why the hell not?" Kaden shouted.

"She swore an honour oath," Mercury replied.

Kaden rolled his eyes. "Just brilliant." He looked at Ryver. "Tell me
you
got something."
 

Ryver shook his head. "Nope. Whatever secrets she's hiding are old and well hidden. She's one of the most honourable women I've ever met; I couldn't hear anything."

"You're kidding?" Thorn asked.

"I wish I were, but don't worry, there is a silver lining. She'll talk to you," Ryver nodded at Thorn, "and Lena"

"Yeah, she said you two were the only two beings left on earth who could release her from her oath," Mercury said.

"Well, My Lord, looks like you and the Steward are going on a trip." Kaden stared at Thorn. The King's grip on his emotions slipped again, a flash of platinum seeping into those golden eyes, yet he didn't reply. "You hear what I said, Thorn?"

Thorn stood up so fast Kaden's old chair clattered into the wall behind the desk. The King was across the room with his hand on the door handle in less than a blink of the eye. "I heard you."

Then he was gone.

"Well, what the hell was that all about?" Mercury asked.

"Damned if I know," Kaden lied.

Thorn took the stairs three at a time. He needed answers and since the guy clearly wanted to rip his head off, there was no way in Faerie he was about to ask Kaden. That left only one option; Soraya.

He didn't bother knocking, instead barging into her suite. His sister sat on the sofa one knee bent up under her chin, cotton wool between her toes. She finished the last of the candy-floss-pink nail varnish before smiling up at him. "What took you so long, brother?"

"You knew I was coming?"

Soraya looked at him as he'd just asked whether the grass was green. "Of course I knew, Thorn."

Thorn gave a small smile. When it worked, Soraya's ability to
know
still freaked him out a little. She once compared her gift to a mis-tuned wireless, a broken radio that could only pick up snippets of news, a few words of a song. What she did know she knew beyond all doubt.
 

He sat in an arm-chair whilst Soraya packed up her nail varnish. Now he was here, he had no idea where to begin.

"So, what's up?" Soraya asked.

"Why should anything be up?"

Soraya chuckled. "You forget how well I know you, brother. Besides, I heard you running up the stairs, in the middle of the night, when you should be in the Command Centre. With Kaden."

Thorn couldn't help but wince at the mention of his friend.

"Thorn? What has happened?"

He breathed a heavy sigh. "Lena."

"Ah."

"It's complicated."

"In my experience it usually is where Lena is concerned, but I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Thorn felt ill. There were some things you just didn't talk to your sister about.

"I'm a big girl, Thorn. Just tell me."

Well, here goes nothing.

Kaden's' jaw clenched so tight his teeth protested against the pressure.

"So, who's gonna tell Lena?" Mercury asked.

"Well you can count me out," Ryver said.

"I thought you and her were bffs."

"Fuck off, Mercury."

Mercury held up his hands in surrender. "Whoa! Sorry."

"Lena doesn't need any help from me."

"Don't be daft! Who told you that?" Mercury asked.

"She did," Ryver replied.

"Ouch."

"Yep."

Kaden closed his eyes.
Great. Just great
. "I'll do it."
 

"You sure?" Mercury said.

"You see any other volunteers?" Kaden asked with a growl.

"Volunteers for what?" Lena asked from the doorway.

Holy shit!
Kaden was so busy being angry at Thorn he hadn't seen Lena making her way to the Command Centre. Ryver and Mercury busied themselves staring at their boots.
Thanks for the help, guys
. "Take a seat, Lena."
 

Lena made her way over to the desk and the closer she got, the more Kaden fought the urge to flee. The nausea got worse the closer she came.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Um, Boss?" Mercury said as he backed towards the door, his face a sickly shade of green. "I gotta go, you know, do that thing."

"Yeah, me too. I gotta help him," Ryver said as he all but ran out of the room.

Mercury gave a sarcastic salute as Kaden glowered at him. And then the fucking cowards disappeared.
Jesus Christ, this was going to be awful.
 

"Kaden, you look you're about to throw up. What the hell is going on?" Lena demanded.

He just might throw up if she got any closer. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Why do I need to sit down?"

"Trust me."

"Okay," she drew the word out, huffing as she sat down in one of the wheelie executive chairs. "I'm sitting."

"So, what is it you're really asking?"

"Pardon?"

"What do you really want to know?"

Thorn frowned at his sister. He'd just poured his heart out to her, told her the whole sorry story. Well not
all
the details, obviously, but still. "What do you mean?" Thorn asked. "I need to know what to do!"
 

Soraya's eyebrows shot skyward. "Only you know the answer to that, brother mine."

"But that's just it, Soraya. I haven't got a bloody clue what to do."

"Do you love her?"

"What?"

"Do you love her?" Soraya asked again.

"Yes." The word flew out of his mouth before he even had time to think about it. "I mean…"

Soraya held a hand up to stop him. "Don't take it back, Thorn. Our first answer is usually our most honest one."

Thorn ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. Bloody hell. He loved her. Yet… "What about the law? And even then, yielding is just a step too far for Lena."

Soraya sighed like she was talking to a clueless child. "You really don't know her very well do you."

"Of course I do!"

"No, you don't. You know her as a warrior, you know her as a lover."

"But?"

"But you don't know her as a woman, Thorn."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Am I being ridiculous?"

Of course she was. He knew Lena; he did. When he was with her, he felt her emotions, felt her soul. Didn't he?
Shit
. As soon as that grain of doubt dented his consciousness, his conviction started to unravel.
 

Soraya stared at him. "You men are all the same. It's easy to have sex. People do it all the time," she said. Thorn had to look away, he really didn't want to know how Soraya knew that. "But opening your soul, letting someone into your spirit, thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams, that is what it means to be truly naked. You want Lena to yield to you, to share her soul, yet you've shared nothing of yourself. Why would she even think of yielding to you?"

Lena blinked several times whilst Kaden braced himself for her reaction. The calmness in her voice when she eventually spoke surprised and worried him in equal measures.

"So, House Clayden definitely took responsibility for Eden?"

"As far as we can work out, yeah."

"And my parents were squired there."

"Yeah."

"And, you know, just for shits and giggles, I might not actually be insane because apparently Vance paid particular attention to me as a youngling, so my nightmares are very likely memories."

Kaden winced. "Looks like it, yeah."

Still no violent outbursts, just a slight nod of her head. "Okay. What else?"

Kaden swallowed hard. "Do you remember the Squire, Lucine?"

"Yes, she was my mother's best friend, why?"

"She was also squired to House Clayden."

He saw Lena's brow knit into a tight frown. "I didn't know."

"It seems nobody did. Everyone went to great lengths to keep their connection to House Clayden secret."

Lena stood up. "So let's go and talk to her! She's the only lead we have."