Page 34 of King of Forest and Fur

It didn’t feel right. It still wasn’t time. His inner bear let his displeasure be known, again. But Rehn chased its grumbling from his mind, trying to steal every precious moment he could with his beautiful Leila.

After one particularly deep and sensual kiss, Leila leaned back against her pillow and sighed.

“I should get to work today, I think. I wonder what I can do to figure out who was trying to attack me,” she said, laying the back of her hand against her forehead. “How would I even get started? Especially from here. Your library has been incredibly interesting to poke through, but I haven’t made any progress yet. Still, I need to start somewhere.”

Rehn realized, by the way she spoke, that Leila assumed he hadn’t made any progress on the search himself. He leaned heavily on his forearm and looked her over, reluctant to continue this train of thought.

“You don’t need to worry about where to start. I already have.” The words escaped his mouth with a heavy weight. Admitting it made it real, solidifying the shrinking time he had to make her want to stay with him on her own. The clock was ticking, beating with his own pulse and reminding him his happiness was fleeting.

Leila turned her head, looking at him with wide eyes. “You have? Why didn’t you?—”

“I didn’t want to worry you, thinking about such things.” That was true, and he felt a sting of guilt for not being honest upfront. He didn’t know how else to bring her closer to him without shielding her from every perceivable threat he could. “I want you to be at ease in my castle, to put all this out of your mind. But I assure you, we have been hard at work on the mystery. In fact, I believe we’ll be taking a large step in the process today.”

Her eyes were stuck on his, unmoving. “Well, go on!” she said. “Explain!”

Rehn nodded, realizing there was no taking back this conversation now.

“Yesterday, Idris and I went around and collected magic samples from every local sorcerer in the kingdom. They’re being held safely and waiting for a visitor from the academy to arrive today.”

“Someone from the academy?” Leila asked. “Is it anyone I might know?”

Rehn shook his head. “I’m unsure, I forgot her name. A woman who’s talented in tracing magic. We’ll see if any of the samples match the magic residue left in the prison cell.”

Leila bolted to sitting up, her face practically glowing with excitement. “Really? You’ve already managed all that? That’s incredible!”

She leaned over and gave Rehn an appreciative kiss on the lips, lingering for a moment before pulling away again. She was practically vibrating with shock.

“Again, I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. I just…wanted you to enjoy your stay here. To relax.” He brushed his hand against her arm, hoping she understood.

“And I appreciate that, but now that I do know, I want to be part of this process,” she said as she slid out of the large bed. She gathered her clothing from the previous day and put it on.

Rehn wanted to argue; to tell her it wasn’t necessary, and she ought to spend the time luxuriating in her accommodations. That she should be spending more time in his bed. In his arms.

But he knew it was no use. Leila was stubborn. It took everything to convince her to come to his castle in the first place. Keeping her from getting involved now would be fruitless, and perhaps even push her farther from him.

“Very well. If you want to be there when the tracer analyzes the samples…you may.” There was nothing else to say.

Leila finished throwing her clothing on and leaned over the bed to give him a peck on the cheek.

“I’m going back to my room to freshen up and dress properly. I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said, excitement buzzing in her words.

“As will I,” Rehn said, sighing as he watched her leave his room. He pulled himself from his bed and called his staff to run him a bath. He washed himself and dressed to receive esteemed company.

Just as he was ready to leave for the dining hall, a knock came at his door.

“Come in,” Rehn said, hoping to see Leila on the other side. Instead, it was Idris who greeted him.

Rehn did his best to hide his disappointment.

“I thought you might like to know, the sorcerer Altair was spotted. I’ve ordered he be brought in for questioning,” Idris said, folding his arms behind his back.

Rehn nodded. “A wise call. I told Leila about our work yesterday, and she seemed excited to see an end to this search. But I have to admit, none of the men we surveyed seemed the least bit suspicious.”

“On that, we agree,” Idris replied. “Which is why I sent a team out to gather more information on Altair last night. They came back with… rumors.”

Rehn crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “Go on.”

“Many describe him as a deeply unhappy man. He has strong opinions on how the world has ‘gone wrong,’ that society is heading down the wrong path.”

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