Page 45 of Secrets and Ruin

“Once. He wanted to make sure the information would be passed on if he died without an heir. I didn’t go through his things. I was, at the time, still awkward about his closeness with his biological family. He’s the only one of us, until you, who wasn’t a wild child when Hasan found him. The idea of a family before Hasan was an…” Davor sighed, shaking his head before he finished voicing that thought.

“Before we jump off, can I ask for some… interference?”

“Don’t tell the others? I wasn’t planning to the moment we got off this call,” Davor said, suddenly giving me a crooked, somewhat unpleasant smile.

“Really?”

“Father will kill you if Niko is hurt right now,” Davor said simply. “And while neither of you said it outright, it certainly sounds like Rainer was hiding among the Everson pack in your territory. You were harboring an enemy. Unknowingly, but you were. I was thinking of packing a bag and going to visit Niko as a cover story to hold down the estate while you two run into the Black Forest. You know the werewolf. I wouldn’t be any help in that place, but I can keep Niko’s humans safe and provide a place for you to run back to in case that wolf decides to try anything.”

“You… You would help me like that?” I was genuinely a bit surprised.

“I don’t want Father to kill you,” Davor said softly. For a second of silence, we studied each other—me surprised by his admission and him perhaps trying to figure out why I was surprised.

“I thought you hated her,” Landon said, breaking the moment. His nonchalant way of saying it, a casual disregard of the moment, was what Davor and I needed.

“Same.” I stared at Davor as realization dawned in his eyes.

“You never read my email, did you?” Davor asked, leaning back.

“No,” I admitted, unable to say more.

“I’ll say it here then because clearly, it needs to be said. You gave me something no one else ever could. Closure. I miss Liza with every fiber of my being, and for a century… I was so angry. Furious she was just gone, and there was nothing we could do about it, not even bring her justice. I took that anger out on you far too much, and I apologize for that. There were a lot of reasons I thought you needed to be the target, and all of them were selfish, pushing things onto your appearance into the family when many of my problems had been brewing for decades.

“Once I knew the truth, I felt like I could breathe after a century of gasping for air. The anger subsided but didn’t go away, so I started talking to someone. I started recognizing what you brought our family that day. I started recognizing who and what I was really angry with. You don’t need to accept that apology, but I am going to do what I have to make things less hostile between us.”

“And my engagement?”

“I…” Davor sighed. “When I learned of it, I thought of Liza. She had a big heart. She and I should have never worked, yet we did… She would have accepted your engagement without question and would have been overjoyed for you. The heart wants what the heart wants. That’s what she taught me. No one denied us a chance at forever. I could never ask someone else to give up theirs.” He looked away, off into the distance.

“The people you love that deeply never leave you once you let them in. I hope you and Heath find the depth of that bond when you’re both ready for it. Sometimes, it takes an instant, or it can take decades, for the mate bond to snap into place, but if your heart is true, it’ll happen, and you deserve the chance to experience that. I sent that email because I needed you to know I wouldn’t stand in the way of it.”

“Thank you,” I choked out.

“It’s not… It’s not something you should feel the need to say thank you for, Jacky.” Davor closed his eyes. “We’re family, but I’ve been slow to heal from my own wounds—”

“And like all wounded animals, you attacked anyone who made you feel even the slightest bit threatened, even if you didn’t understand why,” Landon said simply, clearly not hit with the same emotions as Davor and me.

“Yes,” Davor confirmed with a nod as his eyes opened. “Again, you don’t need to accept my apology, Jacky. Regardless, I will help you because the rift between us is certainly my fault, and as family, it’s my obligation to help you. I owe you more than you realize. Why don’t we spend a moment to make a solid plan before you both head for the armory and into the Black Forest? Once I leave for Germany, our family will know something is going on. We all knew Dirk was visiting Niko, and I don’t visit Niko very often right now.”

“Seventy-two hours. If you can hold them all off for seventy-two hours for me and Landon to resolve this, I will be immensely grateful.”

“I can try to do that. I can tell them I’m going to head here to give Dirk security lessons because I know he handles much of that for you… So long as it’s not Zuri or Subira asking, I should be able to get away with that lie. If I tell Jabari, he won’t know the difference, and they’ll believe him.”

“Then that’s the plan. Landon and I are going into the forest to find everyone and get them back safely. Thank you, Davor. For the information, and…” I didn’t know how to phrase the rest.

“Stay safe, little sister. I’ll work with Ansel about getting there.”

I nodded and left the call on as I walked away, Landon following me.

“To the armory,” I said as we closed the office behind us after holding it open for Ansel. I finally had what Landon and I needed. We moved quickly and silently into the keep’s basement, heading for the back of the hall. I let Landon use his nose to find the spot.

“What do you think we’ll find?” he asked as I pushed the key in.

“No idea,” I murmured. “But I hope it’s useful, or we’ve wasted a lot of time.”

“Time preparing isn’t wasted,” Landon countered. “Even if it’s not as fruitful as we want, anything is better than nothing.”

“I figured you would run into the forest as quickly as you could to get to Dirk,” I said, eyeing him as magic swirls and runes began to form on the wall. “I should be grateful. I want to run out there, but I want to be helpful when I get there, and I don’t think I can be, not yet.”

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