Page 48 of The Time Of Queens

“And this cloak?” I asked, trying to keep my tone even, despite feeling anything but calm.

“I swear I did not steal it, my Lord!” I held up my hand to stop her and asked her once again.

“Where did you find it?”

“A bundle of discarded clothes, the rest were strange, looked like they belonged to a man, but the cloak I took,” she offered, but it was not enough, as this time I gritted out the single word,

“Where?”

“The alley, behind the Hundred House Inn, my Lord.”

I tensed, knowing my men had already made enquiries there.

“Wait here, one of my men will come in and help you but don’t be afraid, for if you run, you will be forfeiting your one chance at a new life, one that brings you a warm bed, food, and a roof over your head… do you understand?” I told her, knowing that I couldn’t in all good conscious walk away to leave her to such a fate as to starve or freeze to death.

“Oh yes, my Lord, thank you, my Lord,” she said, taking the cloak off, but I promptly stopped her.

“Keep it, for you are right… it is cold out there,” I said, looking to the door and, for the most horrifying moment, envisioning not my Chosen One out there but…

My little maid.

“Thank you, my Lord…” she said, but I was no longer listening as I turned and stormed out of the barn, knowing what I must do.

“Dominic?”

I ignored my brother and looked straight to Lucius.

“Go the Hundred House Inn, clothes were found in the alleyway next to it. Ask the innkeeper of all that have come and gone these last few days,” I ordered, making him bow his head.

“Everyone was spoken to,” Zagan pointed out, making me close to snarling.

“Yes, but it only takes one to accept a bribe,” I reminded him.

“Then I will discover the truth via other means,” Lucius said, making me nod as he knew without my asking what I needed of him.

I turned toward my horse, when Vincent stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“And what of the girl in the barn?” he asked, and I looked back at it.

“She is not my Electus. She is but a young girl who ran away from home, found my cloak, and sought refuge here,” I told him, the bitterness easy to hear but for reasons he believed to be for the loss of my Chosen One.

“You wish me to return her?” Ragnar asked, overhearing this, making me tense at just the idea of what she would think if I had him be the one to go in there and retrieve her. Which was why, after I mounted my horse, I turned to the one who would no doubt put her at the most ease. This, despite the truth behind the vessel being one strong enough to bring destruction upon the Earth.

“Adam, have the girl brought to the house, tell my steward I have employed her as a scullery maid, ensure she’s clothed and fed a hot meal.”

He bowed his head and walked towards the barn ready to carry out my orders. As for my brother, he too mounted his own horse, pulling its reins so as to trot up alongside me.

“This doesn’t mean she is not still out there,” he said, making me look to the road as I tried to picture the one I would be most loathed to discover out walking this lone, dark, cold road. Which was why I looked at him and took no time at all to tell him sternly,

“I agree, but as of this very moment…Fate can have her!”

My resolve was easy to hear, before I gave Samson the order to gallop, for I had no time for my brother’s reply. No, I had far more important matters to attend to. Like doing what I should have done since the very first moment I met her.

Listening to my heart.

Breaking the rules and…Claiming a mortal.

Which was why I pushed Samson with more urgency than I had in my haste to get to the barn. Because, suddenly, my biggest fear was being realised. What if I was too late to fix this? What if she would not listen to me when I tried to explain. What if she wished never to see me ever again?

---