Page 75 of The Warrior
“I hope to see you again,” Hans called out behind me as I walked away at a fast pace.
I lifted my hand to signal that I had heard him, but I didn’t tell him I hoped to see him again. That would’ve been a lie.
CHAPTER 20
Purpose
Magni
Franklin caught up to me when I walked into the mansion. “I should warn you, Commander, Khan knows that you picked up Pearl at the border and he’s not happy about it.”
I grunted. “How does he know?”
“I’m not sure but I have a theory. I think he is having both of you tracked and he’s getting alerts when you two are in close proximity. He knows you can be hard on Pearl and he doesn’t like it. Khan wants to see you right away.”
I didn’t look at Franklin when I threw a few things into a bag. “Yeah, well, I’m not in the mood for a fucking lecture. You can tell Lord Khan that I’ll be on the East Coast.”
“For how long, Commander?”
“I don’t know.”
Franklin frowned. “What about the situation at the border?”
“What about it?”
“Should we continue to patrol?”
“Yes, those are my orders and you’ll make sure they are carried out until Khan or I tell you otherwise.”
“Understood, sir.”
Franklin stood in the doorway when I passed him and smacked his shoulder. “I’ll be in touch, Lieutenant.”
For a moment I considered swinging by the school to say goodbye to Mila, but the black cloud above my head was weighing me down too much.
Laura didn’t want me, Khan didn’t appreciate me, and I didn’t have much to offer anyone anyway.
There was nothing for me here, and nowhere to go. If we hadn’t been so fucking isolated up here in the Northlands, I would’ve found some desert island with a warm beach to get away from it all.
My sleek red drone took me to the East Coast in a few hours. Erika, my mom, currently lived in a grand mansion with my father’s best friend Mr. Zobel. They had both lost their spouses and it seemed natural that they would marry, but Khan and I didn’t like him much. Mr. Zobel had always been a harmless snob who sucked up to our dad when he was still alive. With our mom being a beautiful woman, Khan and I both felt she could do better. As her protectors, we had allowed her to live with him in the hope that she would grow tired of him.
It didn’t surprise me that my mother and Mr. Zobel were both home when I arrived unannounced. They lived in a golden cage and almost never went anywhere.
“What a lovely surprise,” my mother chirped with a happy smile. “You should’ve told me you were coming, I would’ve had the kitchen bake that pumpkin bread you love so much.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How long are you staying? Are you well? You don’t look too well. Did something happen?” My mother was fussing over me, stroking my chin and shoulder.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“And Khan? How is he?”
“Yeah, Mom, everyone is fine. I’m here to see you, not talk about me.”
“Oh, darling, that’s so kind of you.” She lit up. “I could show you the green room. I got one of the rose bushes to bloom, which is very rare this time of year. I’m really quite proud of it, and it has the prettiest pink color you can imagine.”
“Sure, Mom, I would love to see it.”
