Page 43 of Blood Bearon
Rachel gasped at the introduction, suddenly pulling at her clothing and hair more frantically than Khove ever had, desperate to try and ensure she was appropriate-looking.
“Relax,” the Queen said, waltzing into her room, Knox and another guard taking up station outside. “Please. Just call me Kaelyn. And don’t do that.”
Rachel looked up sharply, stopping herself halfway into a curtsy, straightening awkwardly. “Ah, are you sure, your Majesty? I mean Kaelyn.”
Khove chuckled silently to himself, before quieting as the Queen turned an eye on him.
“It’s not what you think,” he offered meekly when she continued to let her gaze linger.
“Right,” Kaelyn muttered with a visible roll of her eyes. “How are you doing?” she asked, turning back to Rachel.
Curious as to the way the interaction between the two confident women would go, Khove stepped back slightly to watch from a—safe—distance.
“I’m fine,” Rachel said cautiously, glancing over at him. Khove nodded to indicate it was okay to speak freely.
“And how are you handling your newfound knowledge?”
Rachel glanced at him a second time, a gesture Khove appreciated more than he would ever be able to articulate. Her look was basically Rachel’s silent way of saying she would never share unless Khove told her it was okay. The dedication to keeping a secret like that was beyond respectful.
“She’s our Queen,” he said. “She’s one of us.”
“Right,” Rachel said, drawing herself up, able to look Kaelyn almost directly in the eye. “Well, to be frank, it’s terrifying. Yet also kind of cool. Yet mind blowing. And overwhelming. I’m surprised I haven’t fainted yet, trying to process just what it means, to be truthful.”
Kaelyn chuckled. “You have a strength about you, Miss Corningstone—”
“Rachel, please.”
“Rachel,” Kaelyn said with a respectful bow of her head. “I’m not surprised you’re handling it better than others might. I can see now why Khove entrusted you with our secret.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said awkwardly, clearly overwhelmed by the compliment.
“And how does everything else go?”
Rachel turned bright red. “Oh, um, that? That wasn’t what, we were just, is human-shifter not okay? I just, uhh…”
Khove’s shoulders bounced, earning him a reproachful glare from Rachel, but he didn’t stop.
“I mean in regards to tracking Korred,” the Queen said gently, reaching out to rest a calming hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Nothing else is my business.”
“Right,” Rachel said, nodding to herself before fixing Khove with another glare that promised retribution.
He kept laughing silently to himself. It was worth it. Besides, it was worth it to see the two most important women in his life—albeit in completely different ways—interacting with one another.
“Well, it’s going slowly,” Rachel said, looking like she’d swallowed a bitter pill at having to admit to being stumped.
“Truthfully,” Khove said, jumping in, “We haven’t found a single trace of him yet. His fingerprints are all over it, but he’s been using scapegoats so far.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re working hard on it, aren’t you?” The Queen glanced between the two of them.
“Of course,” he said, understanding the look in his liege’s eyes.
Kaelyn wasn’t begrudging them their personal time, but she also wanted to remind him of his priorities, something that, despite his best intentions, Khove seemed to have become sidetracked from. Irritated at his own weakness, he nodded firmly again, responding to the unspoken comment.
“If Korred isn’t carrying out the attacks himself,” the Queen said, “then it means he’s probably expanding his power base. We need to find him before he feels confident enough to operate against us openly. Again.”
Khove winced at the memory of Korred’s attempt to use mind control magic to take command of the Ursidae Throne, and his own impotence at stopping him. It would not,could not, be allowed to happen again. Not while he still breathed.
“We’ll head out right away,” Khove said, motioning for Rachel to join him as they headed for the door.
