Page 40 of God Touched

"Good morning!" Freya answered brightly.

"Woah, why are you shouting at me?" Imogen grumbled.

"I wanted to let you know that Bayn and I are staying at Wrexham," Freya said, her voice dropping to a normal volume.

"You're in Wales? Why?"

"You sound guilty. What didyouget up to last night, Imogen Ironwood?"

Had my last brain cell fucked out?

Imogen cleared her throat. "I found a spy of Hafgan's and watched Arawan eye gouge him," she replied.

"Gross. And this was at a party? What is wrong with immortals?" Freya said and, after a beat, added. "Did he like the dress?"

"Ah, yeah. Thank you. And for all the other stuff you sent."

Freya made a concerned humming sound. "You sound weird still. Are you okay?"

No. I'm catching feelings, and it's freaking me the fuck out.

"No, I'm not okay, but I can't talk about it here. Wrexham is only an hour away. How about I meet you somewhere? I need to get out of here for a bit," Imogen replied. She needed her bike and the cold air to blast out all the weirdness that was suddenly sitting heavy in her chest.

"Of course I can meet you. I'll text you a location. Drive safe, okay?" Freya said.

"Will do. I'll see you before lunch." Imogen hung up and hurried to get ready. A ride was exactly what she needed.

Imogen dressed in her warmer leather riding gear, braided her hair, and tucked Bayn's knife into her boot. Feeling more like herself and less like a stressed-out girl, she headed downstairs.

The rest of the court must have been sleeping off their night of revelry because the halls were all empty except for Arawan's usual warriors. It wasn't until Imogen was almost at the bottom of the main staircase when she spotted Caitrin leaning against the banister.

"Morning!" Imogen greeted, walking past her.

"What are you doing here?" Caitrin said, bringing Imogen up short.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what use would Arawan have with a living, breathing girl? You are not a courtier even if you dressed like one last night." Caitrin looked her over, her beautiful face twisting in disgust. "You aren't really his whore like Owain claimed, are you?"

Imogen swallowed the urge to smack her in her pretty face. "What business is that of yours?"

"It would be a disgrace for Lord Arawan to lower himself to fuck a human like you. You are shit beneath his shoes, yet he dismissed everyone but you last night, and I want to know why! What did you do to get him to turn on Owain?" Caitrin demanded, poking Imogen hard in the shoulder.

That did it. Imogen knocked her hand away, slammed her up against the stone railing, and pressed her knife to her throat.

"You want to know who I am, bitch? You're right. I'm not a fucking courtier. I am from the greatest hunting clan, living or dead, and if you poke me, call me a whore, or otherwise say anything I don't like again, I'll slit your fucking throat," Imogen snarled in her face. "As for Owain, you heard his orders from Hafgan. He betrayed Arawan and deserves everything he gets. If I were you, I'd stop with your mean girl bullshit and focus on the war coming."

Caitrin's eyes were wide with fear as Imogen shoved her away.

Imogen shouldered the front doors open and took a breath of cold air. Two warriors had seen the whole exchange and had wisely not interfered.

"Keep an eye on her. I don't like how she overlooked Owain's betrayal," Imogen told them. "And make sure she stays the fuck away from Arawan."

"Yes, Lady Ironwood," they replied with small bows.

Imogen nodded and headed to the stables, where she had garaged her bike. She needed to get the fuck out of there.

It wasn't until she was roaring through Arawan's wards that she thought that maybe she should have left him a note telling him where she had gone.

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