Page 31 of Hidden Fate

She had a point, but I still believed that most people wanted to do the right thing. Of course, there were exceptions—there always were—but I couldn’t bring myself to think most people were bad. That was too black and white when the world was full of gray. Everyone was a villain in someone else’s story. By teaching me my love of painting, my mom had also helped me to understand that the world was more complex than right and wrong, and to capture an image perfectly, you had to see it from all angles.

“Who is it?” I doubted I knew them, but I had to ask.

“A warrior named Uther.” Theron mashed his lips into a line.

Uther? Now my head really jerked back. Out of every warrior possible, it would be him.

“I don’t know him,” Theron continued. “But he’s been poking around. Vlad’s parents informed Wyvern that someone was asking about us discreetly, and now this person is doing the same thing. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“I heard of him recently.” Errol leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “He moved to the château grounds the week Everly was taken, but he wasn’t assigned to the king and me, so I’m sure his allegiance is with Drake. I wouldn’t trust him.”

Drake had hand-picked him, and I wondered where he’d pulled Uther from.

I swallowed to get rid of the uneasy feeling. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Vlad’s attention landed on me. “What makes you say that?”

“He was one of the guards assigned to watch over Eva and me while we were there.”

A menacing growl vibrated deep within Thorn’s chest as his anger boiled through our connection.

I placed a hand on his arm, hoping to provide comfort. “He was nice—kind and regretful. Drake made it clear on multiple occasions that if Uther did something he didn’t like, his young daughter would pay the price. Despite that, Uther treated us kindly and looked out for us the best he could. Even when we were at Theron’s thunder and the warriors attacked, he didn't want to hurt us.”

“Which means Drake could be using Uther’s daughter against him now to set us up.” Thorn’s body quivered. “For all we know, Drake told him to be like that to earn some level of trust.”

The urge to pull away from Thorn surged through me, but I remained still. He was upset, and his words held merit. If I were him, I would possibly be thinking the same thing.

I took his hand and squeezed it, pushing down the frustration fluttering inside me. “I get it, but you weren’t there.”

His face twisted in agony. “You don’t have to remind me. I was living each one of those hellacious moments away from you and losing my damn mind the entire time.”

“Thorn,” Vlad warned. “That was hard on her as well. You need to remember that.”

We didn’t need to keep rehashing this. Weallknew it had been a horrible time for everyone. But I was surprised when Eva spoke up.

“It was a horrible time for Everly, too. Despite her puking all night and tossing and turning, she protected me every step of the way. And Utheriskind. Whenever Everly was forced to go with Drake, he’d stay behind to make sure another guard wasn’t cruel to me.”

A deep scowl settled over Sol’s face. Though he hadn’t been around when all this had gone down, he obviously didn’t like hearing about the time the woman he had a crush on had been forced into captivity and mistreated.

I was beginning to think my hunch that he and Eva were soulmates, like Thorn and I had been before he’d changed me, wasn’t so far off after all.

Still, I had to focus on what she’d said, and that information was good to hear. I’d suspected that Uther had protected her since Eva had never fallen apart while I’d been gone. But Thorn was still a bundle of nerves beside me.

“Look, I’m not saying we trust him completely.” I couldn’t be blind to Thorn’s point. Drake could have realized that Uther had an amicable relationship with us and be exploiting his daughter. “But I think it’s worth considering.”

“And let me add”—Brenton patted his chest—“when someone threatens your kid, it doesn’t leave you feeling warm and fuzzy toward them. Based on what Everly and Eva are saying, this isn’t something he’dwantto do, which could be to our advantage.”

Hydra leaned into her mate. “What did Wyvern think? Did they talk on the phone?”

“No, he showed up at the thunder with a handful of other guards. They said they came back to see if they’d missed any clues, but after they split up to search the area, Uther circled back.” Theron ran a hand through his hair. “He said he didn’t have a lot of time but that Drake was settings things in motion, and if we wanted to stop them, we had to act soon. He also said he needed to get in touch with us and asked if Wyvern knew of a way. Of course, Wyvern said no, but he asked us if we needed him to say something else.”

“Are they still there?” Vlad asked as he and Cassidy met each other’s eyes, using their fated-mate connection to communicate.

I don’t like this,Thorn connected, his grip tightening on me.There are so many ways meeting him could go wrong. It’s not worth the risk.

I inhaled, trying to think clearly.What if he’s sincere? What if we could have someone on the inside? You want to fight Drake, and I agree. We should. We have to. But right now, we’re running and hiding without many allies. This could swing things in our favor.

“They are.” Theron crossed his arms. “But I’m not sure for how long. They came at nightfall so they could fly over the area without worrying about humans seeing them as easily.”

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