Ruthless Knight Page 10

  Nolan sure as fuck would hope not.

  “Still, I knew the match was a good one—beneficial to both of our families. We each had much to offer the other.” He paused. “I have to wonder what you can offer her.”

  Love. Affection. A promise to always put Tamryn and her needs first.

  “Despite that,” Charles went on, the pompous windbag, “I can see the genuine affection she feels for you, and you for her. Thus, despite my reservations, I find myself wishing you both nothing but happiness.”

  Nolan was glad he was still in his bear form, because he didn’t know what the hell to say to any of that. He gave a snort that he hoped sounded like grudging acceptance of what Charles had said.

  Charles nodded, satisfied, and continued looking at the sky.

  TAMRYN AND ILLARY BEGAN stirring in their tents at dawn, and Nolan roused himself and shifted into his human form. He quickly dressed against the chill of the morning. He couldn’t wait to get home.

  Charles, who had gone into his tent at some point during the night, came back out again and started kicking dirt and rocks over the remains of their fire.

  Nolan’s heart clenched at the sight of Tamryn emerging from her tent. Her eyes were soft and sleepy, her wild red hair a mess, her clothes rumpled. She yawned and stretched, and her shirt rode up on her stomach just enough to give him a tantalizing glimpse of skin. He hadn’t kissed her there yet, just above her hip bones. He’d have to remedy that as soon as possible.

  Home. He needed to take her home.

  She caught him staring and gave him a quizzical look.

  “Good morning,” he said, his voice gruff. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “I did, thanks.” Her gaze went to Illary, who’d come out of her tent and was now taking it apart. “You’re leaving already?”

  “I have other work to do, as do you, my queen,” Illary said. “But I know that we will meet again someday soon.”

  Charles and Tamryn exchanged formal goodbyes with the witch. Nolan wasn’t sure what was expected of him. He was a simple man, not any kind of royalty. He decided to just do what he’d do if she were a person in Idaho, and he nodded and shook her hand.

  “Thank you for helping the queen,” Illary said to him, her brown eyes deep and knowing. “You were reluctant at first, but it has gone well, don’t you think?”

  Nolan grinned. “She’s a treasure worth protecting. I knew it then, and it’s even truer now.”

  “Well done,” Illary said.

  Without any further words, she hoisted her pack onto her shoulders, turned around, and walked into the forest.

  Nolan and Tamryn watched her go. Charles was already breaking down the rest of their camp. Nolan turned to join him, taking down Tamryn’s tent and stuffing it into her pack. As soon as Charles had taken down Nolan’s tent, Nolan put it into his pack.

  “I can carry your supplies for you,” Charles said to Tamryn.

  “No, I thank you, but I’ve been carrying it the past two weeks. I’ve grown quite accustomed to it.”

  Charles shrugged. “Then I guess we should be on our way.”

  He started forward, so Nolan and Tamryn fell into step behind him, walking next to each other. Tamryn gave Nolan a soft smile. Her violet eyes twinkled, and she reached for his hand. He took it in his own, feeling the softness of her skin. His mate. A strong woman who loved him.

  Illary had mentioned Nolan’s reluctance to come out here with them in the first place. In some ways, she was right. But not entirely. Disobeying Jameson about helping Illary and Tamryn had never been a real option, although there’d been a split second when Nolan had considered it. Now, however, he knew Jameson had made the right call in sending him. Hell, maybe Jameson had seen something that even Nolan hadn’t wanted to admit—maybe Jameson had seen hope for Nolan and Tamryn, despite her “engaged” status.

  Or maybe Jameson had been tired of seeing Nolan all mopey and alone at the Ring of Fire, and he’d thought a field trip would be a good idea.

  Both ideas were equally possible, and not mutually exclusive.

  Either way, Nolan owed his alpha a debt of gratitude.

  Charles hummed under his breath as he walked. It grated on Nolan’s nerves, because it was just audible enough that he could snatch little pieces of the melody, but not the entire thing. Eventually, he pieced it together as “Greensleeves.”

  After they’d been hiking for some time, Nolan stopped. “Hold on.”

  “What is it?” Tamryn asked, stopping with him.

  Charles walked a few steps, then turned around, hands on hips.

  “We should be moving south, but we’re veering east.” Nolan didn’t want to accuse Charles of being an idiot, but the temptation was strong. “Maybe I should lead the way.”

  “No, we’re on track,” Charles said.

  “We’re not,” Nolan argued. Now his instincts were shouting at him. He hadn’t trusted Charles before, but this—this was in direct conflict with their goal.

  Charles pursed his lips. “We’re going the way we should go.”

  Nolan sniffed the air and zeroed his senses in on Charles. The man was speaking the truth, but it was a different truth to what Nolan knew.

  Tamryn looked between Charles and Nolan. If Charles was a threat to her, Nolan would be able to get in front of her quickly. He was already mentally calculating the steps necessary to take down the other man.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Nolan demanded. “What aren’t you telling us?”

  “Your language isn’t fit for present company,” Charles said in a pompous voice.

  “Oh, get over it,” Tamryn said. “Times have changed. Now answer my mate’s questions.”

  “Apologies, Your Majesty,” Charles said in a sheepish voice. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you this without getting your hopes up. But I believe I know where two others have come out of their spells.”

  “Two...others?” Tamryn said.

  “Dragon shifters. These are men from your court.”

  “Who?” Tamryn asked.

  “I’m not sure who’s there,” Charles said carefully. “But I know others have been released from their spells—called forth, or however Illary put it. She said she had to take care of some of them, so I assumed she didn’t want to hear of this. However, I knew you especially would take great interest in knowing others from your court might be nearby.”

  “How far?” Nolan asked.

  “Three days’ journey. Two, if we move quickly,” Charles said.

  “Then let’s go to them.” Tamryn’s voice was clear and commanding.

  Nolan held up a hand. “We should wait.”

  “Wait for what?” Charles said. “Skin-hunters to find them? Because surely that is what will happen if we don’t find them first.”

  “Tamryn should be somewhere safe before we go after others,” Nolan said.

  Tamryn touched his arm. “It’s taken us nearly two weeks to reach this spot, and will likely take us just as long to return to Idaho. Then it would take you another two weeks to reach this spot again.”

  Nolan opened his mouth to argue.

  “We could get to them in two days, Nolan,” Tamryn whispered. “Two days.”

  “And, if we act now,” Charles said, sounding almost like a modern-day car salesman, “imagine how much safer Tamryn will be on the journey back to...Idaho, or wherever it is.”

  “We would have other dragon shifters with us, to protect us,” Tamryn said.

  “If you want to keep Tamryn safe,” Charles said, “you cannot deny that having more dragons on your side would be the best course of action. You don’t want to regret leaving these other dragons behind.”

  Regret. Nolan was familiar enough with that emotion.

  He remembered the bad call he’d made—years ago, with Em. He hadn’t gone after her right away. She’d died.

  He couldn’t let the same thing happen to Tamryn. He couldn’t let his own reluctance to act result in any harm befalling her.


  Charles was right. Tamryn would be better protected if they had more dragons to help.

  “What do you think?” he asked Tamryn.

  Her eyes shone. “I’d very much like to be reunited with some of my people.”

  He nodded once at the other man. “You know where they are? Fine. Take us to them.”

  Charles bounced on his heels, then turned around and kept walking, veering east as they’d been doing.

  Nolan still didn’t like it, but he couldn’t deny that Charles had a point. More dragons meant more protection.

  THAT NIGHT WAS SPENT the same way the previous night had been spent. Nolan insisted on remaining in his polar bear form, outside of Tamryn’s tent. She tried to talk him out of it, but he couldn’t let his guard down. Not until they were safely back in Idaho. Frowning, she went into her tent, and he listened until her breathing evened out into slumber.

  An hour before midnight, Charles came out of his borrowed tent.

  “I can take a watch for you, if you want,” Charles said.

  Nolan grunted and remained as he was. Fat chance of him trusting Charles.

  “The queen is lucky to have you.” Charles gave a low bow and then climbed back into his tent.

  On the other side of Nolan, Tamryn unzipped her tent. She sent a hand out to grip Nolan’s fur.

  “I miss you,” she whispered.

  Nolan flexed his back muscles, pushing against her touch, telling her that he missed her, too.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tamryn knew it was pointless to try guessing which members of the Estrayla court might have come out of Illary’s binding spell, yet she couldn’t help it. She knew her parents had selected a few of the palace guards for Illary to practice the spell upon. These were brave warriors who were volunteering to take part in risky, untried magic in service to the royal family. She’d known two of them personally, Fitz Derrickson and Michael Gadwyn, although there’d been quite a few others. If Illary’s spell had been successful for each one, it meant that there could be several other dragon shifters from Tamryn’s court who were now walking the earth in this new era.

  With every fallen log she scrambled over, every time she brushed close enough to a trunk to touch it, she thought of who else could be waiting for her.

  Tamryn didn’t feel alone because she had Nolan, but she felt immense additional comfort in the thought that some of her people were here in this time with her. She hadn’t left everything behind when Illary had worked the magic to bind Tamryn into that spell.

  She only wished Nolan weren’t so nervous about their current course. As they walked through the forest, the waves of his discomfort blocked any other feelings she might have picked up from him or Charles.

  “Tell me how you know about the others,” Nolan said suddenly.

  Charles kept walking. “I saw the glow of their spells. It happened near me. Soon after I got my clothes.”

  “At the old cabin,” Nolan said.

  “Right.” Charles looked back over his shoulder at them. “Lucky find, these clothes.”

  He turned back around and Tamryn closely watched Nolan’s expression. He was glowering at Charles. Jealous? Tamryn couldn’t discern his feelings. She didn’t sense jealousy or envy coming from Nolan. Just an overwhelming sense of distrust and suspicion. She was glad that, as far as she knew, she was alone in sensing peoples’ feelings. Charles might be hurt if he knew just how much Nolan disliked him.

  They reached a wide creek. The water was fast, splashing against rounded rocks as it cascaded forward. The three of them faced it for a moment, then Charles reached down to pull off his boots.

  “I guess we’ll have to wade across,” Charles said cheerfully. “Luckily for us, it doesn’t appear too deep.”

  Nolan pulled off his boots as well, then handed them to Tamryn. “You carry these, and I’ll carry you.”

  Charles was already starting across the creek. Tamryn took longer than necessary taking off her pack so that Nolan could more comfortably carry her in his arms. Better to allow more distance to form between them and Charles; this would be the best opportunity for talking about Charles without the possibility of him overhearing their conversation.

  Once Nolan had her pack looped over his shoulders along with his own, he picked her up. She snuggled against his broad chest. This was heaven, being held in this honorable knight’s arms, encased in his scent and his protection.

  As soon as Tamryn felt the sound of the rushing water was loud enough to cover her words, she leaned in close to Nolan’s ear and said, “Whatever is wrong with you? I can sense your unease.”

  “I don’t trust him.”

  Charles was all the way across the creek.

  Tamryn nodded. This wasn’t news to her. “Can you tell me why?”

  He hesitated, then said, “I’ve been thinking about it. It could be the fact that he was supposed to marry you. I haven’t liked him since first hearing his name.”

  “You do know that I am completely, ardently in love with you, don’t you?” Tamryn asked.

  Nolan’s gray eyes crinkled at the edges and his hard face relaxed into a smile. “Yes, I know that.”

  “We would be able to tell if he were being dishonest,” she pointed out.

  “Maybe,” Nolan said.

  She raised her eyebrows, wordlessly encouraging him to elaborate.

  “I have a friend. You met Matt, didn’t you? Back at the RCC.” When Tamryn nodded, Nolan continued, “He can lie to shifters.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He’s the only guy I’ve ever met who could, though. And he had practiced from a young age. He needed to do it to survive, so it’s not a magical skill or anything.” Nolan sighed. “The more I think about it, the less likely I think it could be that Charles is lying to us.”

  Tamryn opened her mouth to say that they could be cautious, just the same. But they’d gotten too close to Charles on the other bank of the creek; she didn’t want to risk him overhearing. Whether she was worried about offending him for thinking him capable of misleading them, or worried about cluing him in to Nolan’s suspicious nature, she didn’t know.

  Her mother had chosen Charles for her. He couldn’t be a villain; her mother had been an excellent judge of character.

  “Are you ready to continue?” Charles asked.

  She nodded. “Of course. Thank you for the time to rest.”

  They resumed their march through the foothills.

  “Where did you see the glowing lights of the spells?” Tamryn asked.

  Nolan shot her a look and she sensed his caution. But he himself had admitted that he couldn’t rationalize his suspicions. So Tamryn asking a question or two to clarify Charles’s intent shouldn’t alarm anyone.

  “At the base of the mountain just over there, Your Majesty,” Charles said, pointing.

  She wrinkled her nose. She’d asked him to call her Tamryn instead of Your Majesty, but Illary had had a difficult time with that request, as well.

  Tamryn was grateful he’d seen the lights at the base and not at the top; she didn’t think she could handle hiking up another steep incline. It wasn’t just her muscles that were weary; her heart was weary as well. She wanted nothing more than to find her people and go home with Nolan to his clan. She wanted to revel in having found her mate. She wanted to explore his body and learn more about his mind.

  And once they were back in Idaho, once they were safe, she’d be able to bring forth her dragon. She just needed the right conditions.

  “Who do you suppose it was?” Tamryn asked.

  “Your guess would be as good as mine,” Charles said.

  “Indulge me.” She smiled so the command wouldn’t sound so pointed.

  “All right. I can play a guessing game. There’s that exceedingly tall man from your court. Derrickson?”

  “Yes, I always liked him.”

  “Very handsome, too, was the word spread among the ladies of the court. I heard you even fancied him at one point.” Cha
rles sent a knowing look over to Nolan, as if looking for a reaction.

  Nolan didn’t give him the satisfaction.

  Tamryn had fancied many men in her parents’ court, more out of idleness and the security of knowing she was intended for someone else.

  “Grant could be there as well,” Charles went on as if he hadn’t just tried to antagonize Nolan. “Renowned for his dimpled smile, if I’m recalling correctly.”

  “Yes, Charles,” Tamryn said, unable to keep the impatience from her voice, “my court was filled with handsome dragon shifters. I’m not sure that the attractiveness of the men we might find has any bearing on their identities.”

  He turned to look at her. “Apologies, Your Majesty. I was merely trying for sport.”

  His expression was properly remorseful, so Tamryn nodded and he continued walking.

  When Tamryn grabbed Nolan’s hand, he sent a teasing smile her way and whispered, “So, Derrickson, huh?”

  She laughed. He wasn’t perturbed at all by Charles’s jabs, not if he could turn around and gently poke fun at her. Her muscular polar bear mate had strength of character.

  Despite her mother’s previous wishes that Tamryn marry Charles, Tamryn knew her mother would have adored Nolan.

  “The others who Illary spelled,” Charles said, oblivious or willfully ignoring Tamryn and Nolan’s exchange, “are Smith, Gadwyn, and Collings. Is that right?”

  “That sounds right,” Tamryn said, “although there could be others, if she spelled them after spelling me. Her orders were to save as many of us as possible.”

  Her heart broke again as she thought of her parents. If only Illary had gone to them first, they could still be alive. Instead, they’d ordered Illary to save Tamryn. But Tamryn hadn’t been in the same kind of danger; she hadn’t yet had her first shift. The skin-hunters could have taken her away, but they wouldn’t have skinned her until they could induce her transformation.

  Logic hadn’t seemed to matter in the face of love. They’d wanted to protect her from all danger.

  They’d loved her. Every day she would be grateful for that love, and she would show that love to her future family, and pass on her parents’ legacy of kindness.