Chapter Twenty-Four

ASH

A sudden jolt of fear through the mate bond woke him with a start. The warmth of Keyara next to him was gone, and the sharp scent of strangers was in the air.

It was close to dark, and there was an ominous glow in the air from the setting sun.

“Don’t move,” spat out a vaguely familiar voice as he woke.

He sat up slowly. Keyara was a few paces away, a knife pressed to her throat. Holding her was none other than Lord Jonas Pershing, the son of the king.

Ash quickly surveyed the scene. Half a dozen men were scattered around the lake, and all were armed. Two men a good distance away had crossbows aimed at him.

He slowly stood, raising his hands in a nonthreatening manner, but underneath he was burning with fury at the intruders.

Ash cursed himself, remembering the humans he had smelled earlier. How could he have been so careless? He should have sensed them getting closer from miles away.

He had let his guard down during the lighthearted day with his mate, and Keyara’s intoxicating scent next to him had dulled his senses.

“What do you want, Lord Pershing?” He kept his voice calm, fighting down his wolf. He took a small step toward Key, but Jonas pressed the knife harder against her skin at his movement.

Ash froze when she gasped in pain, the faint scent of blood in the air. A small trickle ran down her neck.

His eyes began to cloud with his fury. He could not phase; Lord Jonas could kill his mate in a heartbeat, before the transformation was complete.

“It sure didn’t take you long to bed the whore,” Jonas said with contempt.

Ash let out a soft growl, his eyes growing darker. He saw a spark of fear in her captor’s eyes at the sight.

“Tie him up,” said Jonas.

Three men grabbed Ash, wrenching his hands behind his back. He didn’t fight them, even though it went against every one of his instincts. He had to protect Keyara.

They shoved him against the base of a tree, wrenching his hands behind him and around the tree, binding them tightly at the wrists. Ash’s shoulders screamed at the tension.

His eyes never left Keyara’s face. She stared back at him, fear in her eyes.

“Just tell me what you want, Pershing. We can work this out.” Ash struggled to keep his voice calm.

“I have what I want,” said Jonas. “Her ~Highness~ is coming back with us.”

Keyara let her eyes cut up to Jonas’s face, but kept her mouth shut at his revelation.

“She’s just a maid,” Ash said. “She’s always been a maid, hasn’t she?”

“That’s where you’re wrong, King Ash.” Jonas spit out his title with disdain. “And you will not fool me into believing you really think that. Why else would you ask for the wench specifically by name?

“Maids are a dime a dozen. There’s no reason you needed one from us, and if you did, any of them would have done.”

“What makes you think I’m anything else?” Keyara asked Lord Jonas breathlessly.

Jonas spared her a brief glance before staring down Ash again. He couldn’t seem to keep his attention away from Ash’s eyes, swirling with black.

“I’ve had my suspicions, but your interest in her just confirmed it. I lived at the castle for a short time when I was just a small boy.

“My father sent me there as a ward of the king and queen for training. No one paid any attention to me. I only saw the king and queen in passing.”

“I was called home about a month before my father took over the castle,” he continued. “But during my time there I became very good at sneaking around the corridors.

“I heard the queen and her maid talking when they thought no one was listening, and I remember when the maid gave birth. There was only one child, I was sure of it.

“A few years after my father took over, after my mother died, I was called to Levia. Suddenly the maid had twins. I questioned myself in the years since. I was only a small child after all.

“Perhaps I misremembered. But now I’m sure of it. I remembered the whispered conversations between the queen and her maid, and I realized who this must be.”

He glared down at Keyara with contempt. “She’s the heir. But that will not do. It will not do at all. ~I~ am the heir.

“You must be planning to team up together and take back her crown. And if my father is overthrown by this wench and your army, where does that leave me?”

“You’re smarter than you look,” Keyara said hatefully.

~“Don’t push him,”~ Ash linked her.

She pressed her lips together as Jonas shook her, gripping her arm tightly. “You keep your mouth shut, whore,” said Jonas.

“I’m taking you back to my father, so he can eliminate the threat,” he said with finality. He looked at Ash once more, before gesturing to one of his men.

“Bleed him,” he spat. “Leave him for the wolves to finish off.”

Ash almost laughed at his choice of words, until he felt a sharp stab and hissed in pain. He dimly heard Keyara cry out, mirroring what he felt. He growled low in his throat in response to her pain.

Hot blood poured from his wound into his lap. He looked into Key’s eyes as she sobbed with pain and worry.

~“I will find you,”~ he told her.

“How?!” she cried out loud.

Jonas frowned when she spoke, as it was seemingly out of nowhere.

He started to drag her away, but she fought him, trying to get back to Ash. The blood running down her neck became heavier.

~“Do not fight him, my love. They don’t know I will heal. When that happens, I will come for you. I can catch up.”~

She nodded and allowed herself to be taken.

~“I love you,”~ he heard in his head.

She had finally gotten the mind-link. He smiled faintly as he lost consciousness.