My chest tightens as worry flares. “I left my nephew behind… at Solan’s,” I blurt, my voice cracking. “He’s just a kid. I didn’t have a choice. Is he in danger?” Even as I say the words, I want to go back in time. What the fuck was I thinking, leaving him alone in this strange world? Fuck.
Harith’s expression hardens instantly, and dread clenches my stomach like a vice.
“They will care,” he says grimly. “A human child linked to the shift? The royal guard will take him to the queen without hesitation. They will assess his skills, determine how he can serve society. See what he knows about the prince.”
My heart pounds. “He’s twelve,” I snap, panic sharpening my tone. “What skills? All he does is eat, fart, and tell jokes so bad, they make you want to crawl under a rock. Sure, he can ride and shoot better than most adults, but he’s akid.”
Harith doesn’t flinch. “They will not see a child. They will see potential. And potential is something they do not waste.” His gaze flicks to Solan, who stands stiff, his face carved from stone but his worry glaringly clear.
“No,” Solan says firmly, stepping closer to me. His deep voice is steady, a stark contrast to my fraying nerves. “Jamie is smart. He will endure.”
My throat tightens, and Solan reaches out, cupping the back of my neck with his broad hand. The warmth of his palm seeps into me, anchoring me in the moment. I close my eyes for a beat, pulling in a deep breath that does little to calm me.
“Going back isn’t safe,” Harith says. “The royal guard will expect it. You would be walking into their trap.”
“We need a plan,” I say, the tremor in my voice betraying my fear. We were meant to be heading back today to be with him. Hecan’t be left alone. My eyes dart to Solan while my brain becomes overloaded with questions. The most pressing iswhywill the royal guard be expecting it? It doesn’t make a lick of sense. What I say instead is “Jamie’s capable.” Fierce resolve settles in my chest. Anything else is too dangerous. Too debilitating. “He could ride a horse before he could tie his laces. He could shoot a rifle before he could spellcomplicated.But he’s still just a kid.” The last words spill out unbidden. Fuck.
Solan’s grip tightens slightly, and his hair ripples like a flame with renewed access to oxygen. “We will find a way,” he says, his voice unyielding. The sheer conviction in his words grounds me more than his touch.
Harith nods slowly, his expression clouded with thought. “There are… contacts I can reach out to. Those who might help. But it will take time. For now, you must stay hidden.” He glances between us before fixing Solan with a pointed look. “And you, Solan…. You know what is required.”
Solan’s jaw flexes, his entire frame going rigid. “I know.”
I look between them, unease churning in my gut. “What? What does that mean?”
“We protect you,” Solan says, his tone like iron, his eyes taking on a glowing sheen, a testament to the fire beneath. “No matter the cost.”
CHAPTER
SEVEN
I don’t likethe plan. In fact, I bloody hate it.
Letting some random monster go to Solan’s to find and fetch Jamie is not something I can get on board with. “He’smyresponsibility,” I grit out for likely the hundredth time since we’ve been led to a room that will be ours while we stay here. And just like the other ninety-nine times, Solan stares down at me with nothing but patience and understanding.
“I understand, but this is safer for Jamie.”
Struth, when he puts it like that, I’m the dickhead. With my jaw still tense, I grumble, “I don’t like anything about this plan.”
“I know.”
The arsehole, who is absolutely not an arsehole—but I need to believe he is in this moment so that guilt doesn’t eat me alive—reaches for me and grips the back of my neck.
Every time he does that, I almost melt, my muscles immediately relaxing. It’s at complete odds with the desire that unfurls in my gut. It’s not the time or the place, not when I’m going to have to trust monsters to protect my nephew.
“Tahrionne is strong. A protector. He can also be trusted. He will take Calythra with him, another young one similar to Jamie. Your nephew will be safe.”
I reluctantly nod, understanding the plan despite my fear.
Tahrionne has been given my watch—something my sister had got engraved for my thirtieth birthday from Jamie.Time spent as an uncle is time well cherished.Needless to say, my sister knew what she was doing—reminding me that I had a family out west and that Brisbane was just a pit stop. But the watch is intended to reassure Jamie that I’m the one who sent them to protect him.
While Tahrionne can’t speak English well—or at all—Calythra can. He’s also a warrior in training, and from what I could gather, he’s more of a teenager than another child. Should they be stopped—though Harith reassures me Tahrionne is the master of stealth and covering his tracks, so it’ll be unlikely—they’ll say Jamie, like Calythra, is Tahrionne’s apprentice.
“Can I meet him? See?” Discomfort settles in my chest. Calythra isn’t a show pony, but I’m trusting these monsters with Jamie. And fuck if he’s not the single most important person in my world. I love him fiercely. I already met Tahrionne, and while he looked appropriately menacing, his eyes were filled with a kindness that made me instinctively trust him.
“Of course,” Harith answers. He’s stayed out of the conversation, allowing Solan to take the reins and offer me reassurance and comfort. He leaves the room with a nod while I wait, body vibrating with tension that’s likely going to buckle my knees.
“I hate this,” I whisper, more to myself than anything, but Solan hears, his palm that’s still on my neck shifting slightly as he draws one of his large fingers up and down the column of my neck, passing over my pulse with each swipe.
