did it to make me like him more. But you’re right. We need to watch him more closely. Especially on the ride back home.”
A feeling of foreboding settled over him. “Maybe we should confront him here.”
Her eyes widened. “Safety in numbers?”
“Something like that.” Jamming his hands into his pockets to keep from touching her, he gazed off into the forest. “Let me come up with a plan. Once I have one, I’ll talk to King Drem.”
She nodded then crossed the space between them. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him. Her scent, lilac and fresh air, made him shiver with desire.
“Thank you.” Smiling, she stepped away. “And your wolf is saying he needs a run before we leave. Make sure you take care of him, all right?”
Then, leaving him staring at her in astonishment, she walked away.
Chapter 17
That night, as they all gathered in the banquet hall for dinner, Chad sat with his brother on one side and Tatiana on the other, clenching his teeth while suppressing the urge to snarl at his brother’s fiancée to stop her incessant chatter.
“Look,” Eric said, jabbing him in the side. “The human prince and Willow are heading our way.”
One glance showed Chad that the minor spell he’d used on Willow had been broken. How? The only way to break such a spell would be with love’s true kiss.
Shadefire. Chad kept his hands in his lap, fists clenched. The other man had kissed her and worse, Willow believed Ruben to be her one true love. He’d wondered when Ruben would wake up and remember he had a hunt to complete. Apparently he had and had somehow grown wise to the fact that Willow had been ensorcelled to make her forget.
Very shrewd of him. Chad gave Ruben points for that move. The fact that he was too blind to realize the killer had found him was simply icing on the cake.
Sometimes, Chad thought Ruben knew. A couple times he’d caught the other man eying him with barely disguised speculation. He supposed Ruben’s innate sense of fairness was the only thing holding him back from outright accusation.
Perhaps Chad would send a small clue his way, to liven things up. There was nothing he loved more than a game of cat and mouse. Except ending the game, that is.
What fun that would be. A bloody finale. He could hardly wait for the moment when both Ruben and Willow realized Chad was behind it all. Both the murder and the theft of Millicent’s earring, which was a worthless bauble as far as he’d been able to tell. If it had magic behind it, he hadn’t been able to discern the spell.
Patting his pocket to make sure it was still there, he vowed to either unlock its secrets or return it to Queen Millicent, painting Ruben as the villainous thief who’d dared steal from her. A fitting end. He’d be a hero for killing the miscreant human. And, since he felt pretty certain no one in the SouthWard Court cared about Willow, the fact that she’d been killed in the cross fire wouldn’t cause anyone sorrow.
Smiling and nodding as Ruben outlined his plan to ride out in the morning, Chad gripped Eric’s arm to keep him from protesting. His brother liked to play the leader and he couldn’t take a chance that the idiot would try to call the shots and somehow manage to change Ruben’s mind.
Understanding, Eric jerked away but kept his mouth shut. Tatiana, to Chad’s surprise, expressed a desire to get back home to her family. The twit claimed to have had enough adventure.
Chad agreed to meet Ruben and Willow in the courtyard at sunrise, pending of course, the king’s approval, and watched them stroll away.
Something had changed. Considering the human prince carefully, Chad tried to figure out what. He saw how close Willow stayed to the other man, noticed too the many small touches and smiling looks the two shared on their way to seek out King Drem.
They looked like a couple. Like lovers.
Narrowing his eyes, he pushed back the rush of red hot rage. Though he hadn’t made up his mind yet to marry her, he still considered Willow his. His possession, to do with as he pleased. Including kill, of course.
He did not accept the idea of her and Ruben becoming a team. Willow and Ruben had clearly made some sort of emotional connection. That was—he clenched his jaw and tried not to grind his teeth—unacceptable. Completely untenable. Even though she’d already released him