Chapter 159: An attack on Emberfall

AYLA

I walked into Lucius’s room with a smile on my face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

I tilted my head. "Is that how you welcome your mate?"

His expression softened almost immediately, a smile appearing on his lips.

"I was only surprised. Should you not be resting?"

"I am tired of resting." I crossed the room toward him. "I came to remind you of a promise."

"A promise?" He tilted his head, amused.

Amused was good.

"You said you would take me sightseeing." I stopped in front of him and looked up through my lashes. "You promised. And since I have lost all of my memories, I thought I should make new ones." I let my voice catch, just a little. "With you."

For a moment, he simply stared at me then he smiled.

"Of course."

He pulled me into his arms and I wrapped mine around his waist but I could feel the tension in his shoulders beneath my hands.

I pulled back slightly and looked up at him.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes." He smiled. "Everything is perfect. I just..."

He paused. "When you had that fall, I thought I had lost you."

I tilted my head back and smiled up at him, and I let my eyes shine with exactly the right amount of devotion. "I am here and I am not going anywhere." I reached up and touched his face, letting my fingers trail along his jaw. "You did not lose me, my love."

The words tasted like ash in my mouth.

His smile widened and he kissed my forehead. If he knew how badly I wanted to sucker punch him in the mouth...

But I stayed smiling.

I had not told Amara anything about my plans to get a lay of the palace. Best for her to think she had everything under her control while I found out what made these people tick and if they all believe what Lucius believed.

Did they all think he was some wronged king fighting for what belonged to him? Or were there people here who were only afraid of him?

People who might help me and I could trust.

If I was going to find those people, I needed to leave the palace and see Emberfall, the pack.

"Let me freshen up," Lucius said, releasing me. "I will come for you, and we will see every corner of this place until you are bored of it all."

"I will wait here." I drifted to his bed and sat on the edge of it, smoothing the cover under my palms. "Take your time."

He paused at the door to the washroom and looked back at me, and there was heat in his gaze that made my skin crawl.

"You could always join me," he said lightly. "I am told I give excellent baths."

The blush was not hard to produce. Mortification and disgust climbed my throat in the same hot wave, and I ducked my head and pressed my palms to my warming cheeks and let it read as shyness. "Lucius."

He laughed, pleased at my reaction.

"You should see your face."

I looked away. "You are impossible."

He chuckled and disappeared into the washroom.

The instant he was out of sight, the smile fell off my face like a dropped garment. I sat very still on the edge of his bed and breathed, until the urge to scrub the skin where he had touched me had passed.

Then I looked at his room.

It was a plain room for a king. A bed, a wardrobe, a writing desk by the window scattered with papers. No ornaments or trophies, that suggested a man who intended to remake the world in his own image.

I rose and crossed to the desk.

My heart was already beating faster. I didn’t know what I was looking for but I knew he had secrets and someplace people who tended to have secrets kept them is close to themselves.

I checked the desk first... nothing useful. A few documents but nothing that immediately caught my attention.

I opened another drawer and saw nothing too. I was just about to close it when I noticed a folded piece of parchment sitting beneath a book.

My pulse jumped.

It was a letter.

I glanced at the washroom door, my ears catching the sound of water before I reached for the note and opened it.

It was short and read:

Your letter has been received and considered. We would be honored to meet with you at the time and place you have named. We await your confirmation.

And at the bottom, signed: The Alpha Council.

The Alpha Council? I have never heard of them before.

"What are you doing?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I dropped the note in one fluid motion back to the drawer and picked up the next thing I could lay my hands on.

A necklace.

"This looked very familiar." I held it up as Lucius came out of the washroom, a towel around his waist, his hair wet. I let my brow furrow and confusion play across my face. "Did I give this to you?"

Lucius didn’t answer immediately. His eyes moved from my face to the necklace and then the desk.

My heart pounded harder.

He had noticed...I knew he had. He would call me out on my lies and I would be doomed.

But instead of doing just that he said,

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you did."

I swallowed. "Really?"

"Really." he echoed. "Do you remember it?"

I stared at the necklace for a moment longer before I said. "No, it just looked familiar so I wondered." I looked up at him and let my smile turn apologetic and helpless. "I am sorry. I keep hoping things will come back to me."

For a heartbeat, his eyes left my face and went to the desk again. My pulse slammed against my ribs, but I held myself still, the necklace dangling from my fingers, my expression open and utterly innocent.

Then his gaze came back to me, and he smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

He crossed the room and took the necklace from my hand and fastened it around my own throat. The stone was cold against my collarbone; his fingers brushed my skin as he worked the clasp. "There. It belongs with you anyway."

"It is lovely." I smiled, stepping back. "I should go. Let you ..." I gestured at him, at the towel and his state of undress, then I let a fresh blush climb my cheeks. "Play dress up."

He laughed again. "No, stay. I promised you a walk, and I intend to fulfill it."

So I sat back down on the edge of his bed and looked away while he dressed, listening to the sounds of him.

I kept my hands clasped tightly in my lap, my mind whirring with different thoughts. I had to find out more about the Alpha council and why they wanted to meet with him.

"Ready?"

I turned.

Lucius stood near the door.

I smiled.

"Yes."

We left the room together. The moment we stepped outside, I reached for his hand. He looked down at our joined hands then at me.

"This is really nice." he whispered.

I smiled as he squeezed my hand.

We walked through the corridor and I tried to pay attention to everything.

The guards... the servants, the doors and the layout. Every detail because I needed to remember this place. If I ever needed to escape, I couldn’t afford to be lost.

Just as we stepped into the courtyard, a man came running, skidding to a halt in front of us.

"My lord!" There was panic in his eyes.

His gaze landed on me and he immediately lowered his head.

"What is it?" Lucius asked.

"My lord...we are under attack."