Chapter 173

Violet’s POV

Helene and I toasted – her with the amber liquor I had poured for her and me with tea. She stared me down with suspicion when I made up a queasy stomach from leftover performance anxiety after my speech as a reason for not drinking alcohol with her, but she didn’t say anything.

We leaned against the counter in my kitchen as we sipped our respective drinks. I had offered the sitting room, but Helene had waved me off as if the formality of the sitting room were an afront to our friendship.

It made my heart swell. Everyone needs a friend who cares about your company more than where you are.

“It’s been too long since we’ve spent time together,” Helene said into a sip of her drink.

I nodded in agreement. “When’s the last time we saw each other – the Annual Moon Goddess Ball?”

I remembered the knowing look in her and her husband’s eyes when they greeted me there and the way Theo had admitted to having told them at least some of our secrets. I had forgotten about that until now and hadn’t asked him what exactly they knew. I trusted them because Theo did, but I still needed to feel Helene out.

She sighed. “Yes, but we hardly spoke there. It’s not the same as…” she looked around, shrugging contentedly, “this.”

I returned her smile warmly. “But,” she added, “we definitely haven’t seen each other since you and Theo decided to commit treason.”

I spit the tea in my mouth back into my cup in surprise, quickly glancing around to see if anyone had heard us. “Ah,” I wiped a few drops dribbling down my chin, “hence why you wanted something stronger than tea. Let’s head up to my study.”

Helene smiled conspiratorially. “After you.”

In the privacy of my study, where I could be sure no one else could hear us, I offered Helene the couch while I settled across from her in an armchair. After staff I thought had been loyal to me had turned out to be loyal to Lucas, I had had to replace nearly all my employees other than Kincaid. I didn’t trust any of them enough yet to risk someone overhearing this conversation.

“Why don’t we start with what you know,” I prompted my friend. She was typically rather shy and demure, but today her eyes were electric.

“Theodore told us about the fake mate bond and implied heavily who you believe to be behind it. He was trying to protect us from being accomplices, but Tyron had a conversation with him later without me that blew that out of the water.”

Helene lowered her voice, even with the door closed. “King Owen is not serving nor taking care of our country. His use of power has become increasingly self-serving, dysfunctional, and immoral.”

She took a sip of her drink. “Even if Tyron and I weren’t personally fond of you and Theodore as people, we would choose to support you in going after King Owen. As it so happens,” she winked, “it’s always good to go to war with friends.”

My heart warmed at her declaration of loyalty even as I thought about the worst part of going to war with friends: the risk of having to watch those friends die.

I leaned back into my armchair, appearing to be mulling over everything Helene had shared. In reality, I reached out to Theo.

I’m chatting with Helene who says she knows about the fake mate bond and us going after Owen. Does that check out with what you told them?

I took a sip of my drink as I waited for my mate to respond.

I have to say, alari, having your voice fill my head while I’m naked in the shower is possibly one of the sexiest experiences of my life. And yes, that’s what I shared with them. I didn’t know about your pregnancy or magic yet, so they don’t know about those.

I scratched my face casually to hide my smile behind my hand. I wish I were in that shower with you. Think of me while you run your hands all over your body.

I slowly leaned forward as Theo and I said “I love you” through our connection before returning to the world around us.

What Theo shared meant the Haywards also didn’t know about Theo’s and my magical bond. I decided to keep that secret from them for now.

“Thank you,” I said, finally. “Your friendship means a lot to me. And Theo.”

Helene nodded with a smile.

“And thank you for sharing what you know as well as what you’re interested in supporting. Now what is it that you need to know from me?”

This was partially a test. I was mostly confident that the Haywards were with us and not working for King Owen, but the fact remained that we hadn’t known them that long. With the lives of the people I loved most on the line, I had to be careful.

Helene pondered my question as she took another sip. “Well, there are things I’m curious about.” She motioned toward me as she looked directly at the shattered band along my forehead.

“What are those forehead bands? How do you plan to take King Owen down? Have you figured out how to counteract the fake mate bond?”

Before I could even formulate a response in my mind, she kept speaking.

“But I don’t need any of those answers. The only thing, as your friend and as your co-conspirator I need to know, is what you need from Dark Forest. Resources, money, soldiers, status – whatever we have to offer is yours.”

I exhaled in relief. That was the answer of a true ally.

A surprising amount of fear and nerves rushed out of my body as my eyes welled. I had barely registered the coming tears before they were spilling down my face, and I was rushing to set my drink down on the table between us before I dropped it. Shocked and embarrassed by the actual sobs bubbling out of me, I covered my face in my hands as my entire body shook.

Helene hurried around the table to kneel in front of me, pulling my hands off my face to hold them in hers. “Alpha Donovan, I apologize. Please tell me what I said or did to upset you.”

The horror on her face at the idea that she had hurt me was so genuine. It only made me cry harder.

This was the hormones – it had to be. I had never in my life cried this hard in response to someone being nice before. Then again, I had never before been risking my life, never before had a child I loved more than myself, never before had a true mate I was forced to be separated from.

Maybe this was hormones, or maybe this was the reality of planning to take down a kingdom. Maybe finally rising to a point in my life where I had everything I had ever wanted only to put it all on the line was as emotionally, physically, and intellectually taxing as life could get.

“You did nothing to upset me,” I finally managed with a shaky voice. “There’s so much at risk…” Another sob racked me, and I wasn’t sure I had enough control yet of my own body to explain everything.

I swallowed my tears as I locked eyes with Helene, her hands still holding mine so tenderly.

“Friendship,” I finally answered. “That’s what I need.”