Chapter 93

Three days passed quickly. Then, Daphne found herself in a carriage with Nicole riding to their destination in something like peace. She sat in the carriage looking around it. The carriage seemed familiar.

“Have you remembered something?” Nicole asked, looking at her pensive expression.

“I've been in this carriage before, I think…”

Nicole nodded, “Yes, you have. You rode in this carriage back from the werewolf kingdom when we picked you up nearly two weeks ago.”

“No word about the escort that came with me yet?”

“No, but the werewolf king has confirmed that they never returned to his kingdom.”

“What is the most likely scenario?”

Nicole sighed, “From what I knew of the young women who came with you, it is more likely that they tried to leave early for one reason or another, fear most likely and were killed on the way… or worse.”

“Worse? What could be worse than death for a werewolf?”

“... being turned.”

A twinge of pain went through her head, and she winced. The scent of blood drifted through her senses as if from a dream. In the vision, a woman was looking at her with dazed eyes, standing eerily still and unnaturally stiff. Her heart clenched with grief as the vision passed.

“Did you remember something?” Nicole asked, her gaze was tense and highly focused.

Daphne shook her head, “I'm not sure.”

Was that a memory or some nightmare vision? Whatever it was she couldn't think about it too much longer. They would be arriving soon.

“Have you given any more thought about your relationship to the werewolf kingdom?”

Daphne sighed and shook her head, “I haven't remembered anything else. Though I am oddly drawn to Owen. Being near him soothes something in me, but it’s also sort of uncomfortable.”

“Do you feel threatened by him?”

“Not exactly. It's complicated to explain.”

Nicole nodded, “Do you believe all of that I've told you about what I know of your experience in the werewolf kingdom?”

She thought about it. A part of her did believe Nicole, but she didn't know if that was because she had no choice but to believe her or if she truly found her trustworthy. It was frustrating not to know much of anything about her life before waking up in her bed in the castle.

“You don't have to answer,” Nicole said, seemingly sensing her unease. “For now, it is good enough that you listen. Perhaps seeing him again will jog your memory.”

She told me hoped so.

The carriage stopped. Nicole stepped out first after offering her hand and a smile.

“Let us meet the werewolf king shall we?”

“You never said his name…”

“ Arthur,” Nicole said. “Arthur Royal.”

Hearing his name felt as if someone had struck her in the head with lightning, electrifying and a bit painful. She tried to keep steady and accepted Nicole's help out on the carriage. The thought of him didn't cause her pain like the thought of John, but it wasn't exactly a pleasurable feeling either, trapped somewhere in between guilt, grief, and anxiety. She hoped these feelings would become clear when she saw him.

Arthur had been surprised about the village. It was different from the way Daphne had described it. They were welcoming and not afraid of them at all, though they were a bit wary. Arthur guessed the village was either always neutral or out of the vampire’s control since the war.

A familiar sound filled the air. It was the same carriage that had taken Daphne away from him what felt like a lifetime ago. His heart grew light and his chest grew tight with longing. It was strange that he could not feel her growing closer, but maybe that was just his imagination or some trick of the bond having been stretched across such distance.

“The carriage is coming,” Arthur announced, walking towards the sound. Blade followed just behind him along with the rest of the wolves he’d brought.

Tom had elected to stay behind and sent one of his subordinates in his place, for which Arthur was grateful. The carriage rolled to a stop in the distance a little too far for Arthur's taste, but he didn't try to get closer. Things were tense enough as it was, and it would be fine so long as Daphne got out and they figured out what happened to the rest of the escort.

Nicole got out of the carriage first. The other vampires near the carriage were seated on horses and watching them warily. To the carriage’s left a woman looked at him coldly, sat astride a horse and dressed in green. For a moment, he wondered if she was connected to the vampires from the canyon.

A man dressed in red sat on a horse to the right of the carriage, glaring at him openly. He didn't like the man on sight and he certainly didn't like the fact that he was glaring at him for no reason. Maybe he had a grudge against his father. Maybe the woman also had a grudge against his father. He wondered which of the people among the escort was connected to Osborn and Owen.

Slowly, he smelled Daphne as she stepped out of the carriage. She was wearing pants, which was weird. She was as beautiful as ever, but there was something different about her. She was paler than he remembered. Maybe it was a sign that she was still recovering from whatever happened to her, but something in him told him that wasn't exactly true. She seemed stiffer, something of the warmth in her movements was gone. What had happened to her?

Daphne turned her head and their gazes met as a bit of hope surged in him, but she looked away quickly. The sting of the rejection was enough to make him suspicious. She walked beside Nicole a few feet forward but not close enough for his liking. She didn't smile or look directly at him. She leaned close to Nicole and spoke softly.

Why was she acting like this? What happened?

Nicole turned toward him instead forward several more steps. She was close enough that he could attack you if he wanted to and she could attack him but not so close that they couldn’t defend themselves.

“Queen Daphne wants to speak about the territory lines, trade agreements, and a long-standing peace agreement between our lands.”

Arthur met her gaze curiously. Her gaze revealed nothing more than the fact that she was following orders. Maybe there was some unknown danger that Daphne was trying to navigate. Maybe there was some information that she couldn't give him in front of so many people.

He decided to play along even as his stomach churned with anxiety.

“I don't think there's anything that the werewolf kingdom would need from the vampire lands, but as my luna, she is welcome to anything.”

Daphne looked uncomfortable. The man on the horse flinched and grew tenser as if his words had offended him. The woman on the horse just seemed colder as she gazed at him.

“Free passage for our merchants through your lands to the sea on your other border, guarantees of merchants from our lands wouldn't be harmed…”

The list was sensible as far as he could tell, but he didn’t care about it. He continued to watch Daphne as Nicole spoke. Daphne wasn't exactly unnerved by Arthur’s gaze, but she wasn't exactly comfortable either. His eyes were as clear and blue as the sky and familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. The life that was growing inside her seemed to almost stir at the side of him, but the pain in her head grew more painful every time she looked at him and a tightness in her chest grew tighter with every breath.

Was he an enemy? Had there been any good feelings between them when she left? What did it mean to be his luna? Was that the werewolf term for a queen or something else? How had she come to be pregnant with his child? There was nothing in her telling her that Arthur meant her harm, but she also wasn't sure if she could trust those feelings.

She couldn’t remember anything.

It seemed that Nicole and Arthur had been speaking for several minutes before the werewolf just behind Arthur seemed to grow restless.

“What about the rest of the escort?” The dark-skinned man at Arthur's side asked, stepping forward. Her heart clenched in grief.

She knew that man, but how?

“We're still searching for them–”

“Don't give me that!” The man growled. “Where is Mamie?”

The name struck through Daphne like thunder, and she stumbled as the world began to shimmer with darkness. A scream echoed at the back of her mind. The coolness of the night wrapped around her as if she had been dropped into her memories. She was trying to escape. The air cut past her face. Has she been on a horse? What was she running from?

I’ll be right behind you! a voice yelled from her memory.

“Nicole…” she gasped.

Nicole turned, coming back to steady her on her feet.

“Daphne—”

Arthur broke off, whirling at the sound of rustling in the trees. The stench of blood and the sound of furious growling and hissing filled the air as they leaped out of the brush.

“Ambush!”