Vengeance (The Captive #6)(29)

“Too late for what?”

“To save them, but I couldn’t have brought them with me. I barely made it out myself.” Goose bumps broke out on her arms; she ran her hands over her arms at the memory of what had happened on the trail.

“I think you should tell me what is going on.”

“I only plan to tell that to the king.”

He stared at her for a moment before slipping past her and walking toward the front of the cave. She heard some shuffling and the hard pat of a palm on horseflesh before he reemerged from the shadows of the cave. His booted feet rang against the stone as he stopped before her. He held out another brown cloak with a patch turned toward her. She stared at the familiar wolf emblem for a minute before glancing up at him.

“It’s the insignia of the king’s men,” he said.

“I know. You’re a king’s man?”

“I’m more than that.”

“What does that mean?” she demanded.

“I’ll explain more when you do.”

She glanced down at the golden wolf again. “How do I know you didn’t steal it from someone?”

He tugged the cloak from her grasp and walked away to drape it over a rock. “I know the king personally and quite well, if I feel you need his help, I will get it for you.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of men in the world who claim to know the king personally, even if it isn’t true.”

His impatience radiated from him when he faced her again. “What is it you plan to talk to him about?” he asked in a clipped tone.

“His wife,” she hedged. He’d saved her life and claimed to know the king, but she was unwilling to reveal too much to a man she didn’t know.

She didn’t think he could have looked more astounded if she’d told him she could fly and oftentimes spit fire out of her mouth. His mouth closed; his eyes turned a vibrant shade of red. Tempest took a step back. Her hand fell to her waist but the torch no longer hung there. Glancing around the cave, she spotted the wooden stick resting against the wall by her two cloaks. He was a lot bigger than the last vampire she’d fought, but she would do whatever it took to protect herself if he came at her.

“What about his wife?” he growled.

She took a step to the side, hedging toward the torch. “I uh…” she had no idea what to say as his gaze continued to bore into her. “I know where she is.”

His eyebrows drew together over the top of his nose. “She is with the king.”

Tempest took another step toward the torch. She’d stopped believing the woman in town claiming to be the queen was telling the truth, but what did she know of the royal line? She never left the town; she’d certainly never seen the king and queen before. It was treasonous for the woman to claim to be the queen when she wasn’t, but Tempest had a feeling the woman who had invaded her town cared little about treason or the consequences of it. She certainly had no value for life.

Tempest was unsure of how to continue. If this man really did know the king and queen, he would be able to tell her if the queen was the woman in her town, but she didn’t know how to proceed or how much to reveal. She took another step toward the torch. His gaze flickered toward it before returning to her.

“You can pick it up if it will make you feel better,” he said.

Tempest hesitated before taking a big step to the side and snatching the torch up. Holding it before her, she pressed it against her chest as she stared at him. It may be a false sense of comfort, but it was something. “When I last saw her, the king was not with her,” she told him.

“Then he was nearby, it’s not often they’re apart for long.”

“She was alone when she came into my town. Well, except for her numerous guards.”

She’d never seen anyone look more confused in her life; his puzzled expression would have been comical if this whole situation hadn’t been so awful. “Are you from Chippman?” he demanded.

Now it was her turn to be confused. “No, I’m from Badwin. It’s a small mountain town, nestled in a valley.”

“The queen rarely travels with numerous guards and she does not travel without her husband.”

“I’m telling you this woman is in my town, and she says she’s the queen. The king has not been with her in weeks…”

“She’s not the queen,” he cut in abruptly.

She almost stomped her foot in frustration over being cut off. “And how do you know that?”

“Because my sister would never be without her husband for so much time, and she was standing by her husband’s side the last time I saw her.”

Now it was her turn to look as if he’d just told her he could fly. She would have been less astonished if he’d actually sprouted wings and soared toward the top of the cave. The torch hit the stone with a dull thump as her arms went limp.

“You’re kidding!” she snorted.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” he inquired. “The queen’s name is Arianna; though most call her Aria. We have an older brother named Daniel. Her hair is the same color as mine and she is my twin. She’s a giant pain in my ass, but I love her. She’s also one of the few humans who survived the change from human to vampire, as am I. I don’t know how much you know about my sister, but I can assure you if she was anywhere near here, it would be because she had tracked me down and was looking to kick my ass.”