Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(117)

“When she’s done fucking Prince Jaik?”

I leveled a look at her. “You’re being a real bitch right now, and you know it.”

“I do,” she admitted. “What’s so special about Honor Hannaby, anyway?”

I pushed the tankard across the table toward her. “I’m going to find her.”

“Cal,” she started, then sighed. “Do you need backup?”

“No.” I rose from the table, lifted my sword harness from where I’d hung it on the back of my chair. “But thank you. It does mean a lot you’d help Honor.”

“Judging from your stories, I’d probably like her if it weren’t for you,” she said with a tight smile.

I frowned down at her, debating whether or not to parse that. But there was something tight in my gut, a sense that Honor needed me, and I wasn’t going to waste a moment on anyone else.

I rested my hand on her shoulder as I passed. “See you later, Nora.”

Her hand rose automatically to mine, before she pulled away. She flashed a bright smile at me over her shoulder; I was already moving toward the door. “Not if I see you first.”

I had the feeling I’d just shattered something carelessly, and I knew it would dog me later. But for now, I needed to get to Honor. She was probably fine, and I’d look ridiculous, showing up at her house in the middle of her family drama.

And yet, when I reached the damp cobblestone street, when rain misted across my face, I couldn’t resist breaking into a run as if I were being pulled.

As soon as the tall, wrought-iron fences outside the big coral house came into view, I slowed to a stop.

I walked casually up to the guards outside the closed gate. “I’m here to see Honor Hannaby.”

The two guards glanced me over. Once upon a time, they would have already been opening the gates for me.

“She’s not here.” The guard brushed his cloak aside, his hand finding the pommel of the sword hanging at his hip.

“I’d like to see Henrick, then. I come on academy business.” Everyone knew how dearly my father loved his dragons and their academy.

“The house is closed for the night. Come back in the morning.”

“It’s not closed to me. Henrick would want to see me.” My voice came out with the same confidence as always.

He was studying me, and I studied him back. He shouldn’t have the keys to the gate on his body; basic security would put the keys with another guard inside the gates. I could best both of them, but I didn’t bother.

“You’re not the king’s son anymore, Caldren,” he said coldly. “No one has to listen to you.”

Fuck, he knew me. I didn’t remember the faces of all the guards, but those who had served around my father certainly knew me.

I’d never appreciated how fleeting my power was when I was a prince.

“Fine,” I said, although pretending to obey bit deep into my pride. “I’ll come back in the morning.”

My boots splashed through puddles as I made my way along the road, feeling their stares behind me. I went a few streets away before I stepped into an alley.

I called on my wolf. It was always strange to shift in the city, a million scents assailing my nose and rough cobblestone streets under my paws. I found an unattended place at the fence, jumped, caught it with my front paws and struggled over. Then I slunk through the shadows around the coral castle, looking for a way in.

It was lucky for me that Henrick and Alis seemed to prefer to have their guards in their human forms. It was poor security, but it was an affectation among the rich that had become popular lately. And at the moment, it was an affectation I approved of, because it gave me the chance to get past to reach a window that had been left cracked just barely open.

My enormous gray wolf could never fit through the window. But I could scent Honor from here, although faintly, and mixed with her sweet scent was a note of blood.

Raw need raced through me. I had to get to her. I shifted into a human, my heart pounding as I eased the window open. I eased through the sill, found myself in an unused drawing room.

I moved silently down the hall, tempted to shift back again so I could track her scent more easily. The house was still and quiet. I pushed open doors, checking carefully inside each room, knowing at any moment I’d run into a servant and have to deal with them.

But when I pushed open the next door, I found myself in a dim, shadowed room. The windows on the far side looked out on the dark garden. An x-shaped wooden frame stood in front of the windows, leather bindings loose. The scent of blood was strong in this room, even without my wolf, and my stomach clenched.

Alis and Henrick had hurt Hanna, or hurt Honor, in this room. But where were the girls now? I made my way through the house, searching for one of the servants’ stairways, then climbed the stairs.

It was beginning to grate on me I hadn’t run into anyone. It felt strange, suspicious. I was no longer a royal; I couldn’t snap a servant’s neck and walk away without a second thought. But the scent of blood lingered in my nose and it made me feel twitchy to hurt someone.

There was a sobbing down the hall. I found the door that was locked. I didn’t have the key, and I glanced down the shadowed hall before I began to pick it. I was usually undisturbed by danger, but the thought that Honor was crying past this door made my hands fumble with my urgency.