Chapter 12

Thomas didn’t believe in Hell. Or at least he hadn’t until Prince Fabian showed up. After two months, King Edward had yet to decide how to handle King Hector’s request. The delay only emboldened Fabian in his quest to seduce Princess Catherine.

Luckily, Thomas got to be with her every day. Seeing her, feeling her near him, yet knowing he would never be the one to touch her, to love her—that was hell. Watching Catherine make the mistake of her life—and knowing he wasn’t allowed to help—was excruciating. Overhearing Catherine talk to Jemma about Fabian—about a real man who was interested in her ... Well, it caused Thomas to have to blink back emotions that suddenly felt like hot needles in his throat.

The only saving grace was that King Edward hadn’t relented about not allowing Prince Fabian to move into the castle. That meant that Catherine had to visit him in public, in town. Today, they’d arranged to meet at a local inn for lunch.

“What’s going on with you?” Catherine asked Thomas as they walked to the inn. “Are you mad that I’m taking you away from training?”

“No, I’m fine. Alek has the training in hand.”

“Then what’s going on?”

Thomas shrugged, trying not to let on how much her seeing Fabian bothered him.

The princess stayed quiet for the rest of the walk while Thomas calmed his mind. There was nothing he could do about the situation, so he tried to let his feelings go. Instead, Thomas focused on what a lovely day it was. The sun warmed his face as they headed toward the entrance of the inn.

When they walked in, he spotted Fabian at a back table, away from the crowd. The way Fabian’s leer drank her in made Thomas feel desperate for a good scrubbing. Fabian saw Thomas and gave him a smirk. Thomas would give just about anything to wipe that look off the prince’s face.

“There he is,” Catherine said. “Can you wait for me over there?”

Thomas walked over and stood by the far wall, unhappy that he wouldn’t be able to overhear their conversation. When Fabian saw her coming to his table, something softened in his face. Thomas wondered if Fabian was starting to have genuine feelings for Catherine.

The prince smiled easily as he talked to Catherine. As they ate, Thomas noticed Catherine giving Fabian some questioning looks. Then he saw the princess stiffen.

Fabian had slid his hand up her leg so that it now rested mid-thigh. His face was close to hers as he looked deeply into her eyes. Thomas wondered if Fabian was going to kiss her. The prince leaned forward, and Thomas could see Catherine close her eyes. Fabian said something, and her eyes flew open, and she slapped him.

Thomas was at her side in a flash. Fabian gave Thomas a questioning look, as if to ask why a mere servant would be interrupting his betters.

“I have my afternoon classes,” Catherine said as she abruptly stood up to leave.

Fabian’s features clouded over.

“I’m starting to tire of your silly games. I thought you were more grown-up than that.”

Thomas’s hand found itself on Fang’s hilt.

“You dare?” Fabian asked incredulously.

“I don’t have time for your games,” Catherine huffed as she threw his words back into his face.

Catherine grabbed Thomas’s arm and pulled him away. As they walked back to the castle, not a word was said. The entire journey, Thomas was plotting how he would get Fabian into a dark alley and end him.

Cullen found Thomas later in the afternoon.

“What happened between Catherine and Fabian?”

Thomas gave the spymaster a curious look.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” Thomas said.

“Prince Fabian informed the King that he is returning home and that they would be sending one of the ‘lesser’ lords to wed Princess Catherine.”

“Oh, boy.”

“‘Oh, boy’ is right. Now tell me what you know,” Cullen ordered.

Thomas related his observations but admitted that he hadn’t overheard the start of the conversation.

“King Edward would never seriously consider having someone from Virden as an heir, would he?” Thomas asked.

“No, never.”

“Then why go through all this?”

“That story has more twists and turns than a lady-in-waiting’s diary.”

“In that case, I suggest you give me the short version,” Thomas said.

Cullen looked around to confirm they were alone.

“Queen Mary was once promised to King Hector’s father, Hugh. She wanted to go on a grand tour before they were married, so Mary and Hugh traveled the three kingdoms. Here in Abingdon, she met and fell in love with a young Edward. It was a big scandal because Edward didn’t carry the same political capital Mary would have garnered for her family had she married the Virden heir.

“Virden feels they are owed something for Mary’s betrayal. King Edward thought the debt had been paid when he made your father marry Duchess Ann. This perceived slight has been festering for two generations and has caused a rift between what used to be close allies.

“Back when Edward was a young man, Manito and Abingdon were at odds. Princess Catherine marrying one of the ducal heirs and eventually becoming Queen will be the final piece to bringing our two kingdoms closer together. Virden has taken exception to the new balance of power and feels threatened.

“King Edward has been delaying in the hope that Virden would realize that the new alliance is no threat to them. That was why he let this farce go on for as long as he has,” Cullen explained.

Thomas had been somewhat aware of all this from the stories Nana Millicent had told him. Her take on it was that Edward had seduced Mary. Once she’d been bedded, King Hector’s father had wanted nothing to do with her.

There was a whispered addition to the tale: Hugh had gotten a witch to curse Edward and Mary’s union so that they would never produce an heir. Nana Millicent had thought it was just that, a story, but people liked to speculate about why King Edward had never put her aside. Torun was proof that he could father a child. Thomas took it to mean that Edward loved Mary enough to forgo an heir.

Thomas wondered if Fabian had been trying to retaliate for Hugh’s embarrassment by seducing Catherine and ruining her for marriage. If today was any indication, Catherine wasn’t as naïve as it seemed Mary had been. Fabian must have finally realized that she wasn’t falling for his scheme.

“What do you think they will do now that Fabian is going home? Do you really think they’ll send a replacement as he suggested?” Thomas asked.

“I don’t know, and that worries me. I counseled King Edward to simply send Fabian home when he first got here.”

After the last two months, Thomas concurred that that would have been best.

Thomas really didn’t understand women. Or a girl, in this instance. After Fabian left, the princess acted like he’d never been there. For two months, it had been ‘Fabian this’ and ‘Fabian that.’ Now ... nothing. If he didn’t happen to catch her in moments when she didn’t think anyone was looking, Thomas would have guessed Fabian’s leaving didn’t bother her.

He could tell that inside, she was moping around, so he decided to brighten her day.

“Want to be our medic today? I thought we could play ‘hide from Frost.’ If they can hide from her, then they’ll be able to evade capture if they get caught behind enemy lines,” Thomas suggested.

He’d said it within earshot of the recruits and Frost. He chuckled when his direwolf gave a deep, rumbling growl. A couple of the newbies might have peed themselves.

“Just as long as you don’t let them climb trees again. Last time, she snatched Jason out of that big oak, and I thought she’d killed him. How high did she jump?” Catherine asked.

“I don’t know. Hey, Jason, how far did you fall?” Thomas asked.

“I don’t know, but I almost broke my back. I can still feel it when it rains,” Jason complained.

“I think we should shake it up. We should play ‘find Thomas’ instead. All of us ... and Frost ... hunt you down,” Alek suggested.

“You’re all just a bunch of babies. Frost’s only reward is she gets to nip you if she finds you. She seldom breaks the skin,” Thomas shot back.

“If our fearless leader can’t evade capture, how are we supposed to do it?” Alek asked.

“All right, I’ll just have to show you how it’s done,” Thomas said to the cheers of his troops. “Alek, give them some tips on how to hide.”

“When evading a group, you don’t want to worry about a million details; you just need a basic plan. Dress appropriately for your environment. You want to blend in without either freezing or getting overly hot. You should dress differently if you are trying to blend into a small town than you would when hiding in the woods.

“Only bring what you can carry. Think in terms of being on the run for days. What must you absolutely have? Being silent matters; anything that makes noise is a beacon for trouble. Wrap loud and breakable items in clothing or a blanket.

“Finally, think about who or what is hunting you. Direwolves hunt by intimidation. They stalk their prey and then get it to run. If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. A running animal is less likely to stomp the wolf with its hooves or gore it with its antlers,” Alek explained.

“How do you want to do this?” Thomas asked Alek.

“We give you a head start and have an hour to catch you.”

“See you in an hour,” Thomas said confidently and ran into the woods.

He only went far enough that they couldn’t see him and then sat down next to a tree. He then cheated: Thomas used his magic to hide in plain sight.

A short time later, Frost came bounding into the woods, hot on his trail. It was all he could do not to laugh when she suddenly came to a stop a few yards from him. The wolf made a whining noise as she bounced around in a circle, trying to figure out where he had gone.

Ten yards away, a rabbit burst from cover and made a run for it. Frost’s natural instincts kicked in, and she raced off after the fur-ball.

Soon after that, all twenty Rangers came jogging into the woods. Thomas was happy to see that they were spread out to cover a large area but close enough to each other that he shouldn’t be able to slip between them. Alek all but stepped on Thomas as he trotted past.

When they were out of sight, Thomas got up and returned to the clearing where Catherine was.

“That should keep them busy for a while,” he said, startling the princess.

“They’re going to kill you.”

“Running before your pursuers is a bad plan. Eventually, they’ll run you down. They have to learn to use their brains.”

“So, what are we going to do for the next hour?” Catherine asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t just spent time with each other in a while.”

“You mean since Fabian came.”

“It’s been that long?” Thomas asked to play dumb.

“I think he was a mistake.”

“His mistake was not realizing how great you are,” Thomas said and then mentally kicked himself.

Catherine gave him a sad smile. They both knew that they would only be friends. Thomas was relieved when she changed the subject. The two of them fell into an easy banter that had been missing when Fabian was around.

One half hour later, Frost came barreling out of the woods.

Catherine was all giggles when the big wolf pinned Thomas to the ground in triumph and let out a loud howl to let everyone know that she’d captured him. Thomas was a little irritated when Frost wouldn’t let him up until all the Rangers had made it back. At least she hadn’t bitten him.