The Love of the Wielder (The Wielders Book Two)

“Are you all right?” Alec’s father asked him.

It was mid-afternoon. They had been driving as close to nonstop as possible, only stopping briefly to change batteries and drivers. They knew they were still at least two or three hours behind the Trackers who had Maren, though. Alec wasn’t sure exactly what they were going to do once they arrived at the Capital. He supposed it depended on what had happened to Donovan.

“Is anyone?” Alec asked.

Alec knew he was not all right. He was desperately worried about Maren and Donovan, concerned that Kieran was seizing power, trying to cope with nearly dying, and feeling extremely betrayed by someone who had been his friend. Alec would not be all right for some time.

But, Maren’s parents were devastated. Maren’s mother slept some after crying herself to the point of exhaustion. Her father was trying to be stoic, but his eyes had been red since they left Worthingham. Alec’s father was doing a good job of keeping himself together, but he knew it was a facade. Alec had only seen his father more upset on one occasion: when Alec’s stepmother died.

“Fair enough,” his father said.

They were all sitting together in one extended speeder driven by one of the soldiers. Conversation had been minimal; no one had much to say. The only thing to talk about was how terrible everything was, or to speculate on what might be happening elsewhere. Neither subject was appealing.

As much as Alec didn’t want to, he couldn’t stop thinking about Carstairs. Just hours before, Alec had told him that he wanted to be with him. He could hardly believe how quickly everything had changed.

His final conversation with Carstairs had not gone well.

Their group had stopped at the fort to collect supplies and equipment for their trip to the Capital. Alec’s father asked him to ensure they got adequate medical supplies. One of the soldiers was a medic, but he wasn’t very experienced and neither Alec nor his father trusted him fully.

Unfortunately, Carstairs had cornered Alec in a medical supply room.

“Alec—“ Carstairs began.

Alec gritted his teeth as he packed bandages. He didn’t even turn to look at Seb.

“I really don’t have time to talk, Captain.”

“It’s my career. I had to,” Carstairs said.

He sounded genuinely sorry, and maybe he even was. But that wasn’t good enough for Alec. He glared at Carstairs coldly.

“You didn’t. You saw more than a dozen men choose otherwise,” Alec snapped.

“But she’s a witch! You know she is!”

“And?” Alec snarled. “What does it matter?”

“They’re dangerous.”

Alec wanted to punch him. Instead, he added more morphine to the supplies he was bringing.

“Funny, the only time I ever know of her using her powers was to save people or in self-defense. Doesn’t sound particularly dangerous,” Alec snapped.

He closed the supply bags.

Carstairs was unconvinced. “Don’t you understand? People need someone to hate. If they don’t hate witches, they might hate—“

Carstairs stopped, presumably because he saw Alec’s rage as he realized what Carstairs was arguing.

“Say it,” Alec ordered.

Carstairs sighed. “People might hate us.”

Alec growled. He didn’t frequently use Donovan’s signature expression of rage, but when he did, he was furious.

“So you would condemn women who have no control over what they are to the gallows on the off chance that it might benefit you? You disgust me, and I am ashamed to have ever called you a friend,” Alec hissed in a low tone.

“No, that’s not… Alec—“

“You don’t get to call me that anymore. Now, leave before I punch you. If you ever cared about me in the slightest, you will not push me to an act of violence,” Alec snapped.

Carstairs looked surprised but nodded and left.

Alec was shaking with rage. He took several slow and deep breaths to try to calm down. Then he picked up the supply bags and went back to the convoy.

“Carstairs was a friend of yours, wasn’t he?” his father asked.

Alec stiffened. Sometimes he wondered if his father could read his mind.

“More of a friendly acquaintance. We met a few years ago in town and would get together for a drink now and then,” Alec said. “But, not anymore.”

His father nodded.

“It’s painful when people let you down like that, even if you weren’t particularly close,” his father said. “I’ve known Colonel Flynn for nearly a decade. I never would have thought…”

His father trailed off, not wanting to say what Flynn had done. It was too awful.

“I know Wielders are not popular, but turning over a sleeping woman to the Trackers is a lot farther than most would go,” Alec’s father said sadly.

“Probably I shouldn’t be surprised Carstairs went along with Flynn…but seeing it was still unpleasant,” Alec said.

“I hosted him in my home. More than once,” Maren’s father interjected. “He still backed Flynn.”

That turned Alec’s stomach. He had forgotten about that.

“Carstairs?” Alec’s father asked.

“The Clifton officers come around every few months,” Maren’s father said. “He saw pictures of Maren and I told him about her. He drank my brandy.”

He spoke in a detached voice. Alec could see he was too distraught to react much to anything.

“I hope it wasn’t the good brandy,” Alec said.

Everyone managed small smiles and silent laughs at that.

Maren’s father shook his head. “The swill. Never give an officer the good brandy, or he’ll bankrupt you.”

“True enough, sir,” Alec’s father agreed.

On second thought, Alec wished he had punched Carstairs after all.

Maren woke up a occasionally, only to be drugged again by the Trackers. She thought very little—she hardly could with the amount of pain she was in. Between the drugs and the pain, the trip was a blur.

They stopped a few times to switch drivers or batteries. Once they let Maren out to relieve herself. It was deeply humiliating, but considering how much pain she was in and that she was very likely to die soon, she didn’t care very much.

She had no real sense of how time passed, but she knew she would be turned over to Kieran sometime in the middle of the night. She vaguely wondered what he would do to her. If he didn’t know about the baby, he likely would soon and that would be a problem for him since the baby would come before him in the line of succession to the throne. She hoped he didn’t know about the baby.

When Maren woke up again, it was very dark. She thought they were near the Capitol, but couldn’t tell for sure.

She thought she might like a break from unconsciousness, so she kept her eyes closed and pretended to still be asleep.

Suddenly and without any warning, the speeder came slamming to a halt. Maren was thrown forward into the footwell but decided to stay there for the moment.

The Trackers uttered various curses and exclamations of surprise. It sounded like they had encountered some sort of roadblock.

She heard shouted instructions.

“Hands in the air!”

“Don’t move!”

“Turn off the speeder!”

Then she heard the door beside her open.

“We got her!”

Hands pulled her out of the speeder. Bright lights were set up on the road, and she couldn’t see much of anything.

“Get the King!”

Maren had very little sense of what was happening. She thought the men with her might be soldiers, but it was difficult to tell.

“Are you injured, Your Majesty?”

“Come this way, Your Majesty.”

Were they talking to her? That was odd.

She was in a daze as she walked closer to the lights and away from the speeder. She kept her eyes down because the lights were so bright.

Maren heard footfalls running towards her and her heart leapt into her throat. She wanted to run but was too tired.

Then arms wrapped around her, and she was pulled very tightly into a man’s chest.

Donovan’s chest.

He was kissing her head and asking if she was alright. He wrapped her in his jacket, which was pleasantly warm. She still felt dazed. She swayed on her feet, not comprehending what was happening.

“Maren! Look at me!”

She did, and something in his eyes steadied her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Collar,” she gasped. “Get it off. Keeps the Light away.”

He started looking urgently at the collar to find some way to take it off. Maren tried to hold still.

“I wouldn’t bother if I were you, brother. I’ll just put it back on her.”

It was Kieran.

He had appeared out of nowhere. Donovan grabbed Maren and pressed her to him.

“Why do you look so surprised, brother? You didn’t really think you could set up a roadblock like this without me knowing, did you?”

Donovan just glared.

Kieran shouted, “By the way, in case anyone was wondering, that woman is a witch.”

“Get out of here, Kieran, and I’ll let you live in exile instead of executing you,” Donovan snarled.

Kieran just laughed. Maren felt cold.

“Everyone already thinks you’re dead. You don’t get to be king. Here’s what’s going to happen. Give me your whore. Then you disappear. Play dead. Actually die. I don’t care. I want the witch, and you’re going to give her to me.”

Donovan just clutched her tighter.

“I would sooner kill her myself,” he said.

Kieran laughed again. “While she’s pregnant with your little whelp? I doubt that very much.”

Kieran was likely right. Donovan would at least try to get her out before killing her.

“If you don’t give her to me, I’ll start killing people.”

Maren heard choking sounds coming from the soldiers near them. She knew Kieran had filled their throats with Darkness, as he had done once to her. And she knew Kieran would kill every last person there and still take her.

She had no choice.

“STOP!” she shouted and turned to face Kieran. “I’ll go.”

“Maren, no!” Donovan cried.

She turned to him. His face was a tapestry of terror.

“Either he kills everyone here, and he still takes me, or I go with him and everyone lives. There’s no choice.”

His eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry. I love you. I want you to run. I want you to live,” she breathed.

He shook his head.

“I will come for you.”

“I’m waiting, Maren!” Kieran called.

“I love you,” Donovan whispered.

Maren turned back to Kieran. “I want your word that everyone here lives.”

He waved dismissively. “Fine, fine, I can’t go around killing all my subjects. I did already kill the Trackers who brought you here. They should not have driven into this trap. It is so hard to find reliable help!”

Maren nodded and squeezed Donovan’s hand and walked to Kieran. She tried not to tremble, but she knew she was walking to a fate worse than death.

“I’ll let you go, brother. But I’m trapping you here for a few hours at least, so you can’t follow me.”

“This isn’t over, Kieran!” Donovan shouted.

“I’d be disappointed if it was. You know where you can find us,” Kieran said, grabbing Maren by the arm and pulling her close to him. She couldn’t feel the buzz she normally felt when he touched her, but he still made her skin crawl.

“But know dear brother, if you try to get her I will capture you and torture her in front of you for years to come. Come to think or it, I hope you do come. It would be nice to have years and years of entertainment,” Kieran sneered.

Maren closed her eyes and tried not to think of that horrific future.

“Come on, witch,” Kieran said to her and dragged her along with him.

They reached the line of soldiers manning the road block.

“Let me pass, or you all die,” he said.

Maren could see the soldiers look at Donovan, who must have nodded in approval because they did let Kieran pass.

That apparently annoyed Kieran, who called, “Let that be the very last order you take from my brother. Next time I see you, I want you to remember I’m the king.”

Kieran had concealed a speeder behind the row of military vehicles. It appeared out of thin air with a Tracker sitting patiently in the driver’s seat. Kieran dragged her towards it and threw her in the back seat.

Maren just sat there, numb. At least she had gotten to tell Donovan she loved him one more time. And she knew he was alive. That helped.

Kieran came back to the speeder a minute or two later. Maren assumed he had done whatever magic he wanted to do to trap Donovan and his soldiers on the road.

Then Kieran told the driver to go. Maren closed her eyes. She tried not to think about what was happening.

—

The only good thing about the dome of Darkness Kieran put in place around the roadblock was that Donovan didn’t have to see the speeder with Maren inside driving away.

He still felt shocked. He had been so happy to have her back, and then she was ripped from him again a second later. Once again, he found himself forced to wait to help her. It was agony.

He had felt rage at Kieran before. But now he felt defeated. He wished he’d noticed Kieran sooner, but if he felt a tug of magic, it was drowned out by his anxiety for Maren. Probably it would not have mattered. Kieran was too powerful.

He stood quietly staring into the swirling Darkness where he had last seen Maren and tried very hard not to weep. It wouldn’t be very kingly.

“Your Majesty?”

The leader of the squadron that had set up the roadblock had approached him.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Do you have new orders, sir?

Donovan sighed. “There’s nothing we can do until Kieran decides to let us go. Hopefully, by that time, Worthingham will be here. We’ll go back to the fort after that. I’m going to try to get some sleep, Captain. I recommend you and the men do likewise.”

Sleep was the only productive thing Donovan could do.

He noticed the Captain was still standing near him.

“Is there something else?”

The Captain looked uncomfortable. “Ah…yes… Your Majesty…it’s about the Queen…is she…is she really a Wielder, sir?”

Donovan looked at him very sharply and was about to start shouting when the Captain said, “No, no, I only meant…a girl I used to know was one and…”

Donovan’s face softened. “Tell me about her.”

“Her name was Melody…and I loved her. But the Trackers took her.”

Donovan nodded. The Captain did not need to finish the story for Donovan to know the outcome.

“So you see, Your Majesty, I would very much like to see a Wielder be queen and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to help you save her,” the Captain said.

Donovan looked at him. He saw nothing but earnestness and sympathy in the man's face.

He didn’t really understand what moved him to do it, but he nodded and said quietly, “The Queen—Maren—is a Wielder.”

Kieran would likely be telling the kingdom very soon about it if he had not already, and he felt that sharing this with the Captain was the right thing to do.

The Captain nodded. “I’d like to go with you, Your Majesty, to pull her out of there.”

Donovan gave him a questioning look.

He shrugged, “We heard you say you’d go, and I know I would’ve gone for Melody if I could’ve.”

Donovan nodded. “I thank you. Any assistance would be appreciated.”

“There are a few of the men I know in the squad and at the fort who’ve had something similar. I’ll round them up. They’ll want to help,” the Captain said.

Donovan was very surprised. He supposed Light Wielders weren’t that rare, but no one really ever spoke of it if they had known one, or at least that’s what he thought.

“I thank you, Captain, but be careful. More than one man here would gladly see her hang.”

The Captain nodded. “I understand, Your Majesty.”

Donovan nodded back, and the Captain was beginning to walk away when Donovan realized he didn’t know the man’s name.

“Captain, I don’t believe I caught your name,” he called.

The Captain looked somewhat embarrassed, it’s Beven, Your Majesty.”

Donovan nodded. “Thank you, Captain Beven.”

Donovan went to one of the speeders to lay down. He hoped he could sleep, but wasn’t sure if he would be able to. He was dreadfully worried about Maren. But his conversation with Beven had helped a great deal.

Having an ally, a true ally, was such a rare and unexpected thing that he couldn’t help but be comforted by it. He tried to hold on to that feeling and focus on the hope that he would see Maren again.

—

Maren was trying to pretend she was anywhere at all besides the back of a speeder with Kieran.

Kieran had other ideas, though. Every few minutes he felt the need to say something rude, crude, or cruel.

“Oh, I have been so rude! I need to offer you my congratulations on your wedding. I’m so sorry to have cut your honeymoon short, though!”

“Do you like your collar? They’re brand new, finished just a few days ago. Come to think of it, it’s your wedding present!”

“I thought I was going to take your power, but now I believe I will breed you. It’ll be a long-term investment, of course, but this way I can have an unlimited supply of powers to steal. I think our children would be very powerful, don’t you?”

“I’m trying to decide what to do with your baby. Would you like me to kill it now or later?”

“Did you know I brand all my pets? Where do you want yours to go?”

“I do hope my dear brother comes for you. I’d love to make you scream where he can hear it. His face would be priceless!”

“What would you like to do when we get back to headquarters? You can do anything you like, as long as you’re chained to my desk.”

Maren knew he was trying to get a rise out of her, and she tried not to give it. But it was exhausting, and she was already extremely miserable. After a while, she had had enough.

“Kieran, would you either kill me or be quiet? Your mindless droning is giving me a headache,” she said.

He leapt on her, pressing her against the door of the speeder. He slapped her hard enough to bring tears to her eyes and held her throat so she couldn’t breathe.

“Listen, witch, you don’t talk to me like that anymore. I own you. And if you’re going to be disrespectful, you will find out just how miserable I can make your life.”

Maren spat in his face in reply.

He was enraged and sent a bolt of Darkness to her temple. Once again, she welcomed the black abyss of unconsciousness when it came for her.

It was a few hours later when Maren woke up on a hard floor. She was on some type of rug, she thought. She was getting tired of waking up in different places and hoped this would be the last one. The room was dimly lit.

She sat up cautiously and discovered there was a chain connected to the collar around her neck. With horror, she realized the other end was connected to a large four-poster bed. And sitting in the bed in black pajamas, leaning on the headboard with some reading, was Kieran.

Maren thought she might vomit.

Her first thought was an incredulity about what kind of psychotic monster had a bed made with a connection for a chain. Obviously, Kieran did, but that made him sicker than she thought.

Her second thought was about how much pain she was in. She tried very hard to push it away, but every second in the collar was agony. It was difficult to think clearly.

She tried to think what Donovan would want her to do. She knew he wouldn’t listen to what she asked him to do and that he would come for her. So, she needed to stay alive until he did.

Maren thought that wouldn’t be very long, but Kieran could do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. She would have to be careful to try not to anger him. She thought it very likely that he would accidentally kill her in a rage.

“Oh, it’s nice of you to wake up. I thought I’d have to stay up all night waiting for it,” he said.

Maren did not respond.

“I expect you to be grateful. I could have put you in a cell, but I thought you’d prefer to get a good night’s sleep before we begin tomorrow. You’re very lucky I keep a bedroom at headquarters,” he said.

She tried not to think about what anything he said might mean.

“Maren, I expect my pets to be mannerly,” he said as though he were scolding a child.

“Thank you.”

“Is that how you address royalty?”

She closed her eyes. Not angering Kieran would be more of a challenge than she thought.

“No, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness.”

His eyes narrowed. “Clearly you did not pay close attention at the roadblock. I’mthe king now. Would you like to try again?”

She gritted her teeth and said, “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Good girl. Clearly, my brother neglected to teach you manners, but I’ll cure you if that soon enough.”

She knew what she had to say in response but felt like biting off her tongue would be preferable.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

She tried to remember it was just words and that injuries to her pride wouldn’t kill her. She still hated it, though, which was likely why Kieran was making her do it.

“Now, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, so it’s time to go to sleep,” he said.

That was fine. Being drugged or knocked unconscious was not the same as sleeping, and she was exhausted.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said and made to lay back down on the ground.

Suddenly, Kieran yanked on the chain connected to her, and she was jerked towards him. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the collar seemed to be lined with barbs or hooks or something. Yanking on it drove them further into her neck, and she felt blood trickle out from beneath the collar.

“I like a warm bed, witch. And since you got my mistress sent away and my old pet is dead, you’ll keep it warm tonight. Seems like my brother enjoyed your company well enough,” he declared.

She closed her eyes and resisted the urge to sigh. Of course, he wanted that. And of course, he didn’t put her in his bed while she was unconscious because he wanted to see her choose to do it. She thought he would not molest her (yet) but she knew she would be unable to sleep next to him.

“Yes, Your Majesty. What would you like me to do, Your Majesty?”

He looked very smug. Maren resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He moved over on the bed and pulled down the covers. He patted the bed as though inviting a dog to lay beside him.

Maren rose to her feet and trudged to the bed. She lay down, trying to pretend she was doing anything else.

He pulled the covers over her.

“Now, what do we say?”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said.

He patted her head as though she were a dog.

“I know you must be tired from your trip, and I’m feeling generous, so I won’t make you serve me…yet,” he said.

She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be grateful or beg him to let her “serve” him. She went with the more palatable option. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

That appeared to be acceptable because he lay down beside her instead of hurting her. Likely, he wanted her to know it was coming, so she could dread it for a while. It worked too; the idea of Kieran touching her in any way made her feel ill.

“Goodnight, pet.”

“Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

At least he didn’t want to cuddle. She thought he probably hated her enough that he didn’t actually want to touch her, but he did want to humiliate her. She tried to tell herself that that was fine. No one died from humiliation.

She knew she needed to sleep. She was exhausted. But the idea of being so vulnerable, so close to Kieran was so antithetical to her every instinct that she thought it highly unlikely she would sleep at all.

—

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”

Donovan opened his eyes blearily and for a moment could not recall why someone was calling him that. Then he remembered and sat up abruptly.

The soldier who was trying to wake him up was standing outside the speeder.

“The barrier is down and the Duke of Worthingham is here.”

Donovan nodded and climbed out of the speeder. He stretched first. His body felt like it was tied in a knot after sleeping crammed into the back seat. But sleep had been helpful and his mind seemed somewhat clearer.

“How long was it up?” Donovan asked.

“Nearly five hours, Your Majesty. It’s three in the morning.”

It was still dark, but the soldiers had brought plenty of lights with them. Donovan saw a convoy lined up on what would have been the other side of the dome. The Duke was walking alongside it. He clearly did not expect to see Donovan there.

“What are you doing here, what’s happened?”

Donovan sighed. “I managed to get a roadblock set up to catch the men who had her. We stopped them, but Kieran was here. He has her.”

The Duke blanched. “I’m so sorry. It was one of my men who turned her over to the Trackers, I hold myself responsible.”

Donovan shook his head. “If it wasn’t him, it would have been somewhere else. Or Kieran would have come and taken her anyway.”

Captain Beven approached.

“Your Majesty, Your Grace, we are ready to move out at your command.”

Donovan saw the shock on the Duke’s face, but fortunately, he did not say anything.

“Thank you, Captain. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

“What happened?” the Duke breathed after Beven walked away.

“Kieran. He killed him last night. Kieran is also claiming that he’s the king, and I’m dead, which further complicates matters.”

The Duke nodded. “The military stands behind you, Your Majesty.”

Donovan nodded. He wondered how long it would take before he no longer thought people were talking to his father when they said, “Your Majesty” to him.

“I want to reassemble at the fort. Then we’ll go get Maren.”

The Duke nodded. “Go sit in our speeder. It’s extended, so there’s room for you. Third one down. I’ll give the order.”

Donovan nodded, grateful that this ally was beside him too.

Maren’s parents and Alec were in the speeder when Donovan climbed in. They were also surprised to see him. He sat beside Alec on a bench seat that went along the side wall of the speeder. It seemed likely three or four more people could fit inside it.

“Gods, man, what happened?” Alec breathed.

Donovan supposed he must look awful. He felt awful.

“Not just now,” he said. He did not have the wherewithal to explain it. He did turn to Maren’s parents and said, “She’s alive, but Kieran has her. I’m going to get her.”

It was all he had the energy to say. Or rather, the heart to explain. He did not want to think about the horror he felt watching Maren, barefoot and clutching his suit jacket, that awful collar around her neck, walking to Kieran.

She had been right to do it, of course. They might have been able to mount a defense against Kieran together, but with the collar, there was nothing they could do to stop Kieran. He thought he could unlatch it—he could handle most locks with his powers—but he needed just a few more moments before Kieran arrived to do it.

The Duke came back to the speeder and they set off.

“The Queen? Queen Andrea, I mean,” the Duke asked once they were underway.

“At the fort, or at least she was when I last saw her,” Donovan said.

“What do you want to do?”

Donovan sighed and rubbed his temples, “We need to put a team together of men we can trust to storm the Tracker headquarters. I’ve got at least one, and he says he’s got a few more.”

“We can actually help you there,” Alec said.

Donovan looked at the Duke.

He smiled wryly. “The men here don’t mind that the Queen’s a Wielder. I think they’re glad about it. I double-checked after dismissing the rest.”

“How many?” Donovan asked.

“Fifteen, but they all swore to help save her.”

Not a lot, but far more than one.

“Wait, Father, did you say Maren is Queen?” Alec asked but looked to Donovan for confirmation.

Donovan nodded, “The King is dead. Kieran did it. I’d really rather not discuss it further.”

A shocked silence fell over them.

Fortunately, the Duke continued with the original conversation.

“What we saw at the estate was that the Trackers have no idea how to fight someone who is fighting them. We had nearly fifty soldiers come, but probably could have made do with far less. A small force could get you in and out of the facility.”

Donovan nodded and asked what had happened at the estate. He didn’t want to hear more horror, but he needed to know what happened.

The Duke and Alec told him about the Tracker interrupting dinner and then barricading themselves in the office and Maren saving Alec before the soldiers arrived.

“She was remarkable,” Maren’s mother said, speaking for the first time.

Donovan couldn’t help but smile. “She usually is.”

“The man who turned her over was the colonel in charge of the force stationed at the nearest fort. Everyone trusted him and followed his orders. He repositioned enough men so that he could take her out and deliver her to the Trackers. We found out because he was injured, and we left as soon as we could. We arrived at the barrier and figured Kieran was involved, so we decided to wait and see what happened,” the Duke explained.

Donovan nodded but closed his eyes.

“She’s tough as nails, she managed to give the man who turned her over a nasty burn. She’ll be all right until you can get her,” the Duke said.

“Did she?” That sounded like Maren. It made him feel a little better.

“She did,” Alec said. “There’s a crater in his arm almost as big as an apple where she burned him. He’ll probably lose it.”

Alec sounded uncharacteristically unsympathetic about someone’s physical trauma. Donovan supposed he was likely as furious as he was.

“It’s my fault. Saving me took so much out of her. She might have gotten away if she wasn’t so tired,” Alec said.

Donovan truly looked at him for the first time. He had a bandage over one eyebrow and seemed wracked with guilt. Donovan didn’t have the capacity to comfort Alec, but he wanted to try anyway.

“Alec, she would never sit quietly and let you die just so that she could conserve her energy. You know that. And in any case, they put some sort of collar on her to block her powers. That’s not your fault,” Donovan said.

He closed his eyes, trying not to think about how awful she must feel.

“What do you want to do after you get her out?” the Duke asked.

After. It was hard to think about “after” when it felt so impossible to get there. What should he do? What could he do? They should go…somewhere?”

“I’m not sure,” Donovan said.

“What I mean, Your Majesty, is do you want to fight for your throne?”

Donovan had not even considered it. But the Duke was right, if Kieran was running around claiming to be king, there would be a war over it if Donovan chose to fight him.

Donovan thought it likely that he could muster a superior fighting force against Kieran, but that mattered little if Kieran could kill them all in a few minutes. And he could. He just had to suffocate them or flatten them or snap their necks.

Donovan sighed. “You can’t fight magic with bullets.”

The Duke showed the barest hint of a smile. “That’s just what your wife said.”

That made Donovan’s heart ache. She had barely been his wife. They had only had one night together.

He pushed that thought aside. He needed to focus.

“She’s right. I won’t drag the kingdom into a civil war we cannot win. If I have a chance to kill Kieran, I’ll take it, but otherwise…well, we’ll see what happens.”

Donovan was grateful no one argued with him. He thought it very unlikely that he’d be able to kill Kieran. He and Maren together might make some progress, but he had to wonder if Kieran could even be killed. Kieran seemed to be more raw power than man. How do you kill someone like that?

They arrived at the fort around five in the morning. Donovan was extremely agitated. Maren had been in Kieran’s hands for more than seven hours, and he felt like he might burst.

“Gather everyone who’s going in the courtyard. We’ll leave as soon as possible,” he told the Duke.

He and Alec were beside him, and they exchanged a look.

“Donovan,” Alec said very gently. “You can’t go yet.”

Donovan turned on Alec, eyes blazing, and glared at him, daring his friend to stop him.

To his immense credit, Alec did not recoil or back down.

Instead, he put his hands on Donovan’s shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

“You have to sleep. You have to eat. The men need to sleep and eat. At least a few hours.”

“But —“

“No. You have to. You’re the only one who has a chance at stopping Kieran, and you’re so exhausted you might collapse any minute. When was the last time you slept a full night in a bed?”

Donovan closed his eyes. “The wedding.”

“That was three nights ago. You have to sleep.”

Donovan looked at Alec and knew his eyes were filling with tears.

“I have to save her,” he whispered. It was more of a plea than anything.

Alec squeezed his shoulder and grimaced in sympathy. “I know. And you will, but you’re no good to her now. Rest first. You know she would want you to.”

Donovan sniffed and nodded. Alec was right. He just hated that Alec was right.

The Duke had apparently been making arrangements for him to sleep, and there was a soldier waiting to take him to a bed.

“Can you check on my mother?” he asked Alec, who nodded.

“And by the gods do not call her a dowager!”

Alec nodded again. Donovan followed the soldier and reluctantly went to find a bed.