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Charles cleared his throat, and Tamryn reluctantly let go of Nolan, her cheeks hot.
“My apologies,” she said.
“No, no, don’t apologize,” Charles said. “I understand. He’s your mate, isn’t he?”
“He is.” Never before had she felt more sure of her feelings.
The three of them stood, uncertainly, looking at each other. Tamryn felt the awkward tension coming through their auras. It was clear that neither man trusted the other. She was to blame for that—transferring the affections she should have felt for her betrothed over to someone new, whom Charles had not met.
She was surprised at Nolan, though. She would’ve expected him to take more of a liking to Charles now that Charles wasn’t a threat to her heart.
“Have you been able to shift into your dragon?” Charles asked.
Whether he was genuinely curious or simply eager to fill the silence, Tamryn didn’t know. Just the same, she felt her cheeks grow even hotter. She’d been too distracted with Nolan’s body to give much effort to the business of shifting into her dragon. “No, not yet.”
“I can help you,” Charles said.
“Thank you. It’s...it’s been difficult. But now that we’ve found you, we can look for Illary. She can tell us what our next steps should be.”
“We should do both,” Charles said. “Find Illary. And while on the search, I can help you find your dragon.”
Tamryn reached for Nolan’s hand and grasped it. She much preferred searching for her dragon with him. Those sun-filled moments on the rock above the lake—and in the lake—were precious to her. She was glad that they’d found Charles, and happy to connect with someone from her era, but what she really wanted was more privacy with Nolan.
There would be time for that, though, when this adventure in the forest was over. She hadn’t been able to talk to Nolan about it yet, but she hoped to return with him to his clan. Everyone had been kind to her. She could see a future for them there.
Nolan’s hand was warm around her own. Giving her a gentle squeeze, he said, “Illary told us we would find her after we found you, Charles. So that should be soon.”
His tone was guarded, but that made sense. After all, Tamryn had been engaged to this other man, up until a few moments ago. How quickly things could change. One moment, sorrow and the heavy feeling of inevitability. The next, freedom and the lightness of love.
The three of them began looking around the immediate area.
“Where did you walk from, again?” Tamryn asked Charles.
“That way,” he said, pointing to the west.
A faint blue light caught her eye as she looked in that direction.
“Do you see that?” Nolan asked her.
“I was going to ask you the same,” Tamryn said, letting go of Nolan’s hand and marching forward.
“Wait,” Charles said, reaching out and grabbing Tamryn’s arm.
Nolan growled.
Charles immediately let her go. “Apologies. It’s simply that we don’t know what the glow signifies, and perhaps we should exercise caution rather than race into the forest.”
“I’m certain that it’s Illary,” Tamryn said.
“Would you allow me to investigate the matter, Your Majesty?” Charles asked, a challenging arch to his eyebrow.
“We’ll go together,” Tamryn said. “We only recently found you, Charles; I would hate to lose you just as suddenly. And you can’t have been aware of this, but there are other shapeshifters still after us.”
“Skin-hunters?” he asked. “Here, now? Then what was the purpose of Illary’s spell?”
“I escaped death that night in the castle,” Tamryn said. “That was the purpose of the spell. I imagine it was similar for you, Charles, although perhaps not as dire.”
“Very well,” he said.
The three walked in single file, with Tamryn leading the way and Nolan right behind her. She wanted a chance to speak with Nolan alone so that she could reassure him of everything she’d just spoken with Charles about. But that opportunity wasn’t readily available. She would have to be patient.
The glow faded, and Tamryn began to wonder if she and Nolan had imagined it.
Then, in front of her, stood Illary. Her brown eyes were tired, and her black hair was lank in its braid.
“Illary!” Tamryn called, rushing forward.
The witch swayed on her feet, but she spared Tamryn a wan smile. “It is good to see you, Your Majesty.”
“Come, you must be very fatigued to look this way,” Tamryn said, wrapping her arm around Illary’s shoulders. She helped the witch toward Nolan and Charles.
Nolan took one look at Illary and said, “We’ll make camp here for the night. This area is flat enough to set up our tents.”
Nolan got to work on Tamryn’s tent while Charles scouted around them for dead limbs with which to build a fire. Tamryn held Illary’s cold hands in her own, rubbing and warming them as much as she could. Despite her attention on Illary, she couldn’t help but notice the occasional distrustful glances Nolan shot at Charles. She could feel the suspicion coming from her mate, and it twisted in her chest. She wished she could reassure him.
Eventually, Nolan got all three tents set up, and Charles had gathered enough kindling and wood for Tamryn to start a fire with some matches from her pack.
Nolan sat beside Tamryn and must have noticed the concern Tamryn was feeling for Illary, because he reached into his pack and pulled out two cans. When Tamryn gave him a questioning look, he explained, “It’s soup. We can heat it up. It’s not the best-tasting thing ever, but it’ll warm our stomachs. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”
“Thank you,” Tamryn said.
Charles said nothing, until Tamryn kicked his foot, and then he shook his head as if fighting a fugue. “I appreciate it. It is a special occasion, is it not? All four of us here, together. Safe.”
After finding the cooking pot, Nolan emptied the contents of the cans into it and set it over the fire. A salty scent of chicken broth reached Tamryn’s nose and made her want to sneeze.
Illary tilted her head as she considered Charles. “Something is not right. It’s not as I expected. What has changed?”
“The queen’s path has changed.” Charles looked at Tamryn, not in challenge, but in expectation. He wanted her to explain.
Clearing her throat, Tamryn said, “I’m not going to marry Charles.”
“But that was your mother, the queen’s, wish,” Illary said, brown eyes no longer tired, but alert and flashing with alarm.
Tamryn took a deep breath. Acting petulant or defensive would do nothing to resolve this conflict.
“I have to believe,” she said, “that the queen would want me to follow my heart’s desire. She married for love when she married my father, and she would want me to do the same. Charles is a wonderful man and I fully believe he will make a good husband. But he will make a good husband to someone else.”
Illary opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. Tamryn kept her expression kind, but firm. No one could convince her that marrying Charles was her destiny, not even the most powerful magical being she’d ever met.
“I can’t change your mind,” Illary said in a resigned voice.
“No,” Tamryn said. “I’m sorry, but you can’t. My heart belongs to one man, and that man is Nolan.”
Nolan came over to Tamryn’s side and sat on the ground beside her. Tamryn leaned against his shoulder, taking strength from his comforting, warm presence.
“The knight wins the young queen’s heart,” Illary said, almost under her breath. “I think...I think I might’ve read that somewhere. I will need some time, but I believe fate has changed your path.”
Tamryn believed it, too, and she believed it enough for all of them. But having Illary’s support helped her breathe a little more easily.
“Tomorrow, I will leave you three,” Illary said.
Nolan said, “We could use your help traveling back to the car. The closer we get to civilization, the more risk we’ll face in encountering Bronson’s people.”
“Who’s Bronson?” Charles asked.
“His pack members came after us,” Tamryn told him. “I think he must be a skin-hunter.”
Charles shuddered. “Illary, surely you can remain with us. We need your help.”
She gave him a hard look. “Surely I can, but you two aren’t the only dragons I spelled. Others have been called forth. They are far more in need of my help than you are.”
“Very well, if I can’t convince you otherwise,” Charles said, shrugging. “When will you part ways with us?”
“In the morning,” Illary said.
Nolan wrapped an arm around Tamryn until the soup was heated through, then he passed out the cups. Charles drank from one of the empty cans, as they didn’t have a spare cup for him. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, and Tamryn had to agree with him. The soup was much too salty for her liking. However, Nolan was right in that it warmed her belly, and when it was time to go to sleep, she felt full and happy.
Nolan was hers, and she was his.
Illary finished her soup, then said goodnight and retired to her tent.
“You can sleep in my tent, Charles,” Nolan told him.
Charles raised his eyebrows, and Tamryn felt her cheeks go hot with a blush. But whether or not Charles judged her for sleeping with Nolan, she didn’t care. No one’s opinions mattered except hers and Nolan’s.
She climbed into her tent, expecting Nolan to join her. Instead, he stripped off his clothes just outside her tent. A moment later, white light glowed around him and he shifted into his polar bear.
“It’s okay,” she whispered to him. “We’re safer now, with four of us.”
He snorted in disagreement and flopped down to the ground in front of her tent’s opening.
Sighing, she slid into her sleeping bag. But she left her tent’s door unzipped. She reached out and threaded her fingers into Nolan’s thick, white fur. How strange it was to miss someone even when they were only a few inches away.