Page 54 of Secrets of Avalon

Melinda. She's near. The realization makes my heart begin to race, palms growing uncomfortably damp. I try to focus on Aldrich's words, but her magnetic presence is like a siren's irresistible call, urging me to abandon all else and simply run to her.

The chamber door bursts open with a resonant bang. Wraith strides in, eyes blazing red with an intensity that makes me instantly worried. The other knights follow close behind, their expressions equally grim.

My gaze instantly locks onto Melinda—a homing beacon for my soul. Relief at seeing her alive and seemingly unharmed floods me… until I take in her pallid complexion and the haunted, wide-eyed look marring her beautiful features. Kellan looms protectively at her side, utterly motionless yet coiled like a viper prepared to strike.

With a curt nod of dismissal from Wraith, Aldrich exits, leaving us in tense silence broken only by the thud of the door closing behind him. The heavy atmosphere crackles with unspent energy, as if the air itself holds a static charge of roiling emotion and unvoiced implications.

"What's going on?" My words emerge rougher than intended, twisted by the knot of dread and worry clenched in my gut. "Melinda… are you alright?"

"I k-killed a woman," Melinda chokes out. Her pain stabs straight through my heart like a barbed blade. Tears glisten in her soulful eyes. "In my chambers… this morning."

I pull her against my chest, desperately wanting to alleviate some of the pain I hear screaming between every word and every shuddering breath.

“What happened?” I direct my question to Kellan.

"Darkwood sent an assassin to kill her," Kellan's deep voice rumbles out, resonant with a simmering rage that matches my own.

Rage surges through me, a searing heat that threatens to consume everything in its path. My heart pounds furiously. "How did this happen? I thought you were supposed to be protecting her!"

Kellan meets my gaze unflinchingly, his green eyes flickering with anger. "She came in as a Drakonii servant, bearing false tattoos and speaking our language. The guard had no reason to suspect her. But Melinda, guided by Siva's power, defended herself bravely."

Pride and fear war within me. My brave, beautiful mate, facing down an assassin with her incredible power. But the thought of how close I came to losing her makes my blood run cold. Then my brain catches up with the Drakonii’s last comment. “Siva? Who’s Siva?”

Melinda steps back from my hold and raises her arm, the green somatophylakes bond mark on her wrist rippling, slithering around her delicate skin like a live serpent. "My own guardian."

"It's... moving." I blink rapidly, not believing what I’m seeing. “I didn’t know they could move.”

"She's alive," Kellan rumbles, his towering frame tense beside my mate.

"She? Alive?" My stomach clenches, confusion wars with jealousy creating a churning concoction. What in Hades' name has he done to my Melinda? Everyone knows the Drakonii tattoos are guardians, but information about the details of the magick is very guarded.

"We need to focus. Darkwood sent the assassin." Ares steps closer, sword hand twitching to grasp his blade's hilt and start a fight. "They know Melinda isn't just another of my conquests. Someone saw you visit her last night, Hawke."

A guttural curse tears from my chest, ripping through clenched teeth as the cold embrace of guilt encircles my heart. "This is my fault."

"No!" Melinda's petite form vibrates with determination. She jabs a finger into my sternum, the fire in her gaze searing away the chill of self-recrimination. "This is Darkwood's fault. He's the one willing to kill me so you'll marry his daughter. He's the only one to blame."

I pull her back into my arms, burying my face in her hair and breathing in her sweet scent. I need to reassure myself she’s safe. Unharmed. "I’m still sorry, Melinda. I should’ve done something. Been more careful."

She shakes her head fiercely, stubborn denial muffled against the fabric of my tunic. "Not your fault."

Kellan clears his throat, drawing my attention from my mate. "We believe the best course of action is to act as if nothing happened. Drawing attention to the attack now could put Melinda in even greater danger."

I want to argue, to unleash the feral rage burning in my veins and storm directly into the Hall of Grievances, demanding brutal justice for the attempt on my mate's life. Every instinct screams at me to hunt down Julius Darkwood himself and rip that vile snake to shreds with my bare hands.

But I know Kellan is right. We cannot act rashly now. As much as it is painful, we must play this carefully, biding our time until we can strike without putting Melinda in even greater danger. I can't give that manipulative bastard Darkwood any more leverage over me and my actions than he already wields.

"Fine," I grit out, jaw clenched so tightly my teeth ache from the pressure. “But Melinda doesn’t leave my side.” I half expect Kellan to argue, to insist that she’s not safe with me.

But Kellan just nods. “I will stay beside her as well, Prince Stormblood.”

I blink, surprise allowing some of the tension to bleed from my frame as Kellan simply… agrees with me. No posturing, no conflicts of interest, just a mutual objective—protecting Melinda at all costs. I let out a slow breath and instinctively pull her closer against my side.

"We'll return to our people and prepare for the ceremony tonight," Fen says, his voice low and steady. "But we'll stay connected through the Drakonii servants Kellan has following the two Fae members of the High Council."

Wraith steps forward, the torchlight glinting off his silver armor like quicksilver. "I'll finish the handover with the Upir guards, Hawke. You focus on Melinda and keep her out of sight. We've got your back on this."

A mirthless smile tugs at my lips as I glance around at my knights–my brothers in all but blood. "Thank you and we will make that bastard Darkwood regret ever threatening what's mine," I rumble, the promise of merciless retaliation clear in my tone.