Chapter 16

16

Prove yourself useful, and you'll never want for a place in the world.

~ "Foundations III" Scribe Menalow

Because Vlerion's office had been attached to his bedroom, Kaylina worried Targon would take her to the barracks. She didn't want to see the room—or bed—where he'd entertained the queen and who knew how many more women.

But, after she grabbed her pack, he led her into a building that held an armory on the first floor, the air smelling of metal and weapons-cleaning oil. They climbed wooden stairs to a hall lined with offices, name plaques stating they belonged to various high-ranking rangers. Most of the doors were closed, the occupants gone for the night. Targon opened one at the end and stepped inside to multiple chairs, a desk, a conference table, and a bookcase full of thick texts, atlases, and old scrolls, as well as a few dented helmets and daggers. A huge fossilized skull leered from the top. Prizes he'd won over the years?

A lamp burned low on the desk, and Targon turned it up and used the flame to light others. The placement of some emphasized the daggers, helmets, and skull.

"I don't know what to do with you, Korbian. You're turning out to be much more than I expected."

Much more what? Of a delight?

Kaylina doubted it. She suspected Jankarr had told his captain about her new ability to convince vines not to kill rangers.

"Vlerion is helping me find evidence to clear my name," she offered. "If you would like to do the same, I would be most grateful."

" Vlerion is obsessed with you."

"I don't think that's true. He's helping me because…"

Because why? He'd admitted that he had come to care for her, but Kaylina didn't know if that was because she was appealing to him as a person or if the beast in him was drawn to the anrokk in her.

Targon finished lighting lamps and raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to complete the sentence.

"He's a nice guy," Kaylina finished lamely.

"Uh-huh. I would have said he's helping because he's into your tits, but I've never seen him fall for a beautiful woman. Up until he met you, he was almost preternaturally restrained when it came to that. His mother has a hypothesis about it."

Yes, Kaylina had been thinking about that hypothesis. She grimaced at the thought that Isla of Havartaft might have come to the city to talk to Targon about her.

Oh, Isla had specifically said she would do that, but she'd implied it would be about her destiny as a mead maker. She'd said she would try to get Targon to release her from the ranger training. The thought that they might also have been discussing her and Vlerion's sexual attraction mortified her.

"I'm aware of the, uhm, hypothesis, my lord." Kaylina selected her words carefully, not sure what Targon wanted. Was he thinking about making her disappear?

"She thinks you're drawn to him too. That I've seen before, so it's not that surprising. Women somehow sense what he is." Targon waved, not mentioning the beast specifically, maybe because he'd also sworn to keep that secret. "The way the taybarri do, maybe. Except women aren't as smart as taybarri. They know to be wary of Vlerion."

Kaylina clenched her jaw to keep from blurting an indignation about being compared to big furry animals, even if the taybarri were more than that. They weren't animals at all if their elders were as intelligent as humans.

"I suppose if I forbade you from getting close to him, it wouldn't do anything," Targon added.

"Captain, I'm aware of the danger. I'm not trying to get close to him. I'm just appreciative that he's helping me."

"So appreciative that you can't keep from rubbing up against him and shoving your tongue in his mouth."

"That hasn't happened." Her cheeks heated with embarrassment as well as her ongoing indignation over the whole situation. Kaylina hated that Targon had seen them together, but tongues hadn't been in mouths. There had only been… Well, maybe there had been a little rubbing.

"What would have happened if we hadn't shown up?"

"I don't know, but Vlerion said that after he's already changed, it's less likely to happen again. I think— I'm sure if he had believed there was a threat, he wouldn't have hugged me."

" Hugging isn't what was about to happen."

Kaylina sighed.

"And he shouldn't have changed in the first place." Targon pulled a newspaper off a shelf and smacked it down on the desk, the article she'd already seen on top. "That's the last thing we need right now. Between the mangled bodies showing up in the city, the Virts having spotted him furry in the castle dungeon, and this anonymous journalist trying to link him to the rangers… Vlerion is lucky his name hasn't specifically been printed in this gossip rag yet. Once that happens, it's going to be hard to protect him."

"I understand, Captain, but it was out in the preserve, and it was because the vines had him and the Kar'ruk were coming, not because I was rubbing anything of his." Her cheeks grew hotter as she lied. Shame filled her because she felt the need, but it wasn't her fault the situation had forced her to try to rouse the beast.

"Vlerion also said he changed because of the Kar'ruk." The frank look Targon leveled at Kaylina made her think he knew the truth. Somehow. " Usually, he's honorable and honest with me and the men. He's not a great liar, so when it happens, I can tell."

"I wanted to save his life," Kaylina whispered. Tears threatened, and she blinked to stave them off. She didn't want to cry in front of this man. "He was trapped, and I thought the beast could break the vines. He wasn't able to as a man, you see, and I wasn't strong enough, not even with his sword."

"How come you could get the vines off Jankarr but not Vlerion?" Targon walked around the desk and closer to her, studying her intently.

Trying to tell if she was lying?

"I didn't know I could then. And I have no idea if I could do it again. It surprised me. I'm still not sure what I did." Kaylina resisted the urge to back away from Targon. She hated that he was taller than she—taller and bigger and stronger—and could loom over her. "I think it has to do with this." She lifted her hand, turning the back toward him. "The plant in Stillguard Castle branded me. Did Vlerion tell you? It seemed to convey some… I'm not sure what. Out in the preserve, it was kind of guiding me. I think it's what let me free Jankarr."

"I've never heard of anyone being branded by a plant." Targon gazed at the mark, then took her hand and rubbed his thumb across the raised scar.

Kaylina gritted her teeth, bristling at the presumptuousness. If Vlerion had rubbed her hand, she wouldn't have minded, but she didn't like Targon, Targon who wanted to use her. And what did his statement mean? That he thought she was lying?

"Strange." He let go of her hand.

She wanted to stuff it into her pocket. "I've been told before that I'm not normal."

Targon snorted and walked around to the other side of the desk, glancing out the window on the way. " That I believe."

His glance became a second look, then a longer one back at her as he pointed out the window.

Kaylina crept closer until she could see four taybarri, including Levitke, gazing up at her through the panes.

"I didn't feed and groom her when we returned, like the ranger book says," she admitted, backing away from Targon again. "I wasn't sure it was my place to or where their food is stored."

"Book?"

"The something guide to honor and things."

" The Ranger's Guide to Honor, Duty, and Tenets. You've been reading it?"

"Vlerion keeps giving me copies." Kaylina didn't mention the pages she'd ripped out of the latest one. Thinking of it reminded her to give the rubbing she'd made to Frayvar. Later, when he wasn't peeved because she was interested in things besides digging up evidence to prove her innocence.

"Hm." Targon waved her to a chair, then sat in the large one behind the desk. "Listen, Korbian. You've got some power I don't understand, and apparently it's more than being appealing to animals."

"I don't understand it either."

"I'd rather you work with us, for the good of the kingdom, than have to worry about you becoming an enemy. No." Targon held up a hand as she started to protest. "Enemy isn't the right word. I saw you fight with Vlerion to save the king and queen—though I suspect that was more for him than for them — and you've helped the rangers." He pointed to his own chest, and she hoped he remembered that she'd tried to keep the vine in Stillguard Castle from killing him, even if she hadn't been effective. "What I should say is that I'd like to be able to use you, for the good of the kingdom, and I'd prefer you weren't a liability ."

Kaylina didn't have a protest for that. The word stung as true. At the least, she was a liability to Vlerion. If his desire for her caused him to turn into the beast in the city with innocent people around…

"Is that why you didn't bring him back?" she asked. "So he wouldn't be around me?"

"He's with a few other rangers, spending more time looking for Kar'ruk in the preserve and also seeing if any have been spotted on estates in the countryside. That's important work that needs to be done."

"That will also keep him away from me." The thought saddened Kaylina, but could she blame the captain? She ought to appreciate that he wanted to protect Vlerion and keep his secret.

"A bonus perk. I don't know what to do with you, Korbian. If you weren't wanted by the Kingdom Guard, I'd see if I could get a couple of scholars and scientists to come study you. You and that brand."

"Wouldn't that be appealing."

"I suppose Vlerion would get huffy and object to us poking and prodding you and looking at skin and blood samples under a microscope."

" I'd get huffy."

"I'm less worried about your ire, though I suppose that's foolish of me. If you're left free without a keeper, you could go to the Virts and tell them everything you've learned."

"I wouldn't betray Vlerion. But it is foolish of you to dismiss me." Kaylina lifted her chin. "You've seen my marksmanship ability with the sling."

Targon smiled faintly. "Yes, I have. As I've said, I'd far rather have you working with us than against us." He gazed thoughtfully at her. "I understand honey clumps are more appealing to the taybarri than protein pellets."

She blinked at the topic change but managed to murmur, "Honey drops , my lord."

"What manner of honey drop would appeal to you ?"

"I enjoy many of the candies and sweets and, of course, the mead made from my family's honey." Only as Kaylina finished the statement and noticed his intent gaze upon her did she realize he was asking what reward he could offer to ensure her cooperation. Her loyalty . More a bribe than a reward, probably. "Oh."

"For obvious reasons, I can't offer you Vlerion."

"Because he's not yours to offer."

Targon grunted. "He's loyal to the crown, the rangers, and to me—he's sworn oaths that bind him. That means I could offer his services, but that would result in exactly what we must avoid. Especially now." He waved at the newspaper again.

"You don't have to bribe me, Captain. I just want some help… no, I don't even want help . All I want is the freedom to open a meadery and compete fairly against the other eating houses, wineries, and breweries in the city. I want a chance to prove that my family's mead is delicious and worth being sampled by all."

"And you don't want to become a ranger."

Kaylina opened her mouth to state an emphatic no , but if all she ever did was make mead, she wouldn't have an opportunity to ride one of the taybarri again. And, with the way trouble kept finding her, wouldn't it be smart to get some weapons training? With more than a sling?

Yes, it would. But if the rangers trained her, they would expect her to then work for them. Probably to swear the oaths Targon had spoken of and to dedicate her life to the duty.

With his expectant gaze on her, she felt compelled to say something. "I want to start a meadery."

"What if you could do both? If your ranger duties, assuming you complete the training without turning into a plant—" Targon glanced at her hand as if that were a possibility, "—didn't demand all of your time, would you consider it?"

Would she? If Frayvar was willing to remain in the north long enough to get the business off the ground, she might be able to hire staff and work at the castle only part time. Maybe.

Kaylina couldn't help but think about Targon's question about honey drops for her. About bribes . "Is that something you offer to other people becoming rangers?"

"No."

"Other anrokk ?"

"The only one we have, Sergeant Jastadar, was never interested in starting a meadery on the side."

"Can I meet him?" Maybe Kaylina should have asked that when the rangers had first started throwing the word anrokk around. As she recalled, Jastadar was almost to retirement age. Targon and Vlerion had implied it was rare for rangers to survive all their years of fighting to be able to retire.

"Yes." Targon shrugged. "If you stuck with the training, you'd meet all the rangers in this province sooner or later."

"I'd like to think about it." Kaylina admitted that because I want to ride a taybarri wasn't a great reason to become a ranger, to constantly have to put her life in danger. As noble as the profession was, she doubted it would suit her. She hated following orders, even from her own family members, people who loved her. She might end up flogged if she kept training with the rangers. The way things were going, she might end up flogged often .

"Of course." Targon's tone was perfectly reasonable. Because he thought she would inevitably agree and he had won?

"Obviously, I'd need to figure out how to clear my name first."

"Yes, obviously."

"And I'm on a quest to lift Vlerion's curse."

Targon blinked, looking surprised for the first time during their meeting. Maybe for the first time since she'd met him. "What?"

"It has to be possible."

"I don't think that's true. Some of his ancestors dedicated their lives to researching ways to end the curse, and none of them ever figured it out."

"Yeah, but I'm special." Kaylina showed him her brand. "You said so yourself."

"I believe I said you're strange. "

"I chose to hear a less offensive word, thus to be able to continue having this conversation without thinking of you as an odious villain."

"How thoughtful of you."

"Yes. You're aware that the glow of the plant in the tower at Stillguard Castle changed color after I fertilized it with honey water?"

"I heard it turned purple for a couple of days."

"I have more honey to try on it, druid honey. I'm going to lift the curse from the castle, and then I'm going to use what I learn there to lift Vlerion's curse."

Targon started to scoff but looked at her hand again and didn't. "I'd never pondered it before, but it does make sense that the two curses might be related."

"Based on the story I heard, they're absolutely related. Whatever lifts the curse from the castle might lift the curse of the beast."

"Are you going to pour honey water on Vlerion?"

"I don't know if that's how the curse can be lifted, just that it affected the plant. If people weren't trying to arrest me, I could have spent time studying it."

"A team of scientists might be needed after all," Targon muttered.

"I doubt the plant would permit them to poke and prod it. Even I got zapped when I touched its soil."

Targon walked to the window and gazed out. "I would like to see Vlerion be able to live a normal life and not have to worry about the beast."

"Yes. So would I." Kaylina might not like Targon, but she was encouraged that he cared for Vlerion.

"If he weren't cursed, maybe he could even…" Targon's gaze shifted toward the plateau that held the royal castle, but he didn't finish that sentence. Instead, he looked over his shoulder at her and changed the topic. "I don't know if I should or shouldn't point out that if the curse were lifted and his beast element disappeared, he might be indifferent to you."

Kaylina froze. She'd envisioned that if the curse were lifted, she and Vlerion could be together without concern for safety.

He had denied that the beast had anything to do with his attraction to her—to her anrokk side—but could he truly know that? His mother believed it was the reason, and didn't mothers know best? Queen Henova, who'd written that famous book on rearing children who became great leaders, had said that.

Without the supernatural link, what if Vlerion no longer found himself so strongly attracted to Kaylina? Or attracted to her at all? Lady Ghara, with her striking blonde locks, might bestir him far more than she.

"I would hope he's not indifferent, but I would be happy to see the curse lifted regardless of how he felt about me afterward." Kaylina barely kept from frowning. It wasn't an untrue statement, but she would be disappointed if he lost interest in her. Devastatingly disappointed. How had she grown to care for him—and want to be with him—so quickly? Would her feelings change if he no longer had the beast within him? What if they both lost interest in each other? She shook her head, not wanting to believe that would happen. "He's saved my life," she added, uncomfortable under Targon's all-too-knowing gaze. "No matter what else might happen, I owe him."

Targon grunted, not appearing moved by her dedication, and flicked a glance down her body. "You're hot enough that he'd probably want you, beast- anrokk regardless."

Kaylina gritted her teeth. The captain might care for Vlerion, but she was positive he saw her as nothing more than a tool.

Something outside the window drew Targon's gaze, and he frowned.

"Who's bringing carriages to ranger headquarters this late at night?"

Kaylina wanted to look, but it was the only window on that wall, and she didn't want to stand that close to Targon, not after his comments proving he'd noticed her body. More than once. She didn't trust him one iota and might be a fool for wanting anything to do with the rangers. It was the taybarri that she wanted to be around. And Vlerion.

"Shit." Targon backed away and scowled at her. "It's the Castle Guard with a squadron from the Kingdom Guard. This has to be about you. Someone must have seen you riding through the city with Jankarr and reported it."

Kaylina forgot her aversion to the captain and lunged close to the window to look out. Two carriages painted in the royal colors had stopped in the courtyard, and two wagons full of armored men were entering after them.

Targon gripped her arm and pulled her away from the window.

"If I were smart," he said, not letting her go, "I would tie you up and say we'd captured you and were about to take you to the royal castle."

Kaylina tried to pull away, but his grip might as well have been an iron shackle. It didn't budge.

She searched his eyes by the lamplight and refrained from sharing an opinion on his intelligence. Long seconds passed. He had to be contemplating her fate—or maybe risks to his career if she was found unfettered here.

"Is that what you're going to do?" Kaylina finally asked.

"After you saved Jankarr and fought at Vlerion's side to save the king and queen? No. But I need you to get out of here before your presence condemns me."

Men called out in the courtyard, orders to search the compound wafting through the window.

"I don't suppose you have a secret exit?" she asked.

"Of course I have a secret exit." Targon pulled her behind the desk, pushed the bookcase sideways—it slid easily on well-oiled hinges—and revealed a dark cubby. "Take the stairs down two levels, follow the hall at the bottom to a dead end, and there's a switch on the eighth brick from the ground on the left side. Head out into the sewers until you find an access point up into the city. From there, you'd better work on clearing your name. You're not going to have the luxury of lifting any curses until you can walk freely about the city."

Targon pushed her toward the secret exit, but Kaylina planted her hands on the doorframe to stop herself. "I need Frayvar. He's in the infirmary."

"There aren't any secret exits from there, and you can't get over there without going through the courtyard." Targon put a hand on her back.

"I can't leave him here alone to be caught."

Footfalls sounded in the hallway. "Captain Targon?" someone hollered.

"That's not one of my men." He pushed her into the dark nook.

Kaylina's foot almost slipped off the top of the landing. The stairs were too dim to see.

She spun back toward him. "I can't?—"

"I'll try to keep them from finding him and taking him." Targon held his palm up, as if she were a dog he was commanding to stay.

Kaylina wanted to spring out of the nook, to find a way to her brother.

"If you're caught, it'll make Vlerion crazy." Targon gave her a significant look. " More than crazy."

Damn it, he was right.

Her shoulders slumped, and she didn't stop Targon when he slid the bookcase shut, plunging her into darkness.