45. Chapter 45

Chapter forty-five

" S o, which one are you thinking?" Tasha asked. All day they'd tested out the horses the lords sent. Grooming and riding, getting a feel for their temperaments. As soon as they had initially walked into the stables, Haven was pretty sure she'd had hers picked. It hadn't been about looks, simply the feeling she'd gotten when she walked up to him. She still spent the morning trying each horse but in the end came to the same conclusion from the very beginning. Tasha would not be happy.

"Lord Drummonds" Haven stated, smirking and avoiding eye contact with Tasha.

Tasha rolled her eyes, "How did I guess that? Of course you'd go for the most unruly of the bunch "

Tasha wasn't wrong, Lord Drummond had sent quite the beast. He was easily the biggest with a thick black mane and body to match. All the other lords had sent simple, easy horses in an assortment of colors. One solid white mare, a brown paint and another smaller black gelding. Haven had spent time with each of them, getting to know them and trying to picture herself working with them. Each horse was special in its own way but Haven was consistently drawn to the black stallion from the coastal town of Kithage where Drummond lorded.

Maybe he had sent a different style of horse because he was the only lord to have spent any time with Haven. An official meeting with the lords was scheduled for the day before her coronation but she unofficially met Lord Drummond at the festival before her bloodline test. They had talked for at least half an hour, joking around and generally getting to know each other.

Haven knew Drummond as the short, pot bellied man with kind eyes and a long gray beard. He had two kids and a wife back home. She quite liked him and was looking forward to working with him more once she became queen. Haven hoped that the other lords would be as kind as Drummond had been, although she knew that was unlikely to be the case.

If she thought about it, Lord Drummond likely considered their conversations when he picked this horse to send.

The stallion stomped around in his stall, wanting to be let out. Tasha hadn't been joking, the stallion could be quite unruly. He'd tried to bite the stable hand twice in the last hour. While they had been riding, Tasha and Haven had come across a small creek. The horse proceeded to ignore Havens orders to simply cross. He stopped with all four hooves in the water and splashed around, stomping his front feet and kicking out with his back. Haven had laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. Tasha had scolded her for letting the horse behave like that but it hadn't taken long for him to finish playing and follow Tasha to the other side of the creek.

Haven stepped up to the animal, running a hand up and down his muzzle and smiled. The horse leaned into her like he was trying to say that he liked her too.

"I'm not even going to bother arguing with you. It's obvious you've made up your mind" Tasha said, exasperation ringing out in her voice.

Haven smiled again, she quite liked her new steed.

"Is this the one miss?" The stable hand asked

"Yes" She nodded

"What's his name?"

Haven thought for a moment before deciding,

"Pluto" It was both the Roman version of Hades, god of the underworld, and the cute little dog from a children's show Haven watched when she was little. It fit him well.

***

After what would likely be remembered as one of the best days of her life, Haven was feeling truly light. She had been given permission to blow off her lessons to get used to her new horse. She'd spent the day exploring the forest and castle grounds with Pluto, laughing when he tried to chase a butterfly and then finishing her day with a picnic down by the lake. It had been exactly what she needed to forget about the stress and anxiety she'd been feeling. Even in normal circumstances, Haven held more stress than most. In a situation like the one she was in with a coronation around the corner and the memory of what she considered a death threat still ghosting her wall? It was safe to say a day of relaxation and little to no reminders of the outside world was exactly what she needed.

The darkness due to the late hour seeped in through Havens balcony windows. Soon after her coronation, she would be moving to the royal rooms on the top floor and while she was excited, Haven knew she'd miss this quaint little room where her life had changed so drastically.

Creeping out of bed, Haven pulled a robe over her chemise. Tonight she had a mission, one that she would not fail in.

Haven was planning to track Nik down and confront him. He'd been avoiding her ever since he'd let her use his shower. Haven was pretty sure the only time she could catch him was when he was in his room sleeping, which was why she'd waited until such a late hour.

Peering down the hall, she found the guard slouched against the wall, likely dozing. There had been one posted around the clock since the attack on her room. Before that, there had been one only during the night.

Haven's enhanced fae hearing allowed the sound of his soft snores to reach her, giving her the perfect opportunity. Not that she needed to explain herself to anyone but she'd rather not have gossip spreading about her sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night.

As quickly and as quietly as she could, Haven made her way to Niks doorway, gripping the dagger she brought with her the entire walk. Once she made it to his room, she tried the door handle, finding it locked just as she suspected it would be. Luckily she had a few tricks up her sleeve, or rather, a few bobby pins. Before he died, her dad taught her some neat tricks. Most of it had been for her safety, like how to get through duct tape holding your hands together if someone kidnapped you and other things she hadn't had a clue why he taught her, like how to pick locks.

Sadness distracted Haven as the wound from her fathers death ripped open. Now was not the time for this, she reminded herself. Haven had to be quick if she didn't want to be caught by anyone other than Nik.

Haven slid two bobby pins into the lock, one bent at an angle, the other straight. Wiggling the top one up and down, Haven listened for the click of the lock. It didn't sound right away, frustrating her and causing Haven to drop one of the bobby pins. Blowing out a breath, Haven pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and picked up the pin.

It took another five minutes of trying the bobby pins at different angles before a click resonated through the hall. Exhaling a breath, Haven turned the handle and silently cheered herself on. Opening the door just enough for her to slip through, Haven hoped that when she did finally get face to face with Nik, he wouldn't be pissed at her for breaking into his room.

Taking a quick glance around his room, she didn't immediately spot Nik. Internally, Haven cursed herself. She didn't know what else to do if he wasn't here other than to wander the halls looking for him. Then she'd stayed up late, risked getting caught and gotten her robe dirty dragging it through the castle halls for nothing.

From what she could see through the open bathroom and office doors, Nik wasn't in either of those places. He wasn't in bed or lounging on the couch. Havens mind flashed with thoughts of Nik with someone else. The thought stung more than she was ready to admit.

A second too late she had the idea to listen for a heartbeat in the dark room. Just as she leaned into that sense, someone grabbed her, shoving her back against the door she'd just snuck through.

"Well well well, what might you be doing out of bed princess?"