Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Bastien

The military forces stationed in Clairmont were mostly mounted divisions, and the horses were housed in four large stables. Today Bastien worked on his soldiers’ sword skills while in the saddle, and his arms ached from brandishing his steel against opponent after opponent. Bastien was so strong and proficient, he could wield his weapon in either hand. He was so accomplished on his horse, he didn’t need to use his reins but could guide and direct by short commands or the pressure of his knees against his steed.

Every soldier he sparred with put up a valiant fight.

Each one ended up in the dirt.

It was getting close to lunchtime, and Bastien considered heading to his house and showering there rather than at the dorms. Thalia and Archer still weren’t back, but it didn’t worry him just yet. Thalia loved to fish, and those two were probably busy reconnecting after so many years apart.

“Want to grab lunch?” Kieran asked as he dismounted. He’d knocked as many soldiers from their saddles as Bastien had.

Bastien shook his head as he started to unsaddle his war stallion, Greta.

Yes, despite his horse being a stallion and having all the packaging that went with such an animal, he bore the pretty name of Greta, thanks to Thalia. Bastien had lost a bet to her years ago, awarding Thalia naming privileges.

Eleven years ago, to be precise, and at sixteen years old and more woman than teenager, Thalia was easily the most stunning creature in their land. She was no longer the little eight-year-old Bastien had defended from bullies. She’d been his shadow and dear friend since.

On that particular day, Bastien had agreed to go fishing with her, something he was having less and less time for because of his military duties. It was awkward for Bastien—while he cherished his friendship with Thalia, he was twenty-one, and she was getting to the age where he couldn’t see her as a young girl anymore.

The princess had filled out in all the right places, and he would’ve had to have been dead not to notice. Bastien felt guilty because she was an innocent, and he was not. He had no right to be thinking of her in any way but as a friend and fishing companion, and sometimes it was easier to decline her invitation.

He had tried to do so on that day, but she kept badgering him, and seeing how it was his day off, he really couldn’t blame his duties for preventing him from going.

Ultimately, he agreed after she taunted him with a bet. “Are you afraid to go fishing with me because I might catch more than you?”

“Silly girl,” he responded with an air of superiority. “There is no way you will ever be a better fisherman than I am. So no, I am not afraid.”

“Well, that’s true, because I’m not a fisherman. I’m a fisherwoman. But it’s okay if you’re scared. I won’t tell anyone.”

“I’m not afraid you’ll catch more fish than me,” Bastien grumbled.

Thalia’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and that should have been a warning to him. “How about we make a wager?”

He couldn’t help but be interested. He was a competitive man. “A wager? What would you want?”

Thalia never hesitated. “I get to name your next pet.”

Bastien rolled his eyes. “You want to name my next pet?”

“If that doesn’t seem too unreasonable to you.”

Bastien was confident in his fishing skills, and he also knew she had goaded him into going, but he’d let that pass. “Okay. Deal. Let’s go.”

Pleasure rippled over Thalia’s face, and Bastien had the insane urge to kiss her, which he promptly banished from his mind.

“Wait,” Thalia exclaimed. “What do you get if you win? I mean, I know it’s a long shot, but I’d still like to know the stakes.”

Bastien knew it would be wildly inappropriate to even so much as wish for a kiss if he won. He had no right to take advantage of her that way, but fuck if that’s not what he wanted.

Instead, he offered, “How about you clean my tack for a month if you lose?”

Thalia stuck her hand out for him to shake. “Deal.”

She beat him badly, catching eight fish, one of which was a twenty-one-inch brown trout. Bastien caught a measly three fish, and she taunted him the whole way home.

Still, he couldn’t deny that it had been wonderful spending the day with her. Thalia was the one person with whom he could be completely at ease.

Two weeks later, Bastien bought a colt at a traveling horse auction, and the big, black beast was quite the sight. Thalia was at the auction with her parents, looking to add to their stables.

They approached Bastien, lauding him over the purchase of such a fine animal. Thalia stroked the white blaze on the muzzle and said, “I better think of a name pretty soon, huh, Bastien?”

Frowning, Bastien patted the horse’s neck. “What do you mean?”

Thalia grinned at him. “That bet you lost a few weeks ago. You said I could name your next pet.”

Bastien forgot about the bet because truly, the joy had come from spending the day with Thalia. He looked over at her parents who watched with amused smiles. The king and queen were like extended family to Bastien. With his father, Graeme, commanding the entire army, they were frequently invited to meals in the palace’s private living quarters. The king and queen were also supportive of Bastien and Thalia’s friendship from that very first day he protected her from those bullies.

Turning his attention back to Thalia, he declared, “A war stallion is not a pet, Thalia.”

“Technically, he’s a colt,” she pointed out. “He won’t be a stallion until he’s four, and besides that… we’re not at war.”

Bastien snorted and tweaked Thalia’s nose. That was all true, but he wasn’t having it. “Sorry, you’ll have to wait until I bring home a stray cat or something.”

“I disagree,” Thalia replied, and she had that tone in her voice that said she wasn’t teasing anymore. “Will you not feed this horse?”

“Of course I will,” Bastien drawled.

“Will you not provide shelter for this horse?”

“You know I will.”

She tipped her head, and Queen Selena chuckled. “Will you not bathe and groom this horse?”

Bastien didn’t respond but even if he could, Thalia rolled right on. “Will you not respect this horse and cherish him?”

Growling, because he knew where this was headed, Bastien muttered, “I will do all those things.”

“And do you not do all these things for your beloved dog, Baltazar?”

“Yes,” Bastien gritted out.

“Then,” Thalia said with a dramatic wave of her hand, “I declare this horse is indeed a pet.”

King Jaron threw his head back and laughed. “I believe she has you there, my boy.”

Thalia positively glowed with pride.

“But,” the king said, shooting his daughter a tempering look, “naming a horse that will become a war stallion is an important task and really should be left up to Bastien.”

That relieved Bastien greatly because this was the first horse he’d bought himself. But at the same time, Bastien was proud of Thalia for catching more fish than he had, and he didn’t ever welsh on bets.

So he relented and said, “Fine. What do you want to name him?”

Thalia circled the horse three times, concentration keen on her face. She finally took his big black head in her hands and looked him in the eye. Her connection to animals was almost magical, and the colt stared back at her.

“You’re a beautiful boy,” she murmured, her soft voice affecting Bastien in ways he didn’t like to admit. “I think I shall name you Greta.”

Thalia leveled an impish grin at Bastien, and while he wasn’t overly happy with the name, he knew he’d never forget her smile.

The memory plagued him as he removed Greta’s saddle. Over the last seven years, Greta often stirred memories of Thalia. Granted, Bastien brushed them aside as if they were no more than an annoying gnat, but today he almost smirked at the remembrance.

Try as he could to avoid her this past week, she’d been on his mind constantly. Every night since her return, he’d dreamed of her. Some were sweet memories of times they’d shared. One was incredibly erotic that he never wanted to end, and when he went to sleep each night after, he’d hoped for the same dream to come.

Bastien was roused from his thoughts by shouting outside the stable. He stepped out to see King galloping wildly into the courtyard, and Bastien’s heart sank when he realized Thalia was not in the saddle.

Racing forward, Bastien snagged King’s reins as people gathered around. Frightened, King reared, but Bastien was able to bring him under control. Kieran approached, and they quickly appraised King for injuries, finding none.

“Where’s Thalia?” Bastien shouted to the crowd, but everyone was bewildered. “Has anyone seen Thalia? Archer? The guards who went with them?”

No response.

Panic rose in Bastien’s chest as he handed King’s reins to a stable boy. Looking around the crowd of gathered soldiers, he pointed consecutively to six of them. “Saddle up now.”

In less than two minutes, Bastien and Kieran led a search party away from Clairmont and in the direction from which King had come.

Bastien urged Greta faster over hills, streams, and through the woods in the general direction Archer had said they’d be fishing. He prayed to the gods, calling on Veda personally, since she seemed most interested in his relationship with Thalia, begging that Thalia be found safe.

The men spread out, and Bastien slowed Greta to circle the area, but the grass was pristine. A shrill whistle had him wheeling around, and a soldier cried out he’d found tracks. Once again, they raced along the forest path until they broke into an open area. Bastien could see the edge of the cloak coming into view.

There’s no way Thalia would’ve left the protection voluntarily. Either she was removed forcibly, or she left her horse and wandered off in a different direction, which was unlikely.

“Bastien,” Kieran yelled, and he turned that way. Men on the ground, bloodied and unmoving.

Then Bastien saw the cloak ripple and shimmer, and to his surprise, Archer’s horse came trotting through. Archer was pitched forward in the saddle, barely hanging on. Kieran spun his horse alongside Archer’s mount and grabbed the reins just as Archer fell off.

Bastien jumped from Greta and ran to Archer’s side. He had a nasty laceration across his forehead that bled profusely. One of the soldiers hurried over with a cloth to press against the wound.

“Where’s Thalia?” Bastien demanded as he helped him sit up.

“Don’t know,” Archer slurred. “Attacked. Took Thalia.”

Bastien growled in frustration. “Why were you outside the cloak?”

“Tried. To. Follow,” Archer managed to say before passing out.

“Gods damn it,” Bastien bellowed as he rose, clenching his fists.

He swung back into Greta’s saddle, his eyes locking with Kieran’s. They shared an unspoken sentiment—it was not looking good. Thalia had been taken, and they had to assume Ferelith had orchestrated it.

Archer was going to be of no help, so with orders to the soldier attending Archer to stay behind, Bastien led the others through the cloak to search for their princess.