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The guard laughed. “How didyouget in here? Come on, kitty.” He picked the cat up and carried it to the door. As soon as he set it on the ground, the cat took off, running toward the gate. The guard straightened. “I guess he wanted to see what a castle looked like on the inside.”

The guard outside the door snorted. “If it comes back, kill it. You know what they say:Curiosity killed the cat. It should know what to expect, then.”

Eve said nothing but walked toward the road across the moat. When she reached the far side, she saw the cat sitting on top of one of the lions, curled up on its head.

She smiled. “Way to go, kitty cat.” She glanced back at the castle. Theron’s guards were pretty much like kitties too. Complacent, well-fed, relaxed—too relaxed, if they couldn’t detect that Aric was a shifter.

Score one for the good guys.

Eve picked him up, and Aric rubbed his head against her chin. “Come on, Aric. Let’s go find your mates. And mine.”

The sooner she put some distance between her and Theron, the better.

Then her thoughts went to Victor.

I hope he doesn’t stay here.

There were better forces to fight for, nobler wars to be won, and with people who would value him.

Chapter Thirteen

“DO YOUthink he’ll remember me?” Jake asked Nicholas. He’d been on tenterhooks all morning, ever since Horvan had told him Aelryn was on his way and Luciano Orsini was with him.

More than thirty years since we spoke.Orsini had been the last person Jake had seen before he’d been taken, and he’d burned their conversation into his memory, along with images of Miranda, of Dellan…. Anything to remind himself of who he was, what his life had been like.

I had no idea how long they’d keep me prisoner.Not that escape had been an option. He’d spotted way too many guns around for that.

Nicholas smiled. “You’re not an easy man to forget.” He studied Jake for a moment. “Want to tell me about it?”

He stiffened. “About what?” As if he didn’t know.

“You tossed and turned most of the night. One of the drawbacks of sharing a bed, I guess—you get to know when your partner’s sleep is disturbed.” Nicholas chuckled. “And it’s been far too long since I shared a bed with anyone. I’m not used to it.” His gaze met Jake’s. “Well?”

Jake sighed. “I had a bad dream, that’s all.”

Nicholas arched his eyebrows. “Only one?”

“There’s no hiding anything from you, is there?” Jake rested his head against the back of the small couch in the sitting room Richard had given over to the team. It had a cozy feel, with portraits of the Deveraux family that dated back hundreds of years on the wood-paneled walls.

Jake shook his head. “Did you know Richard can trace his family back to William the Conqueror?”

“And you’re avoiding the question.”

He let out another sigh. “It was the same dream, over and over again. I tried to wake myself up, only to slip right back into it.” He frowned. “I was standing in a long, darkened room. Suddenly I saw a light at the far end, and I moved toward it, only to have my way blocked.”

“Bywhat?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know!” Jake wrung his hands. “It was as if I’d runsmackinto an invisible wall. I could see that light, but I couldn’t reach it.” He gazed at Nicholas, his stomach churning. “What if it was some kind of prophetic dream? What if I keep having it because someone is trying to tell me I’m not meant to go any further?”

Nicholas said nothing for a moment, and Jake felt certain he was pondering how to tell him he was right. Then he smiled, and somehow that helped dissipate the waves of foreboding that had been with Jake since waking.

“I think a far more reasonable explanation is that whatever you’re hoping to find in Theron’s possession is on your mind, and you’re worried in case you can’t interpret it. You’ve built up our hopes to the point where even Aelryn is excited to learn what’s in there, and now you’re scared that either there’ll be nothing there, or what we do find is worthless.” He squeezed Jake’s hand. “Anyone in your position would feel the same way.”

Jake shuddered out a breath. “When you say it like that, you make it sound so plausible.” He smiled. “Are you always this sensible and level-headed?”

Nicholas laughed. “Around you? Yes. Maybe that’s why we fit so well.” He glanced over Jake’s shoulder. “And I think you have a visitor.”

Jake turned, and his heart pounded to see the face he’d remembered all these years.