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“The map says it’s faster to go through the Porcupine Mountains, not around them,” I argued.

I didn’t know where Luken had gotten the little car, but now he drove it down the highway, the trees getting taller and thicker on either side of the road. The strobe-light effect of the sunlight flashing through the gaps in the branches would have made me feel sick at one point. I guess the more vampire I got, the less prone to motion sickness I was.

“I know what the map says,” Luken replied in a tone of condescending patience. “But it will end up costing us more if we head through the mountains. Shifters aren’t known for their love of vampires, and going through the heart of their kingdom is going to get us in a lot of trouble.”

“If we filled up with gas before heading to the mountains, we could get through the pass in a few hours, rather than adding two more days onto our journey,” I said, slouching in my seat.

With his hands on the wheel, there wasn’t a lot I could do about this. Even if I threatened myself again, he wouldn’t budge. Would only say something like, “You really think that will get us there faster?” and give me one of his patented ‘I’m the smartest person in the whole world’ looks. Bastard. If it weren’t for the map showing us our position, I would have thought he was taking us back to the palace.

It was even more irritating when he gave me a smirk that made his mouth look oh-so-kissable. With a grunt of frustration, I turned my face to the window.

“The shifters will know we’re in their territory the moment we cross the border,” he said. “Your idea would work if they don’t put any barriers in our way. If they decide to let us go straight through. If everything goes perfectly. We can’t assume that. But Draven is half-vampire, too, and the shifters hate elves more than they hate vampires. So he’ll be taking an even longer route than we are.”

“You could at least tell me your plan,” I grumbled. “Why can’t you just talk to me and tell me what’s going on in your head?”

Luken hummed a thoughtful tune. “If you opened up the bond, I could share the plan with you more directly.”

“I don’t want you in my head,” I snapped back. “You have more control over the bond than I do. I don’t want to—”

I cut myself off.

Luken’s hands tightened on the wheel. We were just pulling into another town, this one even smaller than the last. There was one general goods store that boasted hunting gear and daily necessities, and a hand-painted sign that said overnight rooms were available. It looked sketchy as all hell. A two-story building with faded, weathered siding and an old-fashioned gas pump out front. It looked like something off the set of a horror movie.

“Why are you fighting our connection?” Luken asked. For the first time, I thought I heard frustration in his voice.

I glared at him. “Because I can’t trust you.”

His knuckles went white. For a moment, I thought he might say something, get angry at my lack of trust, something. Instead, he turned off the car. “We need to restock our supplies before we get moving again. We’ll spend the night here and get going in the morning. We’ll have to ditch the car, so only buy what you can carry.”

Surprise rippled through me. “We’re ditching the car?”

Luken nodded. “We’ll be in the wilds soon enough, and it will be a while before we can return to civilization.”

“See, this is one of those instances where it’d be a good thing if I knew what the plan was, so I could actually be ready for these things. Why are we ditching the car? What wilds are we going through? If we’re not going through the Porcupine Mountains, where are we going?” I fired the questions rapidly, one after the other.

“I’ll explain later. We can’t be too careful. There might be spies following us,” he said.

“Spies?” I yelped.

Luken unbuckled his seatbelt and shook his head. “I would have thought that being trained in the assassin’s coven would have prepared you better for missions like that. Always assume you’re being watched, Elara, whether it be by spies or the Gods themselves.”

He was out of the car before I could question him further. Infuriating man! He was so used to his word being obeyed without question that he was treating my questions like an inconvenience. I ground my teeth together. After driving all day, I had expected that we’d switch so I could drive, and keep going all night. Draven and the elves were getting ahead of us every minute we wasted.

My door opened, making me jump. Luken had rounded the car to open it for me. He offered me his hand, smiling.

He’d ditched his royal apparel at the honeymoon cottage. Now, he was dressed in a plain brown T-shirt that stretched across his chest. His dark wash blue jeans hugged his thighs and ass perfectly. With his hair pulled into a single braid down his back, he looked… well, like he was trying to be an ‘everyman’ existing in the kingdom. He’d even put in contacts that lessened the obvious glow of his eyes. He was far too handsome to ever be mistaken for an ordinary person.

But damn, did he look good. I thought he was beautiful in his fancy king’s clothes. But these plain, boring clothes seemed to highlight his ethereal presence even more.

I took his proffered hand, and he tugged me to my feet. He didn’t let go as we headed into the store. Instead, he twined his fingers through mine. A bored-looking orc stood behind the cash register. She straightened when she caught sight of us. Luken made a beeline for the desk, even though I thought we were going to look around first.

“We need a room for the night,” he said with an easy smile.

“Two rooms,” I corrected.

The orc sucked on one of the large lower tusks. “We only have one room available.”

“Is there anywhere else in town we might find accommodations?” I asked quickly, before Luken could say anything.

The orc nodded. “There’s a campground fifteen minutes toward the lake.”

“We don’t have any gear for camping, dear,” Luken said, giving me a winning smile. “We’ll take the room. Can you show us up right away? We’ll be back down later to buy some supplies for the road.”

The orc grinned at us. She kept shooting me, knowing looks that made me blush, but she didn’t seem to think it was odd at all. I wished I could tell her that I really wanted my own room, but causing a scene would only slow us down. Luken kept hold of my hand as we went up a pair of rickety stairs to a creaky hallway. The paint on the walls was fading, the carpet was practically non-existent, and the horror vibes were even worse.

“Here we are,” the orc said, unlocking the first door. “Here’s your key. You can come back down and pay when you’re done with your shopping.”

Luken nodded toward her in thanks as he led me inside. It was… nicer than I expected. At least, it looked clean, there were no obvious bloodstains, and the room was in better repair than the hallway or outside of the building.

The problem…

“I’m not sharing a bed with you,” I said. It was a double-sized mattress. If we were both in that bed, we’d have no choice but to be pressed up against each other.

“Oh?” Luken asked as he wandered around the space. “There’s only one bed, though.”

I pointed to a hard-looking chair tucked next to the desk, on which an old TV sat. “You can sleep in the chair.”

Luken pulled it out and settled into it. He made a face of exaggerated discomfort as he moved about one way, then the other. “Hmmm. I’m not sure. It’s not very comfortable. I don’t even think…” He stood and sighed dramatically. “There, you see? There isn’t even a cushion. I won’t get any sleep on that.”

I folded my arms as I rounded the bed, trying to decide exactly how much space was available. “Then you can sleep on the floor.”

“Ah, the floor.” Luken nodded, but I knew better than to think that was the end of the conversation. He stalked toward me with slow, deliberate movements. I narrowed my eyes as he came closer. When there was less than a foot between us, he cupped my face with his hand. “Oh, Elara. I didn’t think you were cruel.”

“Cruel?” I spluttered, distracted by the length of his lashes around his eyes. He had such beautiful eyelashes, long, thick, and slightly curled. He had the type of lashes that mascara companies caked on their models.

“To deprive me of my beauty rest,” Luken said, pulling his mouth into an exaggerated pout. “It takes a lot of sleep to look this good. If I don’t get a proper night’s rest, I’ll have giant bags under my eyes. My skin will look like oatmeal. And don’t even ask me about my hair! You won’t make me look like an old hag, will you?”

“That’s sexist,” I said, heart stuttering as he moved closer.

Luken laughed. “What is?”

“Hag evokes images of women specifically, who are viewed as having less worth because of their age and looks,” I answered, unable to tear my eyes from his lips.

“My mistake. How about old geezer?”

“That’s ageist.”

Luken laughed as he stepped back. “Fair point. But the point stands. You won’t deny me the comfort of a mattress on my honeymoon, will you?”

“Bastard,” I groaned. But I was beat, and I knew it. Even though I knew he was exaggerating and faking, I couldn’t deny him a good night’s sleep. Even if it meant I wasn’t going to get any sleep. “But nothing is going to happen. Honeymoon or not.”

He sobered as he nodded. “Let’s stock up on our supplies, shall we? We’ll need to get moving first thing in the morning.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” I remarked dryly.

I tried not to think about the one-bed situation while we shopped. I found a good hiking pack that was perfect for my size and bought an extra set of clothes as well as preserved food to last for several days. At one point, I saw Luken talking with the orc in a low voice. It was only then that it occurred to me that either this was another waypoint for him or this orc lived under a rock. My face had been plastered all over the news for weeks now, and as for Luken? His profile was on our coins, for crying out loud! How could anyone not recognize us?

That night, I only took off my shoes before climbing into bed. My heart skipped and hammered as Luken climbed in the other side. The mattress sagged with his weight, pulling me toward him. I lay on my side, my back to him. Part of me wanted to roll over. Maybe I should fuck him, as a thanks for going after Darcie and Thessa after all. My body grew hot when I imagined it. I closed my eyes, remembering the night when we made love together in his bed.

But it wouldn’t be the same tonight. That night, when I held him in my arms, I felt safe. Fully, wholly safe.

I didn’t feel safe with him anymore. I couldn’t trust him. Which meant that we could only fuck. There’d be no lovemaking tonight.

Luken shifted in the bed, and my nerves strung out, sensing his every movement. I expected him to put his hand on my hips and press his lips to my neck. My skin tingled in anticipation.

“Goodnight,” was all he said. From the way his voice sounded, I knew he was facing away from me.”

“Goodnight,” I whispered, fighting down my disappointment.

***

A commotion outside woke me up. It was still dark, but Luken was near the window. A silver glow lit up his profile as he shifted the curtain away from the window and stared out.

I pushed myself up, shaking my head to wake myself up. “What’s happening? Is it Draven?”

“Worse. They’re my guards,” he said, letting the curtain fall shut. “Fucking hell. I told Marissa to cover our absence.”

“What’s going on?” I jumped out of bed and pulled on my shoes. “What are they doing?”

Luken strode to where our packs were and picked them both up on one hand. “Just telling everyone that the king and queen are missing, and they have to search their homes. Fuck!”

A heavy knock came on the door. Luken sighed and turned on the light. “Leave the talking to me.”

He strode to the door and opened it. A heavily armored guard stepped through the door, whatever he was going to say turning to a shocked cry.

“Your Majesty,” he said, starting to drop to one knee.

Luken grabbed the guard’s collar and yanked him inside, shutting the door behind him. “Silence.”

The guard’s eyes widened, but he closed his mouth.

“My bride and I are not missing. We’ve decided to go on a secret honeymoon,” he hissed. “And you will not disturb us. In fact, we aren’t the king and queen. We’re just a couple of peasants. We are on no notice.”

As he spoke, he lifted his hand. A silver light glowed around his fingertips and went straight into the guard’s eyes. He blinked a couple of times before a blank look came over his face. He nodded once. Luken released him and stepped back.

The guard shook his head, and the blankness disappeared from his eyes. When he looked at us again, there was no sign of recognition.

“I apologize for disturbing you,” he said rotely. “The King and Queen are on their honeymoon, and we’re simply doing a security check.”

“Excellent,” Luken said, waving his head toward the guard again. “Share that with the other guards before they start a riot.”

The guard nodded stiffly, turned on his heel, and marched away. Luken shouldered his pack and mine and glanced back at me. “Shall we?”

“What was that?” I demanded, remaining rooted to the spot.

“They swore an oath to me, and as such, I can use my magic to compel them to do what I wish,” he answered nonchalantly.

I swallowed hard. “Can you only do it to people who have sworn an oath?”

“Those who are oath-sworn or have weak minds,” Luken answered.

“Have you done that to me?”

The mirth in his gaze darkened. “Never, Elara. You have sworn no oath, and you are anything but weak-minded.”

“But I have sworn an oath. I married you. Our wedding vows…” I trailed off, shivering.

Luken stepped closer. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t do that to you, Elara. Never to you.”

Maybe it was stupid of me, but I believed him. I took my backpack and slipped it onto my shoulders as he led me downstairs. We encountered a few more guards, but they all had that same blank look in their eyes before ignoring us. It was as though we’d become invisible to them.

The orc met us at the car and passed something to Luken. He tucked it into his pocket and slid into the car. I followed him.

“What did she give you?” I asked as he started the vehicle.

“Fake IDs,” Luken answered. “We’re going to need them.”