Page 26 of The Forsaken Vampire

He continued to avoid my stare, plotting his next move now that he’d been caught.

“What’s the real reason you’re traveling to HeartHolme?”

He stared at the fireplace a moment longer before he rose out of his chair and came around the desk, speaking to me like an equal, not a ruler to an inferior. He always treated me this way, as someone who shared the crown rather than as a woman who’d only given him children. “That’s between Ian and me.”

My arms slid over my chest and my head cocked when he defied me. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” A foot taller than me and regal in his uniform, he was intimidating, even if he was my husband.

“And you expect me to accept that—”

“I can’t say, baby.”

“And I can’t accept that, Huntley.”

He stared me down.

I met that stare with my own hostility. “You asked me to rule in your stead. That means I should be privy to your plans. To deceive me means you’re either arrogant or—”

“I don’t want you to worry.” His voice dropped, turning soft the way it did when he made love to me or spoke to Harlow. “And I don’t want to worry our children either.”

My goal was to get his confession, but now that I had it, I didn’t want it. “What’s going on, Huntley?”

“Probably nothing—”

“Tell. Me.”

“I know you.” His blue eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “You’ll insist on coming with me, but you’re the only person I trust to protect Delacroix and our children in my absence or in the event of my demise.”

I missed the days when it was just the two of us, when we could travel to the island and risk our lives for dragons, when we could fight Necrosis atop burning buildings. But now, we had responsibilities greater than the two of us. We had a kingdom to protect with our lives—and we had our babies. “Huntley…I need to know.”

After a long stretch of silence, one spent testing the resolve in my eyes, he spoke. “Scouts spotted an unidentified black ship leaving our shores. Two yetis were slain in the valley halfway between the outpost and the Teeth without any other casualties.”

I let that information soak in for a moment because it was a lot to take in. “What are you suggesting?”

“That there may be something going on with the Teeth right under our noses.”

“Would they be that stupid after we granted them mercy?”

“We’ve taken their land and their source of food, so it’s possible.”

“Who was on the black ship?”

“I don’t know,” he said calmly. “There’s not enough information to piece together a scenario, but I think it should be investigated. All the events could be unrelated. Perhaps that ship got lost and turned right back around after it made it to shore. Perhaps the people who killed the yetis were the Teeth themselves. Or perhaps someone came to our land to speak with the Teeth about an alliance.”

My blood went cold at the thought.

“And perhaps they’re plotting to overthrow the throne and take all the lands for themselves—including our people.”

“How will you figure it out?”

“Ian and I will ask.”

“You’ll just show up on their doorstep and demand answers?” I asked incredulously.

“Not demand answers—but make threats.”

“Just the two of you? You’ll need an army.”