The King's Consort Ch. 06

Althea was already by her side with a hand to her back. "You shouldn't sit up, Caitlin, or you'll pass out again. Please, wait for the transfusion."

Caitlin's head spun and she knew the doctor was right, so she let the woman ease her back into the bed. Her limbs had grown cold, her fingers stiff. She caught Kalen's eyes and lowered her own. "I'm- sorry I asked." She took a breath, which caused her bruised breast and shoulder to ache, a reminder of her inane request. "I don't know what came over me."

Kalen's gaze did not leave her. "Althea, the courier is here. You should see to the delivery."

The doctor left the room without another word.

When they were alone, Caitlin drew the covers up over her head like a child, wishing it all wasn't so complicated as this. "Does my mom know?" she murmured beneath the blankets.

"No." Kalen's voice was closer. "Why are you hiding from me?"

She didn't answer for a moment, then shook her head, her admittance muffled by the sheets. "You're mad at me. I didn't- it slipped out but... I still meant it."

A weight pressed over her on the bed and the sheet drew away. She was face-to-face with Kalen, who didn't at all look as disappointed as he had before. Instead, his features were stretched with concern. "Caitlin... It can't be that way between us." He pressed a hand to her sternum gently. "I know you've come to accept all these facets of my nature, but you are in a delicate state."

"So I keep hearing." She turned her head away. "Sorry."

"I told you I cannot control myself." His hand drew up to her neck, stroking the soft hollow of her throat. "And I'm sorry, too. I should not have done what I did."

Caitlin turned her gaze to him, realizing he was serious. She reached up and thumbed his damaged cheek. "I wasn't... I didn't regret it. Any of it."

"Still. You must be careful with yourself. For our child." Kalen's hand slid down her curves and caressed the slight round of her belly. "I know it's been an incredibly difficult week, but we have to maintain this. At least until my father is gone." His face was within inches of hers as his gaze flickered to her pale lips. "Don't ask me to do that again, Caitlin. We will have lifetimes to discover each other if you just have patience. Three years will be gone before you know it, and by that time, you will be a Queen."

His proclamation allowed shame to settle over her heart, unable to forget the widow vampire's words. "I'm not all that 'queenly' though, am I?"

"It's best not to preoccupy your mind with the opinions of those who don't matter." He tapped her nose gently, an endearing gesture. "The doctor will administer the transfusions, then I want you to take an afternoon walk with Mia. Do you think you can manage?"

Caitlin glanced towards the covered window, realizing the late morning light was teasing its way through the curtains. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

He maintained his gaze on her, raising an eyebrow. "You're changing the subject."

"Fine, yes, I'll go." She smiled up at him weakly, distracting herself with the delicate curve of his lower lip. He drew in closer, reading her expression, and nearly caught his mouth with hers when the door opened and the doctor returned with a rolling IV stand and a bag of equipment.

Kalen sighed and left a gentle peck on her lips. "Remember what I said about the walk." He levered up and sat to her side, resting her arm on his lap for the transfusion.

Althea primed the tubes. "Are you ready, Caitlin? It's going to be just like before-" The doctor glance between her and the prince. "-painless."

*

After a late lunch with her mother and the farm-hand, she grudgingly summoned Mia to go on the walk Kalen had been so insistent about. The woman was of thin build, but taller than Caitlin, with long black hair wrapped tight in a severe ponytail. Mia did not bring up their first introduction, down in the master suite, and in fact, she hardly said anything at all, to Caitlin or otherwise.

A walk, huh? she thought, not sure what to do with herself. They could skirt the woods on the creek side, or visit her mother at her new farm, or she could have Lev saddle Alba and Caitlin could take a ride around the property, so long as Marianne didn't hear about it.

Instead, her feet carried her in a different direction, to the top of the hill.

The monument stood silent, as always, with the fresh bouquet of flowers already wilting under the summer sun. When she'd recovered from Gabriel's bunker, their bodies were already cremated, so she'd never seen them in death. Not that there had been a funeral for them. But at least they had this: a testament to their sacrifice. "Sara," she said to herself, sitting in front of the placards, running her hand over one frame, then the other. "Micah."

She'd taken them both for granted, and missed them all the more fiercely for it.

Micah, despite his godless heathen ways and no end of snark, was good at heart. Up until the very end, he'd stayed loyal to Kalen, and to her. He'd refused to divulge the mansion's whereabouts even under torture. Gabriel had promised to destroy all the 'sympathizers', including Marianne, Lev, Elliot, and even Caitlin once Kalen was caught and killed.

Micha had remained forever loyal.

Sara's death, though, was complicated. She'd been told by Gabriel that Sara was her brother. 'Half', he'd corrected when she'd asked, by way of their father, Abraham. She'd only had a handful of hours to come to terms before she lost him, too. He'd taken three bullets in an attempt to stop Gabriel from hurting her, straight to the heart. There was so much they should have said to each other, how much he should have told her before everything went to hell. But he'd never been a man of many words. If she knew nothing else about him, she knew that.

"I won't forget either of you," she whispered, not at all bothered by the silent presence of Mia. She plucked two daisies from the grass around her and set one on each of the placards. "It's all I've got right now. I'll refresh the flowers again, soon." Caitlin glanced up at the solemn monolith and knew it was as good a resting place as any.

She stood, using the building for support, and rubbed her stomach. "This kid is your nephew, Sara. I'll be more careful with myself, but I just wish..." Her throat hitched and she swallowed. "I wish that you'd told me sooner. You should have been here, with us."

A light breeze whipped over the field, disturbing the grass in waves. Caitlin was not the superstitious type but she could believe, just for a second, that it was Sara's way of answering her. She smiled into the breeze, closing her eyes and letting it tease its windy fingers through her hair. When she opened them, she looked out across the field.

At the edge of the wood, near the burbling stream, she saw a figure.

Caitlin thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and rubbed them, but when her hands came away, the figure was still there. She took a step forward, not entirely certain she was seeing things correctly. Perhaps it was the void, showing her what she wanted to see. Her feet carried her forward, faster and faster, until she was sprinting over the hill.

Mia followed, but did not protest as Kalen might have.

That figure, there at the edge of the woods, watched as she ran. Then he turned, melding into the shadows of the forest and disappeared from sight.

With a last burst of energy, she ran harder than she'd ever run. "Sara!!"

It was him, it had to be him. There was no way it could be anyone else. She'd recognized that hulking form, that bald, bald head of his, and that gait that belonged to no one else.

When she arrived at the vacant tree, there was no sign of her brother. "No." She put her hand to the spot where she'd seen him reclined, drenched in forest shadows. Caitlin searched the surrounding woods for any sign of him, body or spirit, and found nothing. Despite the fact that she was likely hallucinating, she wandered into the darkened forest, cataloguing every tree and shrub, searching for a form she might never see again.

Mia still followed after her.

Caitlin wandered deeper in, reaching one stretch of the burbling stream. There were no deer today, but she saw evidence of them, patches of trees rubbed raw and hoofprints all around. They, however, were not what she was searching for.

"Sara," she said again, her eyesight beginning to blur with tears.

The escorts steps were lighter than her own as she'd blazed a trail through the underbrush, reaching the bank of the stream. She swiped away the tears and kept her eyes sharp, no longer knowing exactly what she was looking for.

If it was him - an impossible notion - then he was long gone.

Mia finally spoke up, grabbing her arm gently. "We've got to go back."

Caitlin tore out of the escort's grip. "No, I saw him. He was right at the edge of the forest." She pointed at the tree-line. "I need to find him-"

"There are big cats out here." The woman's face was long in the jaw and stern. "It's too dangerous for you, especially in your state."

She wanted to stamp her foot against the hard earth and tell the woman off, but the shadows of the woods held an ominous danger she couldn't quite place. Even the birds were no longer trilling. Caitlin gave a great sigh and looked around one last time. "Fine." She didn't need to be told twice, trudging back the way they came, treading more carefully through the brambles.

When daylight hit her skin again, it did not banish the melancholy. "I didn't know you could actually talk," she said, turning back to the escort. "If I had-"

No one was behind her.

Only a moment ago, she thought she felt the woman following, and now... "Mia?" Nothing responded, so Caitlin stepped back further into the light. If it was a vampire that caught her, they would not risk exposing themselves to the sun. "Mia?!"

There was no answer and the birds began to trill again.

She had to get back and warn someone. Maybe they'd find Mia unharmed, but she assumed the worst. Caitlin ran back over the hill, her stomach jostling painfully with each step.

As soon as she threw the doors open, several vampire guards and a few human ones were already at the door, waiting for her. Most were faces she hadn't been introduced to, but one familiar one stuck out from the crowd. Elsie. "Where did you last see her?"

Caitlin saw the desperation in the vampire's eyes. "Where the creek turns, I-" She was about to admit everything when the vampire shot past her in a blur, straight into the sunlight without a care. A few of the humans followed the trail of smoke, sprinting at a much slower pace.

Marianne was there to usher her deeper into the house. "What happened, dear?"

Caitlin's body trembled all over and she couldn't get a word out with her teeth rattling so hard.

"Come and sit." Marianne led her to a divan in the hall. "You've had a fright and that's no good in your condition. Should I get the doctor?"

"No!" Caitlin shouted, then lowered her tone. "No. Please don't..."

"Okay." Marianne rubbed her back, sitting her down, then plopped next to her. "I'm sure Mia is fine. Elsie is already out there and I doubt anyone's going to get the better of her." When Caitlin didn't respond, she wrapped a heavy arm around her, squeezing her into a soft hug. "Everything's going to be alright. You'll see."

She couldn't imagine any instance where this situation would be 'alright'. If it was a vampire out there, they could have made quick work of Mia in the short time she'd been missing. They moved fast, too fast for humans to see and, though Mia was trained to fight them, she was still only human. "What if she doesn't come back? It's my fault, I ran into the woods because-" Caitlin glanced up at the portly matron, too stunned to grasp the image of her brother.

Marianne brushed the wind torn hair from Caitlin's face. "What did you see?"

"I-" Caitlin took a breath, then mouthed the word, not entirely trusting herself: 'Sara'.

The servant's eyes went wide, then troubled calculation came over them. "You're sure?"

"No," she said honestly, her chest still trembling from the exertion. "I mean, it couldn't be, right? I watched him die, Marianne. Maybe it's just the veil playing tricks on me... but I saw him, whether or not it was real."

Marianne looked down at her with concern, her face softening to something maternal, gentle. "Dear, it's not your fault. Elsie will find out what's happened. They were hired to protect you, and look, you've come back to us, safe and sound. That's all that matters."

"But Mia is still out there." Caitlin glanced to the open back door, where her mother stood silently, watching their conversation. She cleared her throat and broke from the servant's hug. Standing on shaking legs, she paced to the rear window.

The servant tried to wave her back to the divan. "You should rest."

Janice was two steps behind Caitlin. Two male vampires moved aside, giving her space to peer out across the field. Caitlin realized, with some amount of irony, that she'd asked Kalen to kill, she'd asked Nadia to kill, and yet, this human she didn't know, who'd barely made her acquaintance, was missing. If Mia died on her behalf, she would never forgive herself.

What a contradictory creature she was.

Kalen was sleeping, she knew, and she refused to go crying to him again. After everything they'd been through, this was something she had to let the guards handle. He'd hear about it, certainly, but he had larger problems that required a rested mind. Eamon, for one. The crown, another.

One of the two guards, a vampire of solid build and rich dark skin, separated from the other. His sharp green eyes met hers. "I am Zakari, head of the Shadow Company that the prince hired to keep you safe. I'd strongly advise you and your companions to remain in the master suite in the household until we can determine what we're dealing with. I'll have Richter escort you there and guard the door. We're going to recover Mia, dead or alive." He put a battle-scarred hand over his heart, a grim expression playing about his features.

His words hit Caitlin square in the gut, but she nodded, knowing it was the best course of action. "Right." She dipped her head as her mother and Marianne both urged her towards the stairs. Richter followed. He was a deceptively short man, with a shock of blonde hair and a wide build. But she saw the shadow energy eeking off him and knew he was as dangerous as the rest.

Downstairs, they tried to get her to sit but she wouldn't have it. Even the doctor, Lev, and Edmund occupied the long suite, with Richter at the door. None of them spoke, and Caitlin was grateful for it. Kalen was nearby, which made this temporary captivity bearable.

Janice was the first to break the tension. "Caitlin."

Caitlin didn't acknowledge her mother, just pacing, pacing.

"Honey."

Caitlin shook off the plea and kept pacing, hating herself for giving into her basest emotions and running after an image of her brother. He wasn't real. He'd been cremated with Micah. It had to be some other vampire with the ability to look like someone else.

One of Eamon's tricks, surely.

She nearly bumped into her mother in thought. Janice grabbed her shoulders, stopping her in place. "Caitlin, listen to me. Despite everything I've said, this? It's not your fault, honey. You don't control... them, alright? Whatever this is, they're going to handle it." Janice's sharp gaze met hers. "It's not your fault."

Caitlin's face crumpled as she swiped another set of tears away, mad at herself and embarrassed that she had an audience for this confrontation with her mother. "But I shouldn't have followed him in. It was my mistake-"

"Who?" The voice was not her mother's, but Kalen's.

There was a delayed moment where she hadn't felt his presence and suddenly, she did, its darkness filling the room, though no one else seemed to notice the ripple of darkness. "I'm-" She did her best not to glance at Marianne as she turned to face him. "I don't know, exactly. I thought I saw... Micah," Caitlin lied. "In the woods. He was watching me." She didn't know why she'd lied, but some inkling of her instincts told her not to tell the whole truth. He might know she was lying, but she didn't want to admit to seeing Sara, not in front of everyone.

His gaze darkened as he approached her. "Caitlin, I'm sorry." Kalen cupped her wet cheek. "I know their deaths were difficult for you. They really were good men, however, that wasn't Micah, whatever you saw out there. He's gone."

She sniffed again, pushing her cheek into his palm. "I know."

Kalen's other hand caressed her neck and his gaze only saw her for a long moment. She met his eye and her tears stopped. Caught like this in his concerned and gentle hold, she could feel the hurt fade, just a little. Nothing would ever replace Sara or Micah, but she could heal from it, even if she'd never see them again. And, by the look on Kalen's face, he was more than willing to help her do just that.

Richter's voice cut through their reunion. "Sir. They've recovered Mia."

Kalen's gaze lingered on her a moment longer, then he looked to the guard, pulling Caitlin to his chest in a gentle hold. He looked, though, as if he were listening intently to the goings on outside the room. "And the attacker?"

"Captured." Richter nodded.

A faint scream echoed through the house and Kalen stiffened around her. "Dr. Gray, there is a patient that needs your immediate assistance." He nodded to the doctor, who took the hint and rushed past Richter and into the hall. Kalen glanced to Janice, then panned over the motley assembly. "The rest of you, stay here until I deal with our uninvited 'guest'." He let Caitlin go and marched to the door.

She followed after, refusing to be cowed again. "I'm coming with you."

"No, Caitlin," he said without turning around, opening the door. "You're not."

Caitlin didn't let him run off and instead followed him into the hallway, where he whipped around to face her as if guarding her from the cell block door. She moved to pass him. "Yes, I am."

His arm caught her around the waist in a swift motion. "Do I have to lock you in your room again?" he murmured so close to her ears, it sent chills down her spine.

She turned her face to his, feeling the brush of his nose against her cheek. Her eyes closed as if she were going to kiss him, instead, she knocked her forehead to his. "If I am to be your Queen, I'm going to be by your side. I want to know who hurt Mia-" Her words were cut off by another scream from upstairs, where no-doubt the doctor was already doing her damndest to save the guard. They both looked up to the source of the sound, then she met his eye again. "They would have gotten me, too, if it weren't for her. I know it. Then what would you have done, o prince?"

Kalen froze as if stung, then released her. "I may have to destroy another vampire. Do you think you can handle seeing such brutality?"

Caitlin swallowed, then resolved herself to accepting whatever happened. "Yes."

"It's nothing like killing a human. It won't be easy, but Zakari's men have them contained, it just... takes much longer."

She met his hazel eyes. "I'm fine, Kalen."

His jaw clenched as he watched her, then he relinquished with a sigh. "Okay. Stay by me until I tell you otherwise. And if I tell you to go-"

"I'll go," she said in a small voice.

"Good." He kissed her on the forehead. "You know, your mother will likely kill me for putting you in this sort of danger."