Chapter Ten
Indulf
It still went against his nature to allow Warmund anywhere near Anna, but if they had a chance to resolve this without more violence… well, he had to take it. Not that he was merely going to give into Warmund’s demands. But perhaps he would be able to get through to Warmund. Maybe they could resolve this before things got even worse.
And so, they were meeting on neutral ground. A small tent was erected in the center of the field, open for both sides to be able to see what was going on inside, and an invitation to Warmund to meet them there was sent to the other camp.
He stood next to Anna, half an eye on her as she sat wringing her hands. He wasn’t concerned that she was going to try anything, but he wasn’t certain what to expect, really. For all he knew, guilt could cause her to suddenly try to run to the other side. Although he doubted it, it was a possibility. He stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder to reassure himself. She glanced up at him with a smile, which made his tense shoulders relax.
“You aren’t going with him,” he murmured, more to himself than to her.
Anna gave him a brief smile before turning forward once more. The delegation from Warmund’s camp was approaching. Two large dragons were with him. Though Indulf couldn’t be sure from this distance, they appeared to be two of his uncles.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered to Anna once more. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know.”
She spoke with such confidence that it actually surprised him. He glanced down at her once more, and she gave him another smile, this one lasting longer. His stomach did a strange sort of squeezing thing. It was one thing to know that he had to keep her safe since this whole thing was partially his fault… another thing entirely to know that she trusted him that much. He swallowed hard, even as his facial muscles reacted with a smile of his own.
It had been a long time since he had felt this way about someone. This protective. Like he’d be willing to fight a volcano for her. But that was just because she had no real clue as to what she was getting herself into… wasn’t it?
Warmund’s party was closer now. Indulf tried to bar all emotion from his face, but his heart stuttered when he saw his son limping. For the briefest moment, he was struck by the urge to go to him, help him to the tent. He had even taken half a step forward before Volcant, standing next to him, cleared his throat.
Indulf stilled and forced his expression smooth. He was right to see that two of his uncles had accompanied Warmund. He couldn’t remember their names; his grandfather had been notoriously unfaithful to his mate and had many, many children. These two glared at Indulf, but he didn’t return the look with hostility.
His stomach twisted again, but in a completely different manner than before. His own father hadn’t been as bad as his grandfather—his parents had loved each other dearly, but he had many brothers and sisters who were older than him. And none of them had been treated with respect. As king himself, Indulf tried to be good to them, but there were deeper hurts there, ones he couldn't understand.
Warmund sank into a chair across from Anna, ignoring Indulf entirely. “Thank you for coming to see me, Miss Anna.”
If he was going to ignore his father, then so be it. Indulf put a hand on the back of Anna’s chair, to show them all she was under his protection, but didn’t speak.
Anna shifted, clearly uncomfortable, but smiled. “Well… I don’t want people fighting over me. What did you want to see me about? Not to put leeches on me, please. That’s so gross.”
Warmund actually rolled his eyes. “No. I was going to ask you about where you’re from and what you were doing before you came through the portal.”
“She didn’t come on—” Indulf cut off as Anna gave him a black glare.
“I can answer myself, you know.”
Indulf frowned at her, not liking her talking back like that in front of Warmund and his uncles, but he grudgingly nodded. She wasn’t going to back down once she got that look in her eye. He knew very well, from the hours he had spent arguing with her about this meeting taking place at all. She turned back to Warmund, whose brows rose as he glanced between them.
Their eyes met, and Warmund’s face darkened in anger before he focused on Anna again. “Can you tell me what you were doing?”
Anna nodded. She began talking, explaining what she had told Indulf before. He still struggled to understand what exactly she meant. His uncles looked just as confused, but Warmund’s expression of intense concentration made him wonder if his son knew something more. Even though confusion flitted across his face at times, he would ask for clarification and move onto the next thing.
Eventually, he leaned forward, his eyes locked on her. “And this device?”
He held out something that was pink and black. Anna gasped and grabbed it from him. “My cellphone! Where did you get this?”
“It fell out of your pocket the day you… arrived. It reminded me of this.” He pulled something else from a bag at his side. This was a blocky black thing oddly shaped and just right to fit in someone’s palm.
Anna picked it up. “That’s a walky-talky. A radio… Where did you get this?”
“It was left behind by the people who stole my sister. We managed to capture one of them at that time, and they claimed to have unlocked time-travel.”
Indulf spoke before he could stop himself. “What are you doing with that? It was meant to be destroyed a thousand years ago!”
Anna flinched, though from his tone or words, he didn’t know. He didn’t spare the brainpower to process it, either. He glowered at the black device. It was in much shabbier condition than it had been when he last saw it. A walky-talky? He didn’t care what cutsie name it was given, Warmund had no right to disobey his command and save the device.
He opened his mouth once more to demand his son answer his question, but Warmund spoke before he could.
“I’m not here to answer your questions, your Grace,” he spat.
Indulf snarled, his flames growing hotter.
Anna grabbed his arm and shook her head. He closed his jaws with a snap, glaring at her now. She glared right back, then turned to Warmund.
“This looks like it’s from, like, the nineties,” she said. “So, the question is, did these assassins open the time portals to the future and then come back, or were they from the future in the first place?”
Warmund leaned forward, grimaced and hissed with pain, then spoke. “I don’t have answers. I was hoping to learn more from you. Teleportation magic is possible if a lot of mages work together, but time travel is something else. It’s been theorized for years, but there are no cases where time travel has been proven. At least, not according to some standards.”
He sent a glare at Indulf, who rolled his eyes. “Time is a river. We can’t paddle upstream.”
“We could with the right equipment,” Warmund snapped.
Anna rose her hands. “But what if it’s not a river? What if it’s not linear at all. In my world, the Maya believed that time was circular. In Doctor Who, they have this thing about time being all jumbled up together like, I don’t know, just this ball of stuff. That’s how he time-travels. It might not be as clear-cut as you think.”
“Wait, you have time-travel in your world?” Warmund’s eyes lit up. “How does it work? What do your mages—”
“No, no, no!” Anna shook her head and waved her hands in the air. “Sorry, that’s not what I’m saying. Doctor Who isn’t real, it’s just a story. What I’m saying is that the very nature of time is debatable. And since our worlds are so different, we might even be from separate time streams. Maybe even different universes.”
Finally, he saw that Warmund had lost his ability to follow along. Or maybe he was simply not listening to Anna anymore. Devastation and despair glimmered in his eyes. Clearly, he had been hoping for something substantial that he could use. This was why clinging to the hope that Wildref was still alive was such a bad idea. It had already caused such obsession and despair. Now it was clear that this disappointment was going to drive Warmund even further away.
Indulf’s hands curled. It had been a bad idea to allow this. He shouldn't have let himself be swayed.
Warmund opened his mouth again, but Indulf didn’t let him speak. “This is over.”
He took Anna by the elbow and pulled her to her feet. The walky-talky in her hand made his stomach churn and he resisted the urge to seize the thing and smash it on the ground, then melt it with his fire. Anna made a small yelping noise of protest and Indulf released her arm, concerned he had hurt her. Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
“But we were making progress,” she protested.
“I’m not done asking questions,” Warmund said.
“Your questions will make no difference.” Indulf folded his arms and frowned at his son. His voice grew colder as he continued. “I am not going to hand Anna over to you and your foolish hopes, Warmund. Perhaps she is from the future, perhaps she is simply from another world. Either way, if my mages figure a way to open the portal again, she is simply going home. To keep balance.”
Warmund’s face dropped. He staggered to his feet—Indulf once more had to fight the urge to steady him—and glowered at his father. “If we have all the facts, if we could just get what we need, then this doesn’t need to continue. This,” he gestured at the field where already several bloody battles had been waged, “doesn’t need to happen again.”
“If you cared about this, if you cared to stop this rebellion that you started, then you would. You would hand yourself over to the throne. You would submit to justice for what you have done. No...” His throat constricted. “You never would have tried to kill me in the first place.”
Warmund flinched, sucking in a ragged breath. “I—”
“Warmund,” one of his uncles broke in. The voice was wheedling, soft and fatherly. “Do you really have anything to answer to such an accusation?”
“I will answer what I will answer,” he snapped back, sounding for all the world just like his father. Indulf would have smiled, if not for the cold rage on his face when he turned back to him. He stood straight and tall, every inch the prince he was, and growled. “If you will not yield, then we shall meet on the battlefield.”
Indulf didn’t respond to that. He took Anna’s hand, tucking it tightly into the crook of his arm, and walked away. Behind him, Volcant and the others fell in line. His fires burned, but he didn’t speak. Anna kept shooting him glances from the side of her eye, but she still didn’t speak. Not until they were back in his tent.
“Was that really necessary?” she asked, voice low.
Indulf stared at her for a long moment before he turned away. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand that you love your son, and he loves you. You’re both being idiots.”
Indulf glared at her.
Anna propped her hands on her hips. “Am I wrong?”
“Yes,” he snapped back, although he wasn’t sure how she was wrong. “You are. And as soon as it’s morning, I’m sending you back to the castle.”
Anna huffed as she flopped down among the furs. “Well, don’t expect me to be warming your bed tonight. You could have at least listened to him.”
Indulf didn’t answer. She didn’t understand. There was too much pain already. He couldn’t take more.