“I can’t go back to the palace.” I shook all over.

Ayen crossed the room to me and drew me into a bear hug, lifting me off the ground. His dark chocolate scent washed over me. I hugged him back. “Thank the gods you are alive.”

Tears streamed down my face. I hadn’t realized how much I missed them until that moment, with them in my house. Because there was a time the four of us were close, before my mom died and the king turned me into a slave.

Conell took me from his brother’s arms and held me to him as he spoke. As the oldest and the heir of the throne, he wasn’t as playful as his brothers. Something in the way he held me was comforting and caring. “I’m taking the throne. I will challenge my father publicly at the Harvest Ball. Those in this room are the only ones who know about this plan. However, Father is getting suspicious.”

“More like paranoid.” Elion pointed to Jonah. “DD told golden boy over there to increase security around his room. Too bad Father doesn’t know Jonah is a traitor.”

I glanced at Jonah and frowned. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. Elion took my bag from me and tossed it on the bed. “My big brothers brought food that is already prepared.”

I glanced at Conell and he gave me a ghost of a smile. “I picked something up in the market.”

Nodding, I allowed Elion to lead me down the hall to the dining room. Three baskets full of a variety of foods sat on the table. Fresh baked breads, fruits, cheese, and nuts were in two baskets. The third had a cooked dish of some kind.

“What is this?” I glanced to the guys, noting the way Jonah hung back at the archway between the living room and the dining room.

Conell pulled out a chair and motioned to it. “Sit and eat. This will get us by until we leave tomorrow. Once we get back to Kregon, you will have a cook and a lady’s maid.”

Shaking my head, I sat. “I can’t go back there.”

“You will be protected and wear a disguise. No one will recognize you until we are ready for them to.” Conell sat beside me and his brothers followed. As a true king, his tone said not to argue. Elion sat on the other side of me and Ayen took the seat across the table. Conell glanced around and said, “Where is Kieran?”

“Hunting,” Elion said.

“I’m here.” Kieran entered the room, his gaze meeting mine. “I smelled you guys and the guards.”

Breaking the eye contact, Kieran scanned the room, meeting each of the guys’ stares briefly. Then he took the seat next to Ayen.

Conell tapped his fingers on the table. It was something he’d always done when thinking and solving problems. “The plan has holes in it and I was hoping Tia could help fill them.” He met my gaze. “But that’s not the only reason we searched for you. I need to find Father’s journal.”

Yes, he did. “He documented everything in it.” I kept my voice low. Anger bubbled up as the memories of the first time I read the entry about how my mother really died.

Conell covered my hand on the table. “Do you know where it is?”

I swallowed and stared down at the table, studying the grains in the wood. I knew where the journal was, but I didn’t want to go back to the castle.

Jonah broke his silence from the archway. “The king destroyed his office and bedroom searching for the book. He claims someone had stolen it from him.”

All attention shifted to me. I sighed and sat back in the chair. “I took it, but I don’t have it here. It’s hidden, but Elion said he looked and it wasn’t there. Someone else must had overheard me tell him where it was.”

“My guess is one of the guards.” Conell let out a frustrated groan.

A sob broke in my throat. “I can’t go back there.”

Conell scooted his chair back, the legs scraping against the hardwood floors, then pulled my chair out and turned it so I fully faced him. He framed my face with his hands. His blue eyes darkened slightly. “I promise you, that bastard and his guards will not touch you again.”

“But without the journal as proof...”

The anger in Conell’s gaze melted away, replaced by compassion. “You don’t have to go searching for it. One of us will.” He released my face and lowered his hand to mine. “I can’t leave you here alone either. Especially since the guards were already here.”

Kieran growled. “Their suspicions are turning into obsessions.”

“Are the rumors still floating around?” Ayen asked.

I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes. Scanning the faces of his brothers, the vampire, and the wolf, a jolt of fear shoot through me. “What rumors?”

Kieran was the one to answer my question. “An anonymous tip came in that you aren’t dead. King Balsatra has offered a reward for your return.”

All the muscles in my body tensed and I was glad I was sitting down because I would have fallen. My body shook from the inside out.

Conell lifted me from my chair and held me against him. “We had to be sure we were the first to get to you. The guards believe I’m heading up the search. Jonah has become my personal guard. Together we kept the rumors from spreading too far and ensure Father believes our goals are the same as his.”

I glanced at Jonah and frowned. He walked toward me and I shrank back. I wasn’t sure I could trust him. He pushed me off a cliff and I almost drowned. Lowering his shoulders, he whirled around and stormed out the house.

I met each of their stares. “Why is he here?”

Conell eased me off his lap and stood. “To make amends. To ensure you never have to face my father again.”

I folded my arms over my chest and stared at the door. “I’m not ready to trust him.”

Fixing an intense stare on me, Conell leaned in and whispered, “Give him a chance to tell you his side of things. He’s proven more than once whose side he’s on.” Conell snapped his fingers then pointed at Elion, while speaking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Go with Jonah to set up the safe house and make sure it’s secure. Ayen, Kieran, Tia, and I will leave tomorrow morning.”

Like the king, Conell had a strength in his voice. When he gave a command, people scattered to do his bidding. His brothers included, only they moved at a much slower pace.

Elion closed the distance between us and kissed my cheek. “See you in a couple of days, Ash.”

My heart filled with belonging. And I knew my cheeks were red as cherries. Lifting my gaze, I met Jonah’s stare through the kitchen window. Longing and regret darkened his hazel depths. Maybe Conell and the others were right. I needed to hear Jonah out and make a fair assumption.

But it seemed it’d have to wait until we got settled at the safe house.

After a moment, Jonah broke the eye contact and moved out of my sight. An ache formed in my chest. I pursed my lips. We’d have to face each other soon. He would answer my questions.

Elion gave me a tight hug before he followed their guard out the door.

“You all right?” Kieran caressed my hand with an index finger.

“Yeah. You guys sure know how to turn someone’s world upside down.” I let out a nervous laugh, then added, “The real question is will I be all right when I have to finally face the king?”