CHAPTER 4
K aelyn bit into the crunchy bread, and the sweet taste of garlic butter rolled across her taste buds. She groaned at the wonderful flavor. Seated across from her at the end of the long dining table, Saar raised an eyebrow, and his smile created that small dimple she so adored.
He chuckled, the familiar growl audible even above the cacophony of voices from the other warriors in the Grand Hall. “No need to waste pleasure on bread, little bear, when I can make you moan like that.”
She placed her hand over Saar’s, rubbing her fingertip over his middle finger in long, sensuous strokes. “Do you have something to feed me that tastes better?”
The fork he held in his other hand slipped from his grasp and clattered against his full plate of spaghetti. A bit of sauce splashed onto the worn wooden table. “Maybe we should return to our quarters where—”
Tense, heated voices rose above the din. Melissa stood at the Grand Hall’s entrance, her features strained. Quentin, one of the warriors, gripped her arm. She jerked away, breaking his grasp. “Where’s Saar? I need to speak to Saar.”
An eerie sense of foreboding sent a chill over Kaelyn’s arms.
Saar rose, and the bench scraped against the stone floor. “Melissa, what’s wrong?”
Others got up from their seats. All conversation ceased.
Melissa ran to Saar, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. She choked back a sob. “Anlon… Noeh…”
Saar’s brow furrowed. “What happened? Are they injured? Where are they?”
Anguish, cold and hard, tightened Melissa’s features.
Kaelyn ran her hands up Melissa’s arms. “No need to rush. Take a big breath.”
Melissa inhaled then let it out slowly. Her gaze flicked from Kaelyn to Saar and back again. “Something happened to my son…”
A collective gasp erupted from the crowd, quickly followed by raised, worried voices.
“Quiet!” Saar boomed, silencing everyone.
Kaelyn gripped Melissa’s hand. “Please tell us what happened.”
Melissa blinked several times, as if taking the time to collect her thoughts, then nodded. “Gaetan took Anlon with him to visit Rin. Somehow, my son…he crawled through the portal before Rin or Gaetan could stop him.”
“Where did he go?” Saar’s words came out terse, his mouth tightening into a scowl. The warrior in him emerged full force.
A tear slid down Melissa’s cheek, and she shook her head.
Kaelyn glanced at her mate. “Saar, you’re upsetting her. Please, let me do this.”
He studied her for a brief moment, worry lines etched around his eyes. Kaelyn ached for her strong, sensitive mate. She ran her hand down his arm, leaned in, and whispered, “Sometimes a softer touch is better.”
He exhaled. “You’re right. I’m just so worried.”
“As we all are.” Kaelyn returned her attention to Melissa and stroked her arm, trying to provide some kind of comfort to the distraught queen. “Please, continue.”
Melissa’s chin trembled, but determination glinted in her eyes. “Rin didn’t know where Anlon went. The coordinates were blank. Noeh,” she swallowed hard, “went after him to the last known coordinates. Gaetan followed, and Rin still searches. I’ve already lost one child to the Gossum, I can’t bear to lose another…”
Melissa stilled. The muscles in her entire body stiffened. A soft, garbled cry emerged from her lips. Eyes widened in terror, she slid to the cold stone floor in a pile of sand. Kaelyn gasped at the mound at her feet, staring at what used to be her queen.
After a brief, stunned silence and a few loud gasps, cries rose from the merchants and council members.
Warriors yelled and drew swords. The zing of metal against metal pinged loud in the room.
Kaelyn’s mind whirred. She was unable to process or make sense of it all.
“No!” Saar gripped the edge of the table and flung it against the wall. Plates shattered. Wood splintered. Spaghetti sauce, red and foreboding, left a long trail across the floor.
Dread snaked over Kaelyn’s spirit, teasing her with the promise of death. Fear pushed her into action. She brought her bear’s head whistle to her lips and blew. A shrill, piercing trill burst into the air.
Everyone stilled. All turned to face her.
Kaelyn met several of the warriors’ gazes. “Don’t panic. Calm yourselves.”
After a long moment, the tension in the room eased. Low and uncontrolled sobs lingered in the air.
Saar’s face was a mask of rage, his scar pulled tight against his features.
She placed her hand on his arm. “I sense you know something. Tell us.”
His deliberate gaze drew to meet hers. A tic pulsed in his jaw and tension lines formed around his eyes. “Noeh and Melissa were bound together. During childbirth Anlon lived, but Melissa died. Noeh saved her life by sharing his soul with her. Gaetan and I were the only ones who knew.”
“Oh, no. Does this mean…” Kaelyn couldn’t finish her words.
Saar’s mouth tightened, and his eyes glistened with a mixture of fury and anguish. “For Melissa to perish like this can only mean one thing. Noeh is dead.”
“No…”
“This can’t be!”
“We are doomed.”
“Alora, please help us,” someone wailed.
The warriors’ words filtered through the crowd. A heavy weight settled in the room, oppressive and unbearable.
Kaelyn straightened her back and lifted her chin. The warriors must have something to focus on, a purpose to channel their energy. Hope, they needed hope. She drew in a large breath and raised her voice. “Prince Anlon and Gaetan are out there. We must find them.”
A murmur of assent rippled through the crowd.
Saar gripped Kaelyn’s fingers and brought them to his lips for a gentle kiss. His eyes gleamed with appreciation. “Thank you. Your level head is what we need.”
Her heart swelled, an ache born of love for him.
Saar turned to the warriors. “Quentin, split the soldiers into groups and meet me in the Portal Navigation Center. Our prince and our haelen need us. We search until we find them or until the sun’s burning rays scorch our hides.”