I’d scrubbed him raw, but I could still smell their blood on his skin, could still see the fear in his eyes as it had pinned him to the forest floor. That look would haunt me, as would the defeat I’d felt through our bond, and the way he’d accepted death as he saw no other way. The creature had warped his mind, had reached into his soul and filled it with darkness, all because I’d been too late to save him from it.

Despite my mate’s reassurance that he was unscathed and it had been an unpredictable situation, the fact remained that I’d failed him. I could not have foreseen the future, there was no way I could have known their plan, but there could have been more preparation. I was a prince with unlimited resources, for Creators’ sake, I should have shielded him better, been more alert, hired more guards. There was no reason for him to ever feel fear or be in danger, not with me, not with our people. Safety and comfort were what I had promised him, and knowing I’d broken that trust would be a burden I’d carry with me always.

And I would do everything in my power to ensure it never happened again.

“I’m going downstairs to speak with the innkeeper,” I said, brushing my knuckles over his cheek. He looked up from his book. “I won’t be long, but don’t do anything too strenuous while I’m gone, alright? That includes building a blanket fort next to the fire.”

“Dammit.” He gave me an exaggerated pout. “There goes my afternoon. What about cartwheels in the hall?”

“Don’t pretend you weren’t thinking about it.”

He sniffed derisively and returned to reading, flipping the page. “Haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.”

With a laugh, I kissed his temple before leaving the room. Cee was pacing the hallway, and I called her over, requesting an update on Rathe and the scouts we’d sent ahead. There had been no word from the palace as of yet; however, there had been sightings of more reapers several towns over, seemingly docile, but we couldn’t be certain of that at a glance.

“Our best interrogators are on the job,” she assured me. Her face covering was lowered, so I saw the slight smirk twitch at the corner of her wide mouth. “I suspect you’ll know of their intentions before the evening is out.”

“Glad to hear it,” I said before excusing myself and heading downstairs. Thankfully, the inn was still as empty as it had been when we’d arrived last night. Either the owner had cleared the place out for the sake of our privacy, or it wasn’t a popular spot. I couldn’t tell, and I wouldn’t insult them by asking, though I found the latter hard to believe.