Chapter 30

Lia~

I jump into a nearby tree and scan the area. Henry gapes at me from the ground but I ignore him and spot a cave over the next hill. I jump out of the tree and gracefully land on my feet. Henry is still staring at me and I will admit it looks kind of funny. I let out a snicker and take his hand in mine, dragging him behind me, "There's a cave over the next hill and from the looks of it it's pretty concealed when looking from ground level so we'll hide out there until it's all clear." I roll my eyes at his stunned expression and start running with him right behind me.

Of course, my luck couldn't get any worse because I suddenly feel a cold breeze and a few droplets of moisture hitting my skin. I curse under my breath as the rain starts beating down on us, growing heavier by the second. We duck under branches and try to navigate through the dense forest. The rain is making it even harder to see where we're going and if this gets any worse we may have to run in wolf form just to get there in time.

I run towards a nearby set of side-by-side trees and use my momentum and speed to climb them. I spot the cave not far from us and jump down, shifting midair. I urge Henry to get on my back and after a moment of hesitation he does and I take off in the direction of the cave.

***

I wring the water from my hair as I evaluate our situation. We're stuck in a cave, off route, and without supplies, until goddess knows when because one look outside tells me that the storm isn't letting up anytime soon. I shiver slightly, but not because of the cold. I shiver because I have no idea where the rest of my team are and this not so minor setback means that it'll take us even longer to reach the docks. Henry keeps trying to run in the rain but every single time he realizes that a. He can't see anything and b. He'll die before he reaches home. We're too far from the next pack to get there safely and the rest of our team has all the supplies. I can't use my magic because of Henry and I can't link with any of them because something is blocking it from going through. I growl in frustration and punch the walls of the caves as I watch Henry run outside for probably the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. We are soaked to the bone, starving and stuck, "Henry will you stop that already!" My patience finally snaps and my screams echo off the walls of the cave. A piece of rock falls on my head and I rub the now tender spot, the elements are out for me today, huh. I catch a glint from the piece of rock and pick it up to get a closer look.

"What is it?" Henry peaks over my shoulder and shakes his hair out, soaking me even more. I growl at him as I wipe the water from my face and examine the rocks.

"I recognize these crystal patterns, although I'm having a hard time remembering the name. They mess with your cognitive functioning."

"So basically it makes you crazy?" Henry raises his brow and looks towards the cave ceilings, all lined with these crystals. I roll my eyes at his paranoia, although looking at the amount of them I'd say he's not far from the truth.

"Not exactly. They mess with your emotions and throw your logic off but you're not crazy. Well, not more than the usual anyway." I chuckle as he gives me an incredulous look. "Okay let's try to find something in these caves to build a fire with because temperatures are dropping fast." We walk deeper into the cave which is luckily just a deep tunnel and not a maze.

We eventually do find a few branches and even a dead tree rooted against the sides of the cave. Henry gathers them and tries to make a fire but fails miserably and complains that the wood is wet. I start laughing under my breath, which he obviously hears, "Oh please if you think you can make a fire then be my guest." I smirk at him and get closer to the wood while he turns away and looks for more supplies.

"Incendieți" (set fire). I whisper the words and the wood is instantly set aflame. Henry spins on his heels and stares at the fire with wide eyes while I give him a smug smile. We settle around the fire and try to warm ourselves up.

"I think we should take off these clothes." I shoot him a baffled look which then turns to anger. The nerve of this boy! Before I can attack he raises his hands in surrender, "What I meant was we should take off these wet clothes so that we can warm up faster and the clothes can dry too. Then we can use each other's body heat to stay warm." What he says makes sense but that doesn't mean I like the idea of being snuggled up to Henry half-naked. I look outside, the storm has gotten even worse and if it weren't for our higher body temperatures, we'd have died by now. I start peeling my wet clothes off and Henry does the same. In the dull light of the fire and the occasional flash of lightning, Henry actually looks really hot.

These crystals must be getting to me...

He's not really muscular, more toned kind of like a soccer player. He catches me staring at his toned arms and smirks, "Princess, my eyes are up here." I roll my eyes at him but blush at getting caught nonetheless.

"No thanks, I already have a mate." His smirk vanishes and is replaced by a solemn expression, probably remembering everything I told them about what Lucas did to me. I sit down next to the fire, enjoying the slow sensation of my body warming up.

"So I was thinking..." Henry comes to sit next to me. I don't look at him and he takes my silence as his cue to continue, "We have to do what's best for the kingdom, and let's face the facts here, Lia, that isn't Lucas. I think we should continue with our alliance. We rescue them, come back, and get married. I know that you want to rule with your mate but after what he did to you I'd say he's not worth your time and he definitely doesn't deserve the crown." I sniffle as tears flow down my cheeks. I never thought that my mate, the one I'm destined to be with, would do this to me. I never thought I'd have to choose between my mate and this guy I could barely stand a month ago and never did I think I'd actually be considering it.

I lean into Henry, craving his heat, and think about his proposal. He's right when he said that we have to do what's best for the kingdom and that means a king who knows how to rule, not a human who was just introduced to our species. I think back to the scene that's been running through my mind on repeat for the last few days, Lucas and that girl, or whatever she was, making out in front of me, not caring about my obvious pain. I think about everything I've been through and everything I learned the last few days, how my father sacrificed himself and was killed by the vampire king. I knew he died protecting me, that part my mother would never let me forget, but I never knew how. It's all too much to process and just thinking about it gives me a headache. "Hey, where did you go?" Henry's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Henry I-" he puts his finger on my lips, silencing me.

"You don't have to answer me love but remember, I would never hurt you the way he did and I could never betray my queen." He stares down at me and I see the crystals reflected in his eyes. He looks so handsome in the light.

"You're not seriously thinking that are you? It's the crystals, they're messing with your emotions! We have to get out of here now!" I ignore Raeya's protests as Henry lowers his face to mine. My eyes close involuntarily, awaiting his taste.

Lucas~

I scream out as the worse pain I've ever experienced envelopes my entire being. It feels like hot needles are stabbing my abdomen. I clench my teeth, trying to suppress another scream but it doesn't work.

"Lucas, what's wrong?" Cammie's alarmed voice breaks through the pain-induced haze. The pain suddenly stops and I sigh in relief. I look at her and she has a worried expression on her face.

Julia reaches out and lifts my shirt, exposing my stomach which now has an ugly purple bruise on it. I stare at it in shock and give everyone an alarmed and questioning look. Julia smirks and looks at me with malicious delight, "Looks like you're not the only one who cheated, little miss queen, got herself a piece of that too."