The Journal Keeper (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (29 page)

“No. You don’t get to give me the speech, okay? I don’t want to hear it. I’m sick of being locked in that room while you and Nikolas play he-warriors. I don’t care if the shooter is after me or not, the two of you have been working yourselves crazy, and it’s going to stop now. The two of you cannot control the fate of the world,” Rianne insisted, tears in her eyes.

“We’re not trying to control the fate of the world. We’re just trying to keep you safe,” Dorin murmured, his thumb catching a tear as it escaped.

“What good is being safe when it means me being locked away?” Rianne argued as more tears followed the first.

“
Danalya
, please don’t cry,” Dorin groaned, leaning in to nuzzle her damp cheek.

“I can’t help it. I miss you. Do you realize this is the longest conversation we’ve had in almost a week?” Rianne asked.

“We’ve been neglecting you,” Dorin sighed, realizing this was the crux of the problem.

“I haven’t been out of that room all week. I’m going crazy, Dorin. I swear I am,” Rianne whispered frantically, her wide eyes staring up at him.

“Shh. You’re not going crazy.” Dorin moved her head back against his chest.

The way her body trembled as she clutched his shirt told him more than words ever could. He and Nikolas had done a poor job of taking care of her, something that was going to have to change if they wanted to keep her with them.

“Why don’t we go down to the kitchen? I’m sure Cook would be willing to whip us up something for dinner,” Dorin offered gently.

“You’ll stay?” Rianne asked, the hesitant hope in her voice cutting through him like a knife.

“I’ll stay,” Dorin promised before leading her back down the hallway.

As they passed the guard she’d hurt, Rianne blushed and mumbled a quiet apology.

“It’s all right, my lady. I’m sure the Healer will have me back to rights in no time,” the guard waved her off.

She gave him a tentative smile as she allowed Dorin to pull her along, her hand clutching his larger one. Dorin wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to his side as they made their way down the staircase, his hand tangled in her hair. A pair of guards stood at the bottom, and both looked up to watch their descent.

“Will the two of you accompany Rianne to the kitchen?” Dorin asked, wanting to go find Nikolas.

“What? But you said—” Rianne started, but Dorin quickly eased her hurt.

“I’m going to find Nikolas. I’ll be right behind you,” Dorin assured her, stroking his fingers through her hair soothingly.

She didn’t look as though she believed him, but she went with the guards toward the kitchen without complaint. Dorin waited until they turned the corner before setting off for the lists. Nikolas had spent his days training until he was near collapse, determined to be ready if the traitor ever showed himself again.

Dorin walked into the lists to find Nikolas battling six guards at once and clearly winning. The scowl that had been permanently etched on his face since they had returned from the hut twitched in anger as another wolf fell under his sword.

“Get up and fight me, you weakling,” Nikolas snarled, slashing at the wolf who had fallen.

“Nikolas. Stop,” Dorin called, hurrying onto the field.

“Go away, Dorin. I’m training,” Nikolas snapped, ignoring him.

“Not today. You’re taking a break. It appears as though your men need it,” Dorin insisted, moving to take Nikolas’s sword from him.

In an unexpected move, Nikolas turned the sword on his longtime friend.

“Back off.” Nikolas growled, pressing the tip of the sword to Dorin’s throat.

Other guards rushed forward, swords raised to protect their prince, but Dorin waved them off.

“Stop this, Nik. You need to come with me,” Dorin persisted.

“Not until I’ve finished my training,” Nikolas argued.

“It’s Rianne,” Dorin said, knowing Nikolas wouldn’t be able to resist the pull of their mate.

All the color drained from the warrior’s face and he swayed on his feet, his sword falling by his side.

“What’s happened? Is she hurt? Where is she?” Nikolas asked frantically.

“Come with me,” Dorin said by way of an answer.

He led Nikolas back inside, extending his legs to keep up with the large polar. They passed the two guards who had accompanied Rianne to the kitchen, and Dorin nodded in thanks as he ushered Nikolas down the hall.

“Is she hurt?” Nikolas asked, his voice impossibly small.

“Not that I could tell, though she may have injured her hand,” Dorin mused, remembering the broken nose, bruised eye, and busted lip on the three members of the Guard.

“What happened?” Nikolas pressed.

“We’ll talk once we get there,” Dorin assured him, turning toward the kitchen.

They entered the warm room to find Rianne sitting at a small table, a bowl of soup and a cup of tea in front of her. She was stirring the soup absently, obviously not interested in eating it. She looked up when they came in and was instantly hurrying toward them.

“You came,” Rianne said with a small smile.

“I told you I would,” Dorin murmured, kissing her sweetly before handing her to Nikolas.

As soon as she was in his arms, the big polar bear began to run his hands over her body, checking for any signs of injury. When he found none, he crushed her to his chest, his entire body trembling as he pressed his face into her neck.

“I thought you’d been taken from us.” Nikolas groaned desperately.

Rianne wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight as Nikolas fought against the demons that plagued him. The servants working in the kitchen politely looked away when Dorin glanced around the room, going about their chores as if the strongest warrior in the Guard were not close to tears at the thought of losing his mate.

“Come sit with me,” Rianne urged, pulling him toward the table.

Dorin followed behind, choosing to sit across from them rather than beside him. He watched as Nikolas clutched Rianne to him, her positioned in his lap as she turned back to her bowl of soup. Relief flowed through him as she began to eat, obviously content now that the three of them were together. One of Nikolas’s hands rested on her lower back while the other wrapped around her waist, effectively caging her in, but Dorin saw how happy she was at the close contact. They really had been neglecting her the past few days, and Dorin knew they couldn’t afford to do so again, no matter what danger lay out there. Nothing was worth making Rianne unhappy.

“What happened to your hands?” Nikolas asked, lifting one of her bloody hands in his.

“I punched a few of the guards.” Rianne shrugged, though a blush stole across her cheeks.

“You
what
? Why would you punch my men?” Nikolas asked, his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“They wouldn’t let me through,” Rianne grumbled, setting down her bowl.

“They aren’t supposed to,” Nikolas told her.

Dorin could see they were about to get into an argument over whether or not Rianne should be kept inside their chambers and quickly stepped in.

“Nik, we need to talk about keeping Rianne locked up,” Dorin said.

“What are you talking about?” Nikolas frowned at him.

“It’s not fair to leave her locked up in our rooms for days on end while we’re out searching for this traitor,” Dorin explained.

“So you think we should just let her wander the castle and wait for this bastard to take her?” Nikolas growled, setting Rianne in the seat beside him and standing to face Dorin.

“No, of course not. I’m saying we can’t expect her to stay in those rooms for days at a time. She needs to be able to get out, and if you’re unwilling to let the guards accompany her, we need to do it,” Dorin persisted.

“I am not a dog,” Rianne bit out, glaring between the two of them.

Both looked at her as though she was crazy, but she simply continued to glare at them from her seat.

“I do not need one of you to take me outside to pee on a tree, nor do I need you to play fetch with me so I can get some exercise. I am a grown woman, damn it. I can look out for myself,” Rianne insisted, banging a fist on the table.

“And how do you expect to protect yourself from a bullet?” Nikolas asked.

“How do you expect to protect me from a bullet?” Rianne shot back.

“By putting myself in front of you,” Nikolas told her with a slight snarl.

Rianne’s jaw went slack, and she stared up at him in what Dorin recognized as uncensored terror.

“You can’t do that!” Rianne shouted, jumping up from her seat.

“I’ll do whatever I damn well want to,” Nikolas argued.

“Damn it, no, you can’t! I will not let you die for me!” Rianne cried, beating her fists against his chest.

Dorin quickly moved around the table, taking Rianne in his arms in an effort to calm her.

“NO! You are not going to let this bastard kill you!” Rianne screamed at Nikolas.

“I will if it means you’re safe,” Nikolas said calmly.

“Nikolas,” Dorin snapped, knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

Rianne went limp in his arms, staring up at Nikolas in a way that made the larger man’s face pale.

“Don’t you ever touch me again,” Rianne whispered in a voice so grave, Dorin knew she meant it.

“Rianne—” Nikolas started, but it was too late.

Rianne ripped out of Dorin’s arms and stormed from the room, slamming the kitchen door behind her. Nikolas stared at the door as if waiting for her to walk back through and tell him she had been teasing.

“Damn it, Nik, you really did it this time,” Dorin sighed wearily, sinking into a nearby chair.

“Are you telling me you wouldn’t step in front of a bullet for her?” Nikolas asked with a glare.

“Of course I would, but I would never tell her that,” Dorin scoffed.

“Why not?” Nikolas pressed, obviously curious about his answer.

“Just as we can’t imagine a life without her, she can no longer imagine a life without us. Imagine how you would feel if she stepped in front of a sword for you,” Dorin reasoned.

“I would die,” Nikolas declared, his hands shaking at the thought.

“That, my friend, is exactly how she feels,” Dorin said, patting Nikolas on the shoulder.

Nikolas sat with his head in his hands for some time, coming to grips with the truth of the matter before he was able to look Dorin in the eye.

“We need to go after her,” Nikolas said.

“Probably,” Dorin agreed with a wry grin.

The two rose from their seats and left the kitchen together. There was no need to speak as they made their way up to the rooms they shared with Rianne. They both understood what would happen once they arrived. It had been too long since they had made love to their mate and neither was willing to wait another moment longer.

The two guards positioned outside their rooms nodded to them as they walked inside. Instantly, Dorin saw where Rianne was seated by the window, arms wrapped around her knees as she looked outside. His first thought was terror that she was making herself too easy a target. His second was that she looked absolutely gorgeous sitting in the slowly fading sun, the pale light creating a halo around her rich, brown hair, a robe the only thing covering her delicious skin. A low rumble came from his chest as he walked across the floor while Nikolas took care of the door. Rianne looked up as soon as the door snapped closed, her eyes instantly narrowing as they focused on him.

“Go away, Dorin. I don’t want to see you,” Rianne grumbled, turning her head away from him.

“Too bad,
danalya
. You’ll not get rid of us,” Dorin warned, slowly stalking forward.

“Well, if you won’t leave, I will,” Rianne snapped, jumping from her place by the window and moving to march past him.

His arm reached out in front of her and wrapped around her waist, pulling and twisting her against his chest. He held her captive there, despite her wriggling attempts to escape. Her arms were trapped underneath both of his, keeping her completely pinned against his chest.

“Let me go!” Rianne shouted, fighting against him.

“Never,” Dorin vowed, burying his face in her neck.

Nikolas walked around them, his face hard as stone as he moved to stand in front of her. Dorin almost staggered back when she lifted her feet to kick at Nikolas, but the polar quickly grabbed her legs and together they wrestled her onto the bed, but she used the momentum to bounce back up, hands curled into claws as she attempted to fight her way through them.

“Stop, Rianne,” Nikolas commanded, grabbing her wrists to keep her still.

“No! Let me go,” Rianne yelled, struggling against him.

“CEASE!” Nikolas roared, instantly stilling her.

It was then that Dorin noticed the tears filling her eyes. Nikolas noticed as well and quickly released her.

“Rianne,” Dorin murmured, slowly moving to join her on the large bed.

“It’s not fair. I hate you. I hate you,” Rianne sobbed, falling against his chest.

“No, you don’t,
danalya
,” Dorin hushed, rocking her.

“I do. You’ve made me feel this way. It’s all your fault,” Rianne accused.

“It will be okay, Rianne. Nothing will happen to any of us. You don’t have to worry about Nikolas jumping in front of a bullet because the shooter isn’t going to get another chance. We’re all going to survive this and grow to be extremely old with lots of children and grandchildren,” Dorin promised her.

Nikolas slid onto the other side of them, his hand hesitantly reaching out to stroke Rianne’s hair. With a muffled cry, Rianne launched out of Dorin’s arms and into Nikolas’s, clutching him tightly.

“You can’t die,” Rianne insisted tearfully.

“I won’t,” Nikolas whispered into her hair.

“Promise,” Rianne demanded.

“I promise,
capora
,” Nikolas sighed, rubbing his cheeks against the top of her head.

“You, too,” Rianne muttered, looking back at Dorin.

“I promise, Rianne,” Dorin vowed, laying a hand on her bent knee.

He watched as she snuggled farther into Nikolas’s hold, laying her head on his shoulder. Her exhaustion was palpable, and Dorin realized just what kind of effect the journal and her isolation had had on her in the past week. He would need to talk to Carme about how Rianne had handled having her freedom restricted, knowing the fox would have seen more changes than he and Nikolas. The thought brought home to him just how distant he and Nikolas had become over the past week that neither one could say how Rianne had been handling the changes around the castle. He shouldn’t have to go to Carme. He should know how his mate felt at all times, should know her inside and out. He realized he and Nikolas would need to change their priorities if they wanted to make their mate happy.