Page 36 of The Darkest Knight

Chapter Thirteen

Niall had not planned to return to the other realm. Convinced that their curses were impossible to break, both he and Padriag had decided it was best to return to the keep and live out the rest of their days, which with Meliot’s minions having overrun it, meant it could only a matter of days. For however long, at least they’d be in the familiar comfort of the home they’d known for hundreds of years.

It was only the strong sense of something being wrong that had brought him back. Tamara was in danger, and despite his decision, he could not allow harm to come to her. She’d put her life on hold, had worked tirelessly, and without his help, to free him.

Once materializing in Tristan’s castle, he raced up the stairs to where her bedchamber was. He prayed she was asleep, and once he could reassure himself she was safe, he would return to the other alter-realm knowing she was unharmed.

The door was closed, the sense of foreboding grew, and his hand shook when turning the knob. Rushing into the room, he took in the rumpled bed. A covering had been pulled halfway off, most of it pooled on the rug. Rushing into the bathroom, he pushed the door open and took in the empty room.

“Tamara,” he called out in a low tone, already knowing she would not respond.

Perhaps she’d waken and gone to eat, or ....

He moved to the bed leaned down hoping to get an idea of who had been there. Only her scent and that of lovemaking remained, but nothing else.

The window was wide open, the coolness of the room an obvious clue that that it had been like that for a long while.

“Niall. What happened?” Tristan and Gwen rushed into the room.

Gwen’s wide eyes met his. “Where’s my sister?”

Niall looked to Tristan for a beat before replying. “I have a feeling that Meliot had someone take her. I am fairly certain she was taken to the other realm.”

Gwen rushed about the room, obviously searching for any clue. Upon entering the bathroom, she cried out. “Oh my god!”

Both he and Tristan peered into the tight space. Gwen pointed at the mirror. “She was taken.”

She rushed to the night table and picked up what he knew to be some sort of communication device. “I’m calling Sabrina. They have to come back.”

Tristan took the phone from her hand. “Neither she nor Gavin can travel to the alter-world. There is no need to worry her at this point. They are to return sometime today are they not?

Gwen nodded, not seeming at all convinced not to make the call.

Tristan took his wife into his arms and kissed the top of her head, his gaze meeting Niall’s.

Niall turned to look at the open window. “I will return to Atlandia and recruit warriors to help with the rescue. I am sure the princesses will allow it. I will personally enlist Sterling’s help as well,” Niall said, referring to the princesses’ brother, who’d tamed a dragon.

Gwen’s tears were flowing freely down her face now. “Tamara is not prepared for this. She is not strong enough.”

“Your sister is the most powerful of the three of you.” Niall met Gwen’s astonished gaze. “I have seen her powers firsthand. Although she is not in control of them, I have no doubt when the time comes, she will harness her strength.”

Tristan’s frustration was evident by the tightening of his jaw. “All of this is our fault. We should have accepted fate and remained in the other realm.” His quiet words echoed what Niall had been thinking.

“I will not stop until Tamara is safe and back here with you.”

Gwen let out a shaky breath “With you as her knight, I am reassured. Thank you, Niall.”

Niall nodded, a knot forming in his throat. Her knight. For now he was, and he would save her no matter the cost.

“It is best I go. There is much to do.” Niall took a step back.

“God speed to you and the others,” Tristan told him.

“Liam will return with news.” He dematerialized, going back to the other realm.

It was late the next day when he’d finally been able to get permission to storm Meliot’s castle. Argo the head guard, had managed to convince the princesses earlier that morning reports had come from the village that several women had gone missing in the night.

Liam, Padriag, and Niall waited impatiently as the leader of the shifters briefed the large contingency of warriors, both men who shifted into wolf form and those whose primary body was an actual wolf. Since they spoke in a combination of strange howls and a language he didn’t understand, Niall could only decipher that they were divided into smaller groups and given an area where they’d enter the castle.