The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (104 page)

“There you are!”

Wolf froze above her, his lips instantly stilling. Elisa’s eyes popped open to look into Wolf’s irritated ones. Pushing himself up and off her, he sat down next to where she lay. Elisa turned her head to see Logan standing in the doorway.

“How did you know I was here?” Wolf said in a tight voice. Elisa quickly sat up, straightening her clothes. Normally she would have been mortified, but the fact that it was just Logan who had walked in on them didn’t seem as bad.

“I guessed,” Logan answered, casually walking toward them.

“Lucky guess,” Wolf muttered.

“Thanks!” Logan sat down, letting out a tired sigh. “Man I’m beat. You two have no idea what just happened to me.”

“Whatever it was, I’m sure it could have waited until the morning,” Wolf replied.

Logan looked at him as though he was an idiot. “It is the morning.”

“I’m locking the door next time,” Wolf said, falling back onto the bed. He covered his eyes with his forearm and let out a tortured moan. Elisa absently patted his arm. She was actually interested in hearing what Logan had to say. He wouldn’t have searched for them if it wasn’t important.

“Ignore him,” she said to Logan. “What happened?”

“I was in Markus’ office with your dad, Jameson, Callum and Aiden,” he started. “We’re all there, looking over a map, when all of a sudden it’s like a tornado is
in
the room!”

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“Nothing he says ever makes sense,” Wolf piped in from under his arm. Logan sat up straighter, clearly excited about what he was saying.

“I’m deadly serious. All of a sudden there was wind blowing from all directions. Things were flying through the air; the chandeliers were falling to the ground. I mean, it was complete chaos!”

Wolf shifted so he was now looking at Logan. “You honestly expect us to believe that there was some sort of wind storm
inside
the palace? But only in the room
you
were in?”

“There are five other people who can attest to the same thing,” Logan defended. “Honestly, do you think I’d make something like this up?”

Wolf regarded him for a moment before seeming to accept it. “I guess not. You’re not that creative.”

“Exactly!”

“So what was it?” Elisa asked, getting back to the main topic.

“No idea,” he answered with a shrug.

Wolf flopped back down on his back. “Well that was anticlimactic,” he said, hiding his face again.

“It was a
wind
storm, Wolf! Strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Elisa looked down at Wolf as he rolled over, burying his face in her side. “Please make him leave,” he said, his voice muffled.

Logan smiled, wiggling on the bed to get more comfortable. “So, who’s hungry?”

CHAPTER THREE

Elisa trailed behind Wolf and Logan as they headed to the dining hall. Jameson had let everyone sleep four hours before sending around a wakeup call. She still felt groggy, but the small rest helped a little. It didn’t hurt that she had spent those hours sleeping in Wolf’s arms. She looked up at his tall, brawny figure and couldn’t help but smile. Being held by those muscled arms was even better than she’d imagined. Sure, she’d slept in them before, not too long ago either, but this was different. This time they were a real couple, and she could just enjoy it without worrying about sending the wrong message.

“Stop looking at my ass,” Wolf called out, without turning around. “I can feel your eyes burning me.”

She snorted. “Nice try,” she said just as her eyes drifted to said ass. It was definitely worth looking at she decided with a chuckle. Her thoughts trailed off to what she and Wolf had started last night before Logan interrupted them.

“Are you even listening to us?” Logan asked in an exasperated tone.

She blinked, focusing on the two of them. “Do I ever listen to you?” she replied, one eyebrow raised.

“Touché.”

The three of them reached the door to the dining hall. It was a large room, not quite as big as the ballroom, but still quite grand. Row upon rows of tables had been set up to accommodate all the people. Elisa guessed that the place looked significantly different when there weren’t so many soldiers staying in the palace. The walls were painted cream and gold, lending a calm feeling to the room. It looked entirely too fancy for the group of men eating in it. The space was packed full with both armies. She didn’t see any of the Sun People’s men, so she assumed they had separate eating quarters. There was a clear division between the north and the King’s army, but everyone seemed to be relaxed. She didn’t sense any tension between the men, simply an awkwardness and unfamiliarity with one another. She hoped this peace lasted. There was bound to be disagreements between the armies. She just hoped it never escalated to violence.

“She’s not listening again!” Logan complained.

Wolf chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist. “What are you thinking about that has you so distracted?” he whispered in her ear. Her face grew warm as she turned to look up at him with a small grin.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said back.

Both of his eyebrows rose, his eyes heating as they drifted down to her mouth and back up again, meeting her gaze. “I would, actually.” He pulled her closer. She felt her body relax against his, not even concerned that there was a room full of men probably watching them.

Logan’s voice crashed into her, destroying whatever tension was building between them. “What are you two whispering about?”

Wolf sighed, dropping his forehead to rest against hers. “It’s like we already have a child,” he said. Elisa laughed.

“Seriously, let’s go eat. I’m starving,” Logan complained, oblivious.

Elisa sighed, stepping back to grab Wolf’s hand. “Let’s go,” she said. “Our boy is hungry.”

“It was insane! Stuff was flying all around my head, I could barely see!” Logan exclaimed, his hands flailing around him. Aiden simply nodded in agreement as he ate. Logan had been going on non-stop since he walked up to Aiden in the food line about the bizarre moment in Markus’ office. Elisa and Wolf sat down across from them, each shooting Logan annoyed looks. Aiden guessed they had already heard the story.

“Hey Aiden,” Elisa greeted. Her smiled was slightly strained. No one had looked at him normally since Lily was taken. “Did you get any sleep?” she asked after he smiled in greeting.

He swallowed the large bite of meat before answering. “A couple of hours,” he admitted. “Not really enough, but I don’t think I’ll get any real sleep for a while.” She nodded in understanding. They both seemed to be ignoring the bouncing body of Logan beside them. He was literally like a child in his seat. Wolf was still shooting daggers his way.

“So what do you think it was?” Logan asked, bringing them back to his topic. “Do you think it was Aziz?”

Aiden looked at him with a frown. “I don’t think so,” he answered. “What would have been the purpose of that?”

Logan shrugged. “Just to scare us?”

Aiden shook his head. “I don’t think Aziz would do something like that. It seems beneath him.”

Aiden had no idea what happened, but he could guess. The truth was, he was scared to even think about it. Since they were all dismissed and he had been able to return to his room, he’d done nothing but try to avoid thinking about it. There was a tiny voice at the back of his mind telling him exactly what he suspected, but he was currently ignoring that voice. There was already too much going on in his life, the last thing he needed was something like this. Was he some freak of nature? Or was it just something connected to this magical world?
Stop!
He ordered himself. He needed to focus on the upcoming trip back to the Capital.

“Have any of you heard when we’re heading out?” Aiden asked. Logan was stuffing his face, so Aiden took the opportunity to change the topic.

“As soon as everyone is fed we’re leaving,” Wolf answered. He glanced over his shoulder at the other army. “Should be a pretty interesting trip.” They all looked over at the other side. A few men met their stares, but quickly looked down again.

“I thought they’d be more vicious,” Logan said.

“They know if they start anything, they’ll have to deal with me,” said a voice behind them. Aiden turned to see Callum standing there. He looked healthier now. After his injuries he had been pale and tired looking, but he seemed to have regained most of his colour back. His long, brown hair was tied back off his face, and he wore a simple leather vest that bared his strong, tanned arms. He looked intimidating, Aiden silently admitted. He had never come up against Callum during either of the battles, and was suddenly glad for it. He wouldn’t want to take on this large man.

“Well that would certainly do the trick,” Logan said. Callum looked at him through narrow eyes.

“You remind me of someone,” he said.

Logan seemed to shrink under his scrutiny. “Is it the Captain? Because we get that a lot,” he said, motioning between himself and Wolf. Callum glanced over at Wolf who simply gave him a cheeky grin. The Prince grunted in what Aiden assumed was agreement.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Elisa piped in. “I’m Captain Turk’s daughter.” She stretched out her hand in greeting, which looked comically like a child’s compared with the large one that encompassed it.

“I know,” was all he said in return. Then he added, “You look like your mother.” Aiden saw Elisa slightly pale at his words. She offered him a weak smile before placing her hand back in her lap.

“I wanted to speak with you, Warrior,” Callum said, addressing Aiden.

“It’s Aiden,” he replied automatically.

“Aiden,” Callum repeated. “May we go somewhere to speak in private?”

Aiden nodded, and stood up to follow the other man out of the room. As he got out from the table, he took a quick look at the faces of all his friends. They all looked slightly worried.

“Good luck,” Logan whispered.

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Come on guys, what’s the worst he could do to me? We’re all on the same side now.”

“If you say so,” Logan said, looking over Aiden’s shoulder at the already retreating Callum. Aiden shook his head and laughed, turning to walk down the row of tables.

Callum was standing out in the hall when Aiden exited the room. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me,” he said immediately.

Aiden wanted to shrug it off as nothing, because for him it was, but he didn’t. Apparently it was important to the Prince, and he didn’t want to offend him. “You’re welcome,” was all he said in return.

Callum must have seen the question on his face, because he quickly explained. “I didn’t know what your reaction to me would be, so I appreciate your willingness to speak privately. You have only known me as your enemy. I can only imagine how difficult it is for you to stand here.”

“I don’t find it difficult at all,” Aiden replied honestly. “You have admitted your wrongs and joined our side. I don’t see you as an enemy any longer.”

A small smile pulled on Callum’s lips, but no humour entered his eyes. “I don’t think everyone will be quite as forgiving.”

“Eventually they will.”

He nodded. “I wanted to speak with you about Aziz.”

One of the King’s men was walking down the hall at that moment. Aiden decided to wait until he passed to reply to Callum. He also needed a moment to gather his thoughts. He hadn’t expected Callum to want to discuss Aziz with him. To be honest, he figured this was about the incident with the wind. He figured Callum was more direct than others, and was just going to ask him outright if he’d had anything to do with it. Discussing Aziz instead was a much better alternative.

They both waited for the soldier to pass. As he drew nearer, Aiden noticed him glance at Callum with a certain spark in his eye. A feeling of warning crept over Aiden just as the man purposely bumped his shoulder into the Prince, pushing Callum to the side. Callum straightened himself immediately, his eyes dark with anger.

“Watch where you’re walking, soldier,” Callum warned.

“I was,” he replied, stepping closer until his face was only inches from Callum’s. Aiden moved instantly to their side, his hand firm on the other man’s arm.

“Back off,” he cautioned.

“You killed our men,” the man continued, ignoring Aiden. “You’re no Prince of mine.” Then he spat at Callum’s feet. Aiden pushed him back further, trying to place his body between them.

“I said back off,” he said. “You are not to fight. Those are direct orders from the King. What you do now is bordering on treason.” Another man appeared, positioning himself beside Callum. Aiden could see the readiness to fight in his eyes.

“Leave now,” Aiden ordered through clenched teeth. The other man gave him a quick look before nodding and spinning on his heels. Aiden didn’t move until he was sure the soldier wasn’t coming back.

“Is everything alright, my lord?” the new man asked.

“Yes, thank you, Stefan,” Callum replied.

“These men are looking for a fight,” the man named Stefan said.

“Give them time,” Aiden said, turning to look at them. “Everyone is still coming to terms with us all being on the same side.” Stefan gave him a look of disbelief.