Chapter 29

Xander POV

I wandered through the house in the early hours of the morning. My feet kept bringing me back to Ida’s room. But I dared not go inside, although I terribly wanted to see her. I had tried to explain to her why it had been necessary to do what I did. I knew I had crossed the line when she slapped me on the way back. The actions I did the day before stunned her to her core. I just knew it. She had refused to look at me, to let me touch her. I wanted to howl in grief.

That bastard Mallard was all over her. Then blatantly insulted me. He still held a grudge against the fact that I had refused his daughter years ago. I thought we had been past this. Beatrice had moved on since then and had married into a wealthy family.

How could I have explained without mentioning I was a shifter why his daughter would never have been enough? She was nothing compared to Ida.

I hated the persona I had created while doing my duties as heir to High Hill and its title. I needed to be as ruthless and as feared as my father was, and I hated every day of my life where I had to act like someone I wasn’t. Mother had always told me I needed to look the part or I would be discovered.

Since Mallard knew what Lord Alexander was capable of, I used it to my advantage in showing him what his daughter would have ‘fictionally’ been exposed to. It had been a bit rash, I admitted, but I needed to do it to protect Ida.

I rather enjoyed being her Xander. I loved being the kind and affectionate person I was when she was near me. She had accepted me wholeheartedly, Lycan and all. I sincerely hoped she could forgive me, forgive the awful way I had treated her. But above all else, I hoped she would understand my reasons behind it.

I paced in front of her room. Again, my feet brought me back to her. I had felt her anger and sadness all night, and it tore me to pieces, not being able to comfort her.

My Lycan had been silent. He had a part of responsibility in all of this. He was the one that convinced me to bring her with us to the baron’s estate. I had initially intended to go alone. But he didn’t trust anyone to protect her, not while Gideon was posing as our coachman and his men were unavailable.

Ida’s door opened, and I rushed to it. I needed to see her, to know she was okay.

Diana peered outside the room, and when she saw me, she stepped outside in the hallway and closed the door silently behind her.

“What in Faith’s name are you doing? Do you know how much this wooden floor creaks every time you come around? I can’t sleep with all your coming and going.”

“I’m sorry, Diana. How is she?”

She rubbed her eyes and sighed.

“She’s fine. Ida went to bed a couple of hours ago. She cried a bit, but she’s alright now. Give her time.”

“Thank you for staying with her. I didn’t want to trouble you when I asked you to keep her company after our arrival last night. I thought she would like to have someone with her.”

“It’s nothing. I rather enjoy Ida’s company. She’s a very peculiar girl. She’s proud, yet ashamed, happy but depressed. It’s quite fascinating if you ask me.”

I growled in warning at Diana’s description of Ida. I knew very well the rainbow of emotions she held within, and I didn’t want Ida to be her funny distraction.

“Oh, don’t use that big boy growl with me, Alexander. I meant no disrespect. I truly have grown fond of the girl. My fascination with her is more from a healing point of view. Other than her hand, her body is sound, but I’m afraid her mind is a different matter completely. She needs to come to terms with her past if she is to move on, and I would appreciate it if you let me try to help her.”

I knew Diana spoke the truth. Ever since we realized she was Cressida Cardinal, Ida’s mind had not stopped spinning. She had been overthinking things for weeks now. It had shown under her eyes. She had begun to wake up in the middle of the night, shaking and crying.

I cannot protect her from what I cannot see, I thought to myself, annoyingly. Diana could very well be the only person who could help her with whatever was troubling her. And if she needed closure, then maybe someone in the rebellion could provide some answers to her questions. I knew what had happened to her family troubled her immensely.

“Fine… but don’t think it’s because I enjoy having you around.” I scoffed at her.

She patted my arm amicably, then walked past me toward the stairs.

“I’ll go make you something to eat before you depart. Care to join me?”

My stomach made a rumbling noise at the mention of food. I felt terrible about imposing this on Diana, especially knowing she barely slept because of my pacing.

“Don’t trouble yourself, Diana. I’ll be fine.”

Air passed through her nose and throat, making her snort, and she placed a hand on her hip.

“I’m not letting you go out of this house without eating first. With the way you’re irritated about your situation with Ida, mixed with an empty stomach, you might do something stupid in front of this hunter I heard was going to assist you and get yourself exposed and killed.”

She flapped her hand in the air and beckoned me to come.

The corner of my mouth quirked upward, and I followed her. The room was dark, but by the time I set foot on the kitchen floor, light spilled from the oil lamps Diana was lighting.

She went through every door and locked them. I had found the action odd, but I didn’t comment on it. She pressed on the walls in case there was a hidden cellar, and once she was finished with her inspection and seemed satisfied, she started cooking something up.

“Do you know what the rebellion plans to do when they get a hold of Ida?” Diana asked cautiously in a low voice while whisking eggs.

That’s why she was locking everything up; to prevent people from eavesdropping on our conversation.

“I do not know what they plan on doing once they have her. I assumed they’d want to protect her and try to put her back on the throne.”

She stayed silent for some time, pondering.

“There’s something wrong with her magic.”

“You know she’s a wielder?” I asked, surprised. I didn’t think Ida would have told anyone. She had been very secretive about it.

“The hunter that will assist you, I think he has the same ability as me. You’ll have to be cautious of him. I can feel—well, I can rather hear magical currents. Ida is very familiar with hiding her magic. I did not know she was a wielder until she tried to create something with her right hand. She had returned to the table and given me a plate of bacon and eggs. “I heard the familiar buzz of magic energy. But I felt something wrong with it. I’ve never quite heard anything like that. It was like there was a wall. I could hear it pulsing, but it was also muffled. It’s hard to explain. Usually, the magical currents are steady, but Ida’s was almost chaotic. Muffled, but chaotic.”

I drummed my fingers on the table, thinking about what she had just said. I still had no idea what it meant for Ida. I hoped she would find some information once she was with the rebellion. She mentioned they had a library of books on magic, and they had another wielder with them. Maybe that would help better understand her powers.

I hesitated to show Diana the mark Ida made, but I thought she might share some speculations about what it meant since she seemed knowledgeable. I undid the first three buttons of my shirt and pulled the collar to reveal the pale blue mark I had on my shoulder.

“Ida did this to me. She could mark me without being a shifter. It’s unheard of. We were hoping to find some answers while searching through the archives that the rebellion has.”

Her eyes went wide at the sight of the mark. Diana came to my side and inspected it, pulling on my collar some more and tracing the crescent pattern with her fingertips.

“Curious,” Diana whispered, “I have seen nothing like this, nor have I ever heard of a magic wielder having a shifter for a mate. The Faiths created the humans from the sun and shifters out of the moon. They balance each other, so it’s normal for them to crossbreed. But wielders… They are in-between. They are not from the sun nor the moon.” She let go of my shirt and sat beside me.

“I’ve always believed that magic wielders were a cross between a human and a Faith. It’s a silly thought, but what else could explain how they came into existence?”

“Do you really believe Faiths existed at one point? I mean, they are supposed to balance the world but look at what it has become. Come on, Diana, Faiths are just a story we tell kids to explain why the world is what it is. They’re a fairytale.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Diana looked straight into my eyes, “I think they are among us, dressed as ordinary people and watching our every move. We just don’t notice them.”