Maren opened her eyes and sighed happily when she saw Donovan beside her.  She had a horrible dream about Kieran trapping and hurting her, but it was all right now that she was awake and Donovan was there. In her dream she'd had to leave the palace, and it was so heartbreaking, she cried in her sleep.

"Good morning, love," Donovan said with a smile. "I'm so happy you get to stay with me forever."

Did she get to stay with him forever? She didn't remember that, but if Donovan was saying it, it must be true.

"I love you," she said, smiling back at him.

He smiled again and leaned in to kiss her. His lips were soft on hers, and she sighed as he dug his fingers into her hair. It felt nice until he began to pull her hair.

"Oh, ow, stop," she said.

Donovan didn't stop. That was strange. He never hurt her before.

The hand in her hair yanked viciously and she cried, "Stop!"

"I won't stop until you're my pet," a chilling voice hissed.

Maren gasped. It wasn't Donovan anymore; it was Kieran. He was suddenly standing over her, pulling her out of bed by her hair. Donovan was gone.

"You're mine now," he snarled.

"No! No! No!" she cried as he dragged her away.

She heard knocking on the door, knocking that turned into pounding, but the door wouldn't open.

"Maren!"

Someone was calling her name. She had to tell them she needed help. But she couldn't speak. She could only scream. Someone was still pounding on the door.

"Maren!"

The door opened and Maren sat up with a gasp.

She looked around the room wildly. She didn't know where she was. The room was small, and the walls were wooden—not paneled like the palace walls, but planked. Her bed was small with a simple white coverlet. It was not Donovan's large bed with luxurious blue bedclothes.

"Are you all right?"

Maren expected to see Donovan or Kieran in the room, but it was Alec.

And then her memories came crashing down upon her. She was in an inn. The horrible dream about Kieran taking and hurting her had been real, and so was leaving Donovan. Being in bed with Donovan was the dream. He was lost to her forever. At least Kieran was also gone.

"Fine," she breathed, "just a nightmare."

Maren buried her face in her hands. She was still catching her breath, but she was starting to feel all the bruises covering her body. She was in a lot of pain from what Kieran had done to her.

"I apologize for coming in, only... I heard you scream..." Alec said.

He was standing awkwardly by the door. It was only then that Maren realized how inappropriate it was for him to be in her bedroom. He had on his dressing gown at least, but she was sitting in bed only in a nightdress. A man she wasn't married to should not see her that way. Fortunately, he was politely averting his eyes.

"It's all right, I'm all right. Thank you, Alec," she murmured, still slightly out of breath.

"Do you need anything?" he asked. He sounded anxious.

"No, thank you. Go back to sleep," she insisted.

He nodded and left, quietly closing the door behind him. She was glad he left; there was absolutely nothing he could do for her anyway.

Maren flopped backwards onto the pillows and winced at the resulting pain. Her back was very sore. Well, everything was very sore after Kieran had beaten her earlier that day—or was it the day before? It didn't matter.

Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn't decide whether she was more frightened of Kieran or devastated that she had lost Donovan. She felt both emotions intensely, but trying to decide which was worse provided a distraction for her, and she was able to keep her crying to a minimum.

Maren tried to be angry at Donovan, knowing that anger would feel better than either grief or fear, but she couldn't manage it. She knew that Donovan had only made her leave the palace early to keep her safe. He wanted her safe more than he wanted to be with her and he loved her enough to let her go. She could not stay angry at that.

It was some consolation that she would have had to leave him a week later anyway, but not much. They had been robbed of the ability to properly say goodbye to one another.  Instead, they only had a few hours to weep together before Donovan tucked her into the speeder and Alec took her away.

She sighed and shook her head—something she also instantly regretted. She wanted to dislodge the grief that seemed fixed in her mind, but only managed to aggravate the awful headache she had.

Alec told her that since she had a mild concussion, she'd have a headache for about a week at least. She really wasn't looking forward to it was good she happened to be traveling with a physician.

Alec's profession, of course, was not why he was escorting her from the Capitol. He was doing it because they were going to his family home. The home that would also be Maren's home once she married Alec's father in a few weeks.

She couldn't help but cringe at the thought. Maren really did not want to marry Alec's father. Likely, there was nothing wrong with him, he just wasn't Donovan.

Donovan was the only man she wanted to marry.

Unfortunately, that was impossible. Even if he hadn't been the Crown Prince or even if she had been a more suitable match for him than the daughter of a rural count, they would not have been able to marry. It was far too dangerous for Maren.

It was primarily Kieran's fault. Donovan's younger brother had been trying to prove that Maren was a witch for the entire year she had lived at the palace. He had never been able to get the proof he needed, even after beating her, but he would never stop trying. To be fair, as head of the Trackers, it was his responsibility to arrest witches, but he wanted Maren for more personal reasons.

Kieran hated his brother, and had long since been deeply jealous of him. Therefore, as Donovan's mistress (at first in appearances only and then in actuality), Kieran would have hated her no matter what. He wanted to use Maren to get Donovan disinherited.  Aiding a witch was as treasonous as being one, so Kieran hoped to prove that his older brother was helping her.

They might have found a way around Kieran's obsession if he had been mistaken. Perhaps Donovan could have gone to the King and Queen to have Kieran stopped. But Kieran wasn't wrong. Maren was undeniably a witch.

Witch wasn't the proper term, of course, but it was more socially acceptable than "Light Wielder." Almost no one used the proper term. "Witch" was considered to be rude, even something of a slur, but it was what everyone said. Maren had bigger problems than terminology, though, and cared quite a lot more about not being arrested or murdered than what someone like her was called.

The fact that Kieran was determined to imprison her under horrifying circumstances was a problem she couldn't ignore. She was very lucky she had gotten away from the palace at all.

She'd be even luckier if they made it safely to Worthingham. Donovan would be trying to keep her departure a secret, but Kieran had many lackeys watching the palace. Alec was also the Court Physician, and his absence would be noticed quickly. She didn't think it would be possible for their departure to be kept quiet for very long, it just needed to be long enough for them to safely arrive at Worthingham.

Worthingham. Where she would be married. To a stranger thirty years her senior.

She knew she was actually very lucky to be marrying the Duke of Worthingham. He was wealthy, had an impeccable reputation, and, if photographs were to be believed, was quite handsome. But the real reason she was marrying him was because he was one of the most powerful men in the kingdom.

He was the titular commander of roughly half the kingdom's military forces, and he worked closely with the forces stationed near his home. He was a direct link between the military and the King and, therefore, had enough power to deter Kieran from interfering with his wife. Or at least, that was what Maren and Donovan hoped.

The military was a greater source of power and influence within the kingdom than the Trackers. The military was generally popular, while the Trackers were regarded more as a necessary nuisance. The population at large was deeply suspicious of Trackers—they had a reputation of being overly aggressive and dealt too closely with witches to be trustworthy. So, even Kieran, a prince and head of the Trackers, had to step lightly around the Duke of Worthingham.

Maren knew she would be as safe as someone like her could ever be when she became the Duchess of Worthingham. She even would have the good fortune of not being required to produce children for her new husband. Which was particularly good because she couldn't. All witches were barren.

Many women who did not have children were arrested under suspicion of being a witch. But Maren would hopefully escape that fate, since the Duke had already grown sons and grandchildren. Not producing any of her own would reflect more on him than on her. She just had to hope he did not decide he wanted a late-in-life baby.

So, it was very fortunate that she would marry the Duke. But she still couldn't bring herself to want to marry him, even with everything the union would give her. She didn't have a choice, though. Like it or not, she would marry him.

She felt a bubble of anxiety building within her. They would arrive at her new home that evening, and she would finally meet her future husband. She hoped she could muster up the proper enthusiasm when the time came.

She and Alec had driven about four hours from the Capitol the night before. Then they stopped at an inn to sleep and swap the speeder's batteries. The inn was quiet and quaint in a small town that was probably charming, but Maren cared very little. Alec had booked two adjoining rooms for them, forced her to eat something, applied ointment to the burns on her ankles and wrists, and then allowed Maren privacy to cry herself to sleep.

Her nightmare had awakened her though and she did not think she would be able to go back to sleep. She didn't really care, but decided she wanted to know what time it was. There was no clock in the room so, she sighed and got out of bed. She went to her small bag of belongings for travel and then realized her watch would not be in it. Donovan still had it.

She had dropped it in the palace while Kieran's men were escorting her to his hiding place. She hoped someone would find it and find her. Fortunately, Alec and Donovan did find it, only, in all the turmoil, Maren had forgotten to get it back from him.

She pressed her eyes closed as the tears came back. She knew it didn't really matter; it was just a watch. But it was the watch Donovan had given her for her birthday. He had gotten it specially made with a horse on the crown, just for her. He later told her that her birthday was when he began to fall in love with her. She desperately wanted to keep that small token of his affection, one of the few physical reminders of their love.

But, like Donovan, the watch was still at the palace. She hoped it would perhaps bring him some comfort. 

Maren laid back down in bed, still crying. She didn't care what time it was anymore. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, hoping for some relief from her grief.

--

"All right, we have fourteen hours to go. We'll get there sometime around eight or nine tonight," Alec said as they resumed their drive.

"I'm sorry I can't help you drive. I know you're tired," Maren said.

Under other circumstances, Alec would have offered to teach Maren to drive, not because he needed her help, but because it would have been an enjoyable way to pass the time. But he really didn't think they could afford to take any extra time on this trip. Not to mention, Maren did not appear to be in any condition to learn a new skill or operate heavy machinery. He knew she was both exhausted and in a lot of pain; he could see it on her face.

"Don't worry," he said. "I've made the trip before. It's not so bad."

"Hopefully, we'll make it in time," she said, and by that, he knew she meant that she hoped they arrived before Kieran could have his men intercept them.

Alec hoped so, too. Trackers were concentrated in the Capitol, but they had stations all over the kingdom.

"We will," Alec said.

He hoped his blind optimism helped her, even if it wasn't completely genuine. Truth be told, he was worried. Kieran had men all over the kingdom, and it was easy enough for him to relay his orders via telegram. And if they did run into trouble...

Well, they just had to hope they didn't run into trouble.

"You sent a telegram to you father, didn't you?" she asked.

"I did," he confirmed. "I said that you were injured, and I was bringing you to recover, and we'd be there by the end of today."

She sighed. "Is your father going to recognize that doesn't make a lot of sense?"

Alec cringed. There was no medical reason to bring an injured person halfway across the kingdom—especially when said injured person was already with a physician—and Alec knew his father would recognize that instantly.

"Yes," Alec said. "He'll know that something is wrong—especially because we're making the trip so quickly."

Normally, the trip would be made over two days, driving about nine hours each day and not in just over twenty-four hours as Alec and Maren were trying to do.

"And do you have a proposed explanation for him?" Maren asked.

Alec sighed. "We have to tell him the truth...or at least part of it."

He knew she wouldn't like it, but there were not any other options.

"You think it's a good idea to tell him that the head of the Trackers is convinced that I'm a witch, and we had to flee because he also wants to kill me? I am hard-pressed to believe your father will still want to marry me, even though I'm not a witch!" Maren cried through gritted teeth.

Alex doubted very much that he would get a better opening than that for what he had to tell her. Still, he regretted it. Maren was already so upset, and he knew telling her he knew her secret would be terribly distressing. Gods, he could only imagine what he would feel like if someone told him they knew his secret.

He knew he had no choice, though.

"Maren, I know."

"Know what?" she asked, and he could hear the alarm in her voice.

"I'm sure Donovan would have told you if there had been more time. When we found you yesterday, just before you passed out, your fingers...glowed. Donovan told me about the Selection and what's really been going on with Kieran," he said.

There was a tense silence before he heard her speak softly.

"Please...please let me go...just please...don't give me to Kieran," she breathed.

Alec glanced at her and saw that she was absolutely panic-stricken. Gods, he had not expected her to be that upset. Did she really think he'd turn her in and to Kieran? He wouldn't have given Kieran custody of a goldfish, much less a person, any person.

Alec pulled over the speeder and parked on the side of the road. He took her hands in his and held them firmly to stop her trembling.

"Maren, look at me," he said.

He waited until she met his eyes. She was clearly terrified.

"I'm not turning you in. I'll never turn you in. I'll keep your secret."

"You will?" she breathed. "Why?"

He smiled. "Because you're my friend and I know you don't belong in prison. Because my oldest and dearest friend loves you, and I could never hurt him by hurting you. But also because I took an oath to do no harm. Turning you in would absolutely cause you harm. I won't. I can't."

He could tell she didn't really believe him.

"Besides, would I hold your hands if I thought you belonged in prison?"

He hoped she'd see the logic in that. He knew she could burn him or something, but he also knew she wouldn't.

Alec watched her carefully while she thought. He saw how frightened she was, and then a reluctant acceptance came over her face.

She nodded. "All right."

He smiled, relieved, and squeezed her hands before letting them go.

"Maren, I promised Donovan I would get you to Worthingham and get you married. I mean to do that," he said.

She frowned. "But your father —"

"My father doesn't need to know," he said.

"But —"

"I'm not being a bad son, I love my father and would never do anything I thought might harm him. He's lonely and looking for a companion. I'm fairly certain the two of you will get along. This will be good for him, and it will help you too. I'm delighted to see this through, truly," he said.

"All right," she said with a small nod.

She still looked very upset, and he would have liked to stay parked for a bit longer until he was sure she was more composed, but they couldn't spare the time.

"Will you be all right if we keep going?" he asked tentatively.

She nodded and he drove back onto the road. He felt terrible for frightening her like that. Perhaps he should have waited to tell her until they got to Worthingham, and he could have given her a medicinal brandy.

"A note for you should you ever inform someone you know their very illegal secret, tell them you won't be turning them in before you tell them you know," she said.

Gods, he was an idiot. He absolutely should have known better.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry, I just assumed you knew I wouldn't turn you in," he said.

She sighed. "I have to assume everyone will turn me in."

"Probably a safe assumption."

"It's kept me alive this long," she said.

Alec thought that was no small feat. It seemed that most of the women executed for being Light Wielders were only around nineteen or twenty. Maren was twenty-six.

He was tempted to keep talking to her because he was always tempted to keep talking, but he could tell that she needed some to herself.

Alec wondered if he should tell her his secret when she recovered. He really didn't want to; even though she had once said such things didn't trouble her, it was deeply ingrained in him that he could never tell anyone. But, he could, and he would if it would help her understand that he could never judge her for her secret.

Ultimately, he decided against it, at least for the moment. He wasn't sure it would help her, and she was about to marry his father. His father was at the very bottom of the list of people he wanted to know about him, right next to Donovan and his brothers. He trusted Maren not to tell anyone, but it did not seem fair to Maren to ask her to keep such a thing from her husband.

He had to admit, it was a bit strange that she would be his stepmother.

Alec thought of his various relationships with others as organized into a series of compartments. There was one for his work as a patients and colleagues, one for his family, another for friends, a separate compartment for amorous relationships (that one was further subdivided into physical-only and romantic sections), and a catch-all compartment that contained all the other relationships that defied explanation. Who he was, what he thought about, and how he behaved shifted slightly depending upon which compartment he was with at the time.

Generally, he found dealing with people who fit into multiple compartments to be far too complicated. People sometimes moved to a different compartment, but he tried very hard to keep them contained to the new one. He did not have friendly dinners with people he slept with, and he did not take afternoon tea with patients. Keeping the people in his life organized helped him keep straight the many facets of himself. He thought without it, he'd go mad.

But there were a few people who defied categorization or slipped into more than one category at a time. A few years ago, he had learned a very hard lesson about the dangers of treating family as a physician when his stepmother became ill. It had been so traumatic that afterward, Alec flat out refused to treat family members unless it was an absolute emergency.

Donovan, of course, slipped between categories, but that was more comfortable. The compartment for friends was right next to the compartment for family, so it didn't trouble Alec too much that Donovan flitted between them as both a friend and someone he thought of as a brother. And, when the time came, Donovan would also sometimes fall into the sub-compartment for Alec's interactions with the King. That would be fine.

But Maren defied his organizational system more so than anyone else. She had been in the friend compartment and began dipping her toes into the family compartment when she was engaged to his father. But then after Kieran assaulted her, she fell into the patient compartment too. Patient, family, friend, and probably there was something else that categorized the relationship where he acted as her matchmaker.

He adored her, but she was troublesome to his usually tidy organizational system. It would be a relief when at least he could move her out of one or two of them.

—
A/N: Thank you so much for joining me for the second book in The Wielders Trilogy. I hope you'll stick around while Maren deals with her new situation! As you can see, we'll be including Alec's perspective from now on. What do you think? What do you want to learn about him? Let me know!

I'll be updating on Tuesdays and Fridays! Make sure you follow me and add to your library so you don't miss anything! Please make sure you vote and comment! Your feedback means the world to me!

P.S. are you confused? If you skipped The Heart of a Wielder you're missing a lot of the good stuff. Go read that first and then come back! :)